Infocom's fascination with film noir-flavored detective stories (also see Suspect and Witness) reached its peak with Deadline, a tough and punishing "expert level" text adventure game giving players just twelve hours to solve a murder. Worse yet, the player is locked into the crime scene, along with six suspects, all of whom have their own motives -- as well as their own bones to pick with one another. There's plenty of evidence, but narrowing down the field of suspects within twelve hours is the trick. Stylish and dark, Deadline is hard to beat -- and its built-in time limit makes it that much more nerve-wracking.