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MINDPLAY
Mindplay
This month's 'Mindplay'
features three adventure games
from the new generation of
mass produced adventures writ
ten with the aid of Gilsoft's Quill,
and released by small software
companies Fridaysoft and
Sentient. While the Quill is a
very useful utility for use by people
who wish to write their own
adventure I feel that the use of
the Quill by software houses
may have adverse effects on the
adventure game genre. With the
Quill it is a lot easier to produce
bad adventure games, as the
thought and planning needed for
a non Quilled game is often not
applied. Thankfully, there are
exceptions, and these excep
tions are often very good
games, but the vast majority of
Quilled games which are
marketed are often average, and
sometimes very poor. The
games reviewed this issue
feature a couple of these excep
tions.
You may have noticed a couple
of letters in past issues of ZX
Computing requesting hints and
tips for adventure games. Well,
in response to popular demand, I
plan to introduce clues to adventures
in this column. The idea is
that you send your adventure
problems and they'll be printed
in 'Mindplay', and anyone who
can help then responds with the
answer. Offers of help on
adventures will also be printed.
In this way adventurers can get
n touch with each other through
offering or needing help. I'd also
be interested in your letters on
the general adventure scene.
Send all correspondence to
Mindplay at the ZX Computing
address, 1 Golden Square, Lon
don W1R 3AB.
Now on with the
reviews.
Brian Robb
London Adventure
Fridaysoft
£4.95
The first of this selection of
Quilled games is Fridaysoft's
London Adventure and it is the
best of the three adventures
reviewed here. It is also the only
one to feature a loading screen,
a nicely drawn picture of Lon
don's Tower Bridge.
The aim of the game is to find
the combination of a safe
deposit box belonging to your
eccentric, rich uncle. He has
recently died and his will has left
his considerably fortune to you
if you can find it, that is! The
combination numbers are hiden
within the adventure for in
stance you may find a five
pound note, so five is one of the
combination numbers. The
numbers are cleverly hiden
within the game, often in the
oddest of places!
London Adventure is design
ed to be realistic (allowing some
artistic licence, of course),
logical and, apart from the odd
diversion and obligatory mazes,
geographically correct. The
game features over 100 locations
including many well
known landmarks such as Har
rods, Cleopatra's Needle and
the Tower of London.
The location descriptions are
very good in places, such as
aboard the Cutty Sark, near the
beginning, while the majority of
the descriptions are above
average. Some of the locations
though, appear to be there only
for show, but at many of them
you can find objects and clues.
On this point it is wise to collect
every object, no matter how
unlikely, as it will no doubt be
useful at some point.
The game has quite a few
original and amusing touches
which raise the adventure above
the mass of Quilled games. London
Zoo, for example, becomes
a particularly clever maze, as do
the London Sewers. Another
nice touch are the events in the
Tower of London you could
lose your head over the Crown
Jewels! Also, typing your name
on the computer in the Science
Museum can be alarming!
Overall, London Adventure is
a very enjoyable and challenging
game which makes a change
from the usual fantasy settings,
and this is Fridaysoft's avowed
intention. You could certainly do
worse than buy this one!
Scoop
Sentient Software
£2.99
This adventure, like the previous
one, is unusual in its setting and
aim. You are an intrepid newspaper
reporter and must search
the streets for the front page
news which will distinguish you
from the other hacks. Fail in your
task and youll be fired!
The game begins with the
piercing sound of your morning
alarm. Sound features quite
often in the game with the
sounds of lifts and car engines,
not forgetting the telephone
which rings, providing you with
a message which moves you
forward in the game. You
awake, right at the start, to be
faced by a morning domestic
routine which becomes your
first major task you must get
dressed and head off to work.
This is a lot more complicated
and confusing than you may
think even the simplest tasks
are difficult to achieve first time
round. Everything must be done
in a particular order
When you evenlually find the
newspaper office, and thiscould
take a while, the newspaper
boss will give you a story to investigate
and from there you're
on your own 1 Do you have the
intuition which will take you to
the top of your profession?
This is a very interesting
adventure, with fairly good location
descriptions and often in
volved tasks which are difficult
to complete. Like London
Adventure Scoop is a very good
example of a Quilled game at it's
best.
The Amulet
Sentient Software
£2.99
This one also comes from Sentient
Software, but unfortunately
it does not aspire to the novelly
of the previous game.
Whereas Scoop was an inspired
and novel game, The Amulet
repeats the tired and worn fantasy
theme of the quest.
The simple aim is to find the
seven shards of the shattered
Amulet, which are scattered
through time. Trying to retrieve
the segments entails travelling
through time and space using
the magical power of the
Amulet. You start out with a
section of the broken Amulet,
which when rubbed enables you
to travel in time, in search of the
other pieces. Each 'Time Zone"
consists of several very similar
locations, all with very bland
location descriptions. Objects
are sparse, so it is easy to find
each section of the amulet with
very few major obstacles to be
overcome.
Some of the locations insist
on playing lengthy tunes after
each input which are simply irritating
and slow down play,
particularly the zone featuring
ihe 'Frenchman' (who insists on
killing you if you're not careful).
The Amulet is a rather
clich6d, and nondescript adventure,
with lacklustre location
descriptions, devoid of at
mosphere and lacking colour.
London Adventure, Fridaysoft,
UnitF, The Mattings, Station Rd,
Sawbridgeworth, Herts.
Scoop and The Amulet, Sentient
Software, Branch House, 18
Branch Rd, Armley, Leeds
LS12 3AO.
ZX COMPUTING DECEMBER/JANUARY 1985 61