Metropolis

Metropolis is a parser-driven graphic adventure game developed by Industrial Concepts & Design and published by Mastertronic for PC booter in 1987. You play as a security agent for the software corporation IC&D, assigned to investigate crimes in the futuristic city of Metropolis. Gameplay follows an episodic structure: once you solve a crime, you access the "zoom tube" to another level, where another crime awaits. There are 10 crimes in total, each more difficult. The game is renowned as the first PC game to feature digitized speech through the standard PC speaker. What sets Metropolis apart is its conversation-driven design: crimes are solved primarily by asking the right questions to other characters using natural language phrases rather than inventory-based puzzles.

DOS

Released in 1987 for PC booter, this version runs on IBM PC compatibles with CGA, EGA, or Tandy graphics. System requirements include 256KB RAM. The game is notable for its digitized speech using only the PC speaker—an impressive technical achievement for 1987. The parser is designed to understand conversational English; simple commands like "BUY DISK" will not work, as the game expects full sentences. You maneuver your character with cursor keys and type commands. The futuristic setting includes many gadgets and interesting droids to talk to. The game was designed by Graeme Devine, who would later co-found Trilobyte and create The 7th Guest. Versions for Amiga and Atari ST were announced but never released. Metropolis received high praise as an "excellent and very innovative parser-based adventure game" and "perhaps the world's first conversation-driven game." There are 10 crimes total.