<s>
Arthur	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
for	I-Application
Excalibur	I-Application
is	O
an	O
illustrated	O
interactive	O
fiction	O
video	O
game	O
written	O
by	O
Bob	O
Bates	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Infocom	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
PC	O
compatibles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
young	O
Arthur	B-Application
,	O
before	O
the	O
legendary	O
days	O
of	O
Camelot	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
sword	O
in	O
the	O
stone	O
"	O
(	O
which	O
in	O
the	O
legends	O
was	O
not	O
Excalibur	B-Application
,	O
but	O
is	O
often	O
confused	O
with	O
Excalibur	B-Application
by	O
people	O
unfamiliar	O
with	O
the	O
legends	O
)	O
that	O
would	O
signify	O
Arthur	B-Application
's	O
destiny	O
to	O
rule	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
stolen	O
by	O
the	O
evil	O
King	O
Lot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
quest	O
to	O
regain	O
the	O
sword	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
prove	O
to	O
Merlin	B-Device
that	O
he	O
has	O
the	O
qualities	O
needed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
great	O
king	O
:	O
chivalry	B-Device
,	O
experience	O
,	O
and	O
wisdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Merlin	B-Device
assists	O
Arthur	B-Application
by	O
giving	O
him	O
periodic	O
advice	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
power	O
to	O
transform	O
into	O
animals	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
tells	O
Arthur	B-Application
that	O
unless	O
Excalibur	B-Application
is	O
recovered	O
within	O
three	O
days	O
,	O
Lot	O
will	O
usurp	O
his	O
destiny	O
as	O
a	O
king	O
of	O
legendary	O
stature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Arthur	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
last	O
interactive	O
fiction	O
games	O
Infocom	O
released	O
before	O
closing	O
,	O
the	O
packaging	O
still	O
included	O
a	O
modest	O
attempt	O
at	O
the	O
extra	O
objects	O
,	O
or	O
feelies	O
,	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
a	O
long-standing	O
tradition	O
for	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
package	O
for	O
Arthur	B-Application
contained	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
a	O
Book	O
of	O
Hours	O
,	O
which	O
explains	O
the	O
Canonical	O
hours	O
such	O
as	O
Matins	O
,	O
Lauds	O
and	O
Vespers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
book	O
also	O
contains	O
a	O
poem	O
,	O
lines	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
used	O
as	O
passwords	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
copy	B-Application
protection	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arthur	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
for	I-Application
Excalibur	I-Application
was	O
the	O
second	O
Infocom	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
by	O
another	O
company	O
,	O
Challenge	O
Inc	O
,	O
published	O
by	O
Infocom	O
in	O
their	O
"	O
Immortal	O
Legends	O
"	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
other	O
game	O
published	O
in	O
this	O
line	O
was	O
the	O
1987	O
release	O
Sherlock	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Riddle	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Crown	I-Application
Jewels	I-Application
,	O
also	O
written	O
by	O
Bates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
Arthur'''s	O
release	O
,	O
Infocom	O
had	O
stopped	O
rating	O
their	O
games	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
difficulty	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arthur	B-Application
roughly	O
corresponds	O
to	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
their	O
previous	O
"	O
Standard	O
"	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Arthur	B-Application
was	O
met	O
with	O
critical	O
acclaim	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nick	O
Walkland	O
of	O
Amiga	B-Device
Format	O
was	O
impressed	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
and	O
felt	O
that	O
they	O
made	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
atmospherically	O
supreme	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lucinda	O
Orr	O
of	O
Amiga	B-Device
Computing	O
lauded	O
the	O
help	O
menu	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
best	O
help	O
system	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
parser	O
as	O
"	O
very	O
good	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
graphics	O
as	O
"	O
pleasing	O
throughout	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andy	O
Mitchell	O
of	O
Amiga	B-Device
Action	O
was	O
pleased	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
mapping	O
facility	O
and	O
colorful	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
cited	O
the	O
transformation	O
feature	O
as	O
"	O
great	O
fun	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scorpia	O
of	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World''	O
deemed	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
version	O
"	O
Infocom	O
's	O
most	O
poorly	O
produced	O
game	O
ever	O
"	O
,	O
criticizing	O
the	O
high	O
number	O
of	O
disk	O
swaps	O
(	O
sometimes	O
to	O
print	O
a	O
single	O
sentence	O
or	O
to	O
redraw	O
the	O
automap	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
mediocre	O
"	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
