Secret Mission

TI-99/4A version of Secret Mission

Secret Mission is a text adventure game initially published by TRS-80 Software Exchange for the TRS-80 in 1979. Adventure International soon after released versions for numerous computer systems of the era including re-releases for the TRS-80 and versions for the TI-99/4A, Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari Home Computers, and other systems. It is Adventure #3 in the Scott Adams Adventure series and features a similar interface and text parser as other games in the series. The game has gone by several titles; it was originally released as Mission Impossible, however this was changed due to a legal request from the popular television series using the same name.

Secret Mission takes place in a nuclear power plant; a saboteur has intentions of committing suicide by destroying the reactor! He has set a time bomb and rewired the security system; as Mr. Phelps, player's have the goal of stopping the explosion before it's too late. Player's begin the mission with just a map and a few security keys, and need to complete their objective within the given time limit (i.e. number of moves taken).

Similar to other Scott Adams adventures, Secret Mission features a simple text parser to interact with the game. The game provides a split screen; the top provides a brief description of the current location or situation along with notable items that are visible while the bottom of the screen allows players to enter two word commands consisting of a verb and noun (such as READ SIGN) and provides the results of commands. The game allows progress to be saved, and doing so often is advisable; it's possible for players to die in many ways or to become stuck in an unwinnable situation. The S.A.G.A. version of the game (Scott Adams Graphic Adventure) additionally features graphics depicting each location at the top of the screen which can be toggled on or off (graphics aren't necessary to complete the game; all items and clues are provided by the text and the game is otherwise the same as the text only versions).