Apocalypse 2021

Apocalypse 2021
◄Eamon adventure #209►
Author	Hoyle Purvis
Released	December 1991
Revised	4 October 1991
EAG number	209
EDX number	17-03
EDX set	Classic Eamon Adventures, Vol. 5
Native format	Apple DOS 3.3
File	Eamon 209 - Apocalypse 2021.dsk

Apocalypse 2021 is an Eamon adventure written by Hoyle Purvis.

Background

This is one of a group of five adventures by Purvis that were announced together in the December 1991 issue of the Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter. Tom Zuchowski introduced Purvis as a new author specializing in combat-heavy adventuring and described Apocalypse 2021 as a well-built hack'n'slash adventure with minimal puzzles.

Released along with Apocalypse 2021 was its sequel, Lair of the Marauders, which Purvis based in part on The Lair of Mutants by Evan Hodson. The sequel sees the return of most of the key Marauder gang members, holed up in an abandoned military complex.

Premise

Wagramtown, a small community on a post-apocalyptic Earth, was recently attacked by a gang of criminal mutants and cyborgs who made off with many of the town's valuables and captured the mayor, his daughter, and the captain of the town guard, taking them all to the gang's headquarters in the town's abandoned high school building. The townspeople ask you to raid the school, recover their property, and free the captives, and promise you a great reward if you succeed.

Walkthrough

This walkthrough doesn't take you to every room, monster, and artifact in the school but instead just hits the key encounters that will allow you to free all the captives and gather the most significant treasure. Those who prefer to see and do it all should consult the map below. Be sure to give each freed captive a weapon so they can aid you in combat; the enemies are not exceptionally difficult but are certainly quicker to handle with a well-armed team of allies.

"The paint is green and peeling." (Map by Huw Williams, 2021)

You begin south of the two-story school building where you find Adam, a local fighter who will join you on your mission.

First floor

1. First follow the outside path east to find a two-headed dog who may be friendly enough to accompany you. Return to the front door.
2. Go north into the N/S entry hall, then north again to the middle of the hall.
3. Take the hallway east to the first intersection.
4. Go south into the old secretary room and defeat the mutant lurking there. If you examine the picture on the wall you'll find a wall safe containing an old document.
5. Go east into the waiting room, kill the three guards, and take the blaster gun.
6. Go east into the principal's office, then east again where you'll encounter the mutant Wolfiend and his war wolves. Kill him and take his key.
7. Use the key to enter the east room where you'll find Josh, the first of the three captives. Be sure to give him a weapon.
8. Return to the principal's office, then go north twice and fight a guard.
9. Go east into a large room and collect the coins.
10. Exit north, then north again and you'll be in the school's A/V room. Kill the five guards and free the mayor.
11. Exit west, then go north into a closet with some shelves; examine them to find a medium battery pack. Return to the hallway.
12. Go west into the repair shop where Fixer is tinkering with some machinery. Kill him and take the screwdriver and tools.
13. North in the storage room you'll find Security Droid RX105 in need of a battery. Use the medium battery pack to activate it and it will accompany you.
14. Step west into another hallway, take it south to the four-way intersection, then south once more.
15. Go west into a pink room where you meet a sexy girl; though seemingly friendly, you won't be able to leave unless you flee and she'll attempt to kill you if you try to kiss her. Once defeated, take her gold dagger and the contents of her jewelry box.
16. Return to the four-way intersection and go west until you encounter a cyborg Marauder. Defeat it and climb the stairs.

Second floor

1. A mutant named Blaster awaits you at the top of the stairs; the fire from his weapon will demolish the stairway, making it impossible to descend the way you came.
2. Take the east hallway until you reach the first intersection, then go north.
3. At the bend in the hallway, go north into the storage room and kill the mutant Jo-Jo. Collect the Wagramtown loot and return to the hallway.
4. Take the hallway east to the next bend, then go north to meet gang leader Darkside who's guarding the final captive, the mayor's daughter Meg. Once defeated Darkside will drop a large diamond.
5. Your goals are now complete so make your way back to the ruined stairway.
6. Go south down the hall and open the locker to find some rope, then examine the hole in the wall caused by Blaster's weapon — it leads down to the main door and is your way out.
7. Head south from the entrance and the mission is complete.

The happy townspeople award you a generous quantity of gold pieces and throw a party in your honor.

Reviews

EAG president Tom Zuchowski, reviewing the adventure in the December 1991 newsletter, called Apocalypse 2021 "a clean, solid adventure, refreshingly free of errors" and wrote that he greatly enjoyed some of the special touches Purvis added to the story. However, he disliked the institutional setting which made mapping a chore, and gave the adventure a somewhat reduced rating (5) because of his general dislike of hack'n'slash scenarios, though he thought fans of combat-heavy stories would probably rate it more highly.

Location

Wagram is a real community in North Carolina, situated about 85 miles southeast of the city of Charlotte. The old high school stood on the south side of town at the corner of Main and First; after county school consolidation in 1968 students attended Scotland High School in nearby Laurinburg, and Wagram became an elementary and middle school. In the 1980s it was demolished and a new elementary school built on the site.

Trivia

John Rambo

• Among the treasures looted from Wagramtown is a videocassette copy of the movie Rambo 7. In real life only five Rambo films had been made as of 2021.
• The picture in the secretary's office shows President George Bush (1924–2018) during "his history-making sixth term". When the adventure was published in 1991, Bush was serving his first and only term as US President; if he'd continued to serve for a total of six four-year terms, he would have been in office until early 2013.
• In the principal's office is a small photo of Dean Smith (1931–2015) who coached basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 36 years. Hoyle writes, "He was able to defeat NC State the last 12 years he was ruler of Chapelhill."
• Darkseid is a DC Comics villain introduced in 1971.
• More of Darkseid's mutant servants from DC comics appear in The Lair of Mutants by Evan Hodson.
• The adventure makes multiple mentions a devastating "Great War", but says little about its nature or when it occurred. The existence of many profoundly mutated creatures (like the two-headed dog outside the school) suggests severe radiation from a nuclear war.
• Three other Eamon adventures take place in American public schools: The School of Death (1984), Peg's Place (1987), and The High School of Horrors (1989).
• Purvis later revisited the idea of a world threatened by deadly mutants in his books Extinction (October 2013) and Survival (February 2015).

External links

• EAG Online: Master List
• The Interactive Fiction Database: Apocalypse 2021
• Interactive Fiction Reviews: Apocalypse 2021
• Wagram High School