The Balrogs keyboard has positively been steaming in the past month as the Balg has been playing not one, not two but TWELVE adventures! Yes, in the past four weeks I have explored the outermost reaches of the galaxy, visited Death himself, explored Shades, found something nice for my bedside table and saved the world at least twice! All will soon become clear...
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News
Golly Gosh!
Those cheerful chummies, the famous five, should soon be making an appearance in an adventure complete with Timmy the dog. 'Five on a Treasure Island' is to be converted to the CPC from the Sam Coupe and should be absolutely scrumptious! For more details write to the makers, Enigma Variations, at 13 North Park Road, Harrogate HG1 5PD.
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Reviews
Title: A Beginners Guide to Adventures
Author: Dave Harvard
Publisher: Atlas Adventure Software, 67 Lloyd Street, Llandudno, Gwynedd LL30
2YP.
Price: £3
'A Beginners Guide to Adventures' is designed as an introduction to computer adventuring.
It covers many aspects which may confuse the novice adventurer, and bridges
some of the gaps in understanding how they work.
Published by Mandy Rodrigues HBalg, editor of Adventure Probe, and written by a
Lord of Adventure, Dave Harvard, the guide is a great idea - adventure games
can be, at times, very unfriendly for the beginner - giving the impression of
being boring, complicated and difficult when they're not!
The book covers a broad range of adventuring subjects although loading problems
are not mentioned - Dave has planned a separate book especially for this
subject (luckily the CPC is rarely afflicted by loading problems unlike its
8-bit cousins). Apart from the purposeful omission of loading problems nothing
seems to be missing - the guide covers subjects such as mapping, mazes,
different types of adventure, synonyms (very useful) and the sort of problems
to solve.
Half of the guides fifty pages are taken up by a step by step journey through
an adventure called 'The Golden Apple' (by Arctic) with added notes and maps.
It is a shame that Dave chose to cover an adventure that is not available on
the Amstrad in his example but it doesn't make any difference - you learn from
the example game how to play an adventure and understand its responses.
A very well written book which is an invaluable aid to anyone who has just
started playing adventure games or is interested in them. It takes you from
being a novice, through intermediate, and into experienced level.
Simply Magic
£2.25 tape, £4.25 disc
WoW Software, 78 Radipole Lane, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9RS. Tel: (0305) 784155
'In a bygone age shrouded in the mists of time dwelt a Master Magician by the
name of Merzel the Magnificent. Not being a young man, he sought to find a
successor to his power. A series of tests were devised for those who thought
themselves worthy of his title. Beneath his castle, Merzel has many strange
rooms and a labyrinth (which has only two locations! - Balg) and it is there
you shall meet the challenge...'
Simply Magic is a GACed game written by Michael and Jane Trewhella. It isn't
your usual adventure - the location descriptions are even shorter than an
Interceptor game but each location has a picture to go with it - some of which
are very good.
Whilst playing the adventure you are occasionally visited by the Angel of Death
(another good graphic) who drains some of your valuable energy. Don't worry
though as energy pills randomly appear while you play.
**********************************************************************
* Screenshot from Simply Magic *
**********************************************************************
Simply Magic is a game you'll either love or hate - it can be very frustrating
at times. It is incredibly difficult to map - more often than not, if you go
south from a location and then go back north immediately you will not return to
the same location! If you go south twice from the 'Room of Wishes' you'll end
up back at the 'Room of Wishes'! What is most annoying however, is that some of
the rooms in the game seem to have a random function built in - rooms seem to
move around and you can never really tell what the next room will be from them.
Perhaps this is to add to the highly magical atmosphere but to be honest it's a
real pain when playing and trying to make a map!
The puzzles in the game are also different to a 'normal' adventure - each room
has a description such as 'Room of Wisdom', 'Room of Bewilderment' or 'Room of
Unhappiness' in which certain actions (such as crying in the 'Room of Unhappiness')
are needed to illicit a useful response. The game is logical in a warped sort
of way - you need to give the pearl to the old man in the Room of Wisdom (Pearl
of wisdom you see), tie a knot in a handkerchief to avoid falling prey to the
'Room of Forgetfulness' etc. An ingenious idea, this form of puzzle works well
but is certainly an acquired taste.
To be honest, Simply Magic would be a poor game without the graphics and it is
a shame that Joan has chosen to release this game before the others. However,
it is difficult to criticize - it's been playtested by Joan and is flawless in
this respect. Worth buying but don't expect it to be easy!
Atmosphere 44%
Interaction 56%
Challenge 67%
Overall 45%
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Separate Box
Joan Pancott HPilg is an amazing person, not only has
she been running a helpline for over five years, aiding over eight thousand
callers with their problems, she has now set created WoW Software to provide
Amstrad users (especially the oft forgotten 464 owners) with software.
Simply Magic is Joan's first game from an impressive catalogue of titles soon
to be released.
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PD Galore!
More and more public domain adventures are being released on the CPC and it's
no bad thing - they're cheap, easy to obtain and good fun, although a lot are
of poor quality (as is the case with a lot of PD software), every now and then
you find the odd jewel of an adventure. The Balrog was pleasantly surprised by
the quality of a lot of the PD games - many, although not state of the art, are
enjoyable to play and are well written.
======================================================================
Adventure PD Libraries
Scull PD
Although not a strict adventure library, Alan Scully certainly has quite a
few adventures (mostly written by Simon Avery!). To order some PD software from
Alan send him some blank discs and a pound for each PD Disc you want (ie if you
want Adventure Disc 1 & 2 then send him a blank disc and £2.)
For a 'concise stock list' and order form send an SSAE to Alan at ***ADDRESS
REMOVED AT ALANS REQUEST***. Send a disc and an SSAE for the free
'stock-list-disc-magazine' which always contains one or two free programs
(currently an adventure and a demo).
Amstrad Adventure PD
This library is newly formed and only stocks PD adventures! It's run by a
Lady of Adventure and UAUG Adventure Columnist, Debby Howard. Debby has
developed the library into a club - as well as providing software, she also
offers a helpline, solution list, reviews and, like Scull PD, has an
interactive electronic magazine. The price per selection is the same as Scull
(ie £1 ) which will take up one side of a disc.
Please don't forget to enclose a jiffy bag, self - addressed, and enough
postage to cover the cost of sending it back to you. For more details send an
SSAE to Adventure PD, 10 Overton Road, Abbey Wood, London, SE2 9SD.
Data PD
Only very recently set up by Tony Kingsmill, Data PD has only a small
collection of adventures at the moment but it caters for cassette as well as
disc users. Cost is one pence per K - for more details write to Data PD Library
at 202 Park Street Lane, Park Street, St. Albans, Herts AL2 2AQ.
WACCI
Has a few adventure PD titles, although a little expensive compared to the
other libraries, they offer very good service. WACCI also produces a good
fanzine. More details can be obtained from WACCI UK at 9 South Close,
Twickenham TW2 5JE. Tel: (081) 898 1090.
The above libraries are good places to start looking for PD adventures but most
of the other libraries have the odd adventure as well. (Check out Caroline
Lamb's 'Where to go' this issue.)
If you run or know of a PD library that has some good adventures then write in
and tell me and I'll mention them in next months Balrog column.
======================================================================
PD Disc 15 - Adventure Disc 1
Scull PD
PD Disc 15 contains two adventures and one role-playing game:-
'Can I Cheat Death?' is the first in a trilogy of 'adult' adventures by Simon
Avery. The story is this: At a visit to the fortune-teller Madame X, you are
told that 'you do not have much longer on this world, even as now, the sands of
time are running out and Death sits in his house sharpening his scythe ready to
collect your soul'. But, you do have one chance, to 'substitute your life glass
with something with more sand in it' and travel through the strange land to
confront Death. The adventure is a little risque in some parts so Simon has
given it the 16+ certificate.
Blue Raider is a two part adventure by Matthew Roberts. You play the part of
Kiloon - The Blue Raider - and you are under the command of Queen Kimbra. She
has had most of her land taken over by the Kraags, an evil race of hideous
creatures seeking total domination. As part of the Queen's elite you have been
assigned a small island, about 80 miles of the mainland that you must reclaim
by killing Arriel. He is not a well known soap powder but is in fact the Kraag
currently ruling the island in the castle to the north. In order to do this you
must seek Quillan, a wizard who backs the rebellion, and he can help you. The
Kraags are a powerful lot so you will need magical weapons to defeat Arriel.
Blue Raider is written in BASIC - one of the worst languages to write an
adventure in but is actually alright with a good combat sequence.
Raider - You are a young warrior, wanting to prove yourself. You decide to
embark on a dangerous trip into the lands of Arlane, where many a brave soul
has perished!
You ignore the warnings of the village elders and pleadings from your family
and stride out across the cold, unforgiving wilderness...
Raider is a role playing game in which you can play up to four people at once
or even play with three friends. You can explore both above and below the
mythical land of Arlane searching for four pieces of treasure needed to
complete the game. Included with the game are character designers, map makers
and a character editor so that you can make your own games. Raider would be an
OK game if it wasn't for the speed it runs at - it is so S L O W ! . . .
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* Show Screenshot of 'Raider' *
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-
PD Disc 38
Scull PD
Classic Adventure
Wacci
As mentioned by Caroline Lamb in the AA62 'Free For All', Classic Adventure is
just that; a classic adventure. A CP/M text-only game, it is based on the very
first adventure game ever written, by William Crowther and Don Woods on a
mainframe computer, this faithful copy by Jay Jaegar is more than 100K in size!
You start inside a well house and must explore the area and collect various
treasures hidden in the caves beneath the ground. As Classic was the first
adventure you'll see puzzles such as dropping the bird to attack the snake,
uttering magic words to teleport and watering a plant to make a beanstalk which
have been used in many adventures since - but remember, they were here first!
Many software houses have produced versions of Classic Adventure (such as
Melbourne House, Amsoft & Level 9) on the CPC and this is your chance to
play it for free. An added bonus is that all the room descriptions and messages
are held in ASCII files and so they can be loaded into a word processor and
modified. A historic game that is a worthy addition to the adventurers
collection.
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* Show Screenshot of 'Classic Adventure' *
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-
AMS 3
Adventure PD
Shades - Written by Phil Craven using ADLAN, this is not exactly an adventure,
more a look around the world of SHADES, which is a Multi-user Game (MUG) only
accessible via a modem. Unfortunately it is not a very good example of a MUG as
the location descriptions are nearly all one line (with no exits mentioned so
you have to experiment typing N, E etc at each location), there are no mobiles
and no NPC's. Even adding atmospheric messages such as 'Ludwig has entered the
game' or 'Lorry appears in a flash of smoke' would add to the look around. Phil
will be adding to 'Shades' so hopefully some of these recommendations will be
implemented.
Masters of Mid-World - Written by Steve Anderson way back in 1986, Masters is
set in the land of the Mid-World which has recently been invaded by the forces
of darkness and is ruled in fear by the evil wizard king Elfric. The secret to
Mid-World's freedom lies in the magic goblet which has the power to banish all
evil. Only the mysterious Druids have the wisdom to use the goblet correctly.
Like Blue Raider, Masters is written in Basic, and it shows! The game has a
very small parser and poor graphics. Nothing to write home about.
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* Show Screenshot of 'Masters of Mid-World' *
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Blue Raider - See Scull's Adventure Disc 1.
-
PD Disc 19 - Adventure Disc 2
Scull PD
All the adventures on this disc are written by Simon Avery:-
Adult II - After your recent fame at cheating death (See adventure disc 1
review), your live-in girl-friend complained that you were becoming big-headed
and quite unreasonably locks you out one night. You feel sure that if you can
get back into her house, you can win her over with your irresistible charms.
Your quest, therefore, is to find her house (alcohol has dimmed your mind), the
keys, and get inside. A nice little game but it is definitely for the 16+ and
may be offensive to some people. Well put together and humorously written,
Simon has been compared to Richard (Dungeons Amethysts Alchemists n Everything,
The Orifice from Outer Space) Robinson in his adventure writing style - he
certainly can write funny well structured adventures if he puts his mind to it.
Doomlords - Your name is Golovin, a fierce and noble warrior whose honesty has
earned you a enviable reputation. At least that's what you said at your trial!
You see you were accused of looking at the chiefs young daughter... And found
guilty. The chief himself passed sentence on you and has given you a choice -
Either you go and find his daughter, who went missing after your alleged crime,
or be tied to a spit and roasted over a large fire.
Now at times like this, you look to your friends for help. Unfortunately for
Golovin, his friends could be counted on Lefty Mahonies right hand. Still, for
once in your life, you decide to opt for the hard choice.
So, you, Golovin, set off the find a certain young lady. Doomlords is a three
part Quilled adventure which shows that Simon can write 'serious' good games as
well as writing humorous 'adult' titles. Doomlords is easy, so is ideal for the
beginner adventurer especially as it is so cheap to obtain.
Firestone - You have been chosen to save the World - how you go about this is a
little unclear but it involves finding the legendary firestone. During your
travels you must kill the Svart king, feed the odd rock goblin and cross
dangerous chasms. A good, easy to complete game, again ideal for the beginner.
Logical puzzles and well written but it has a bit of an anticlimax ending.
Spaced-out - You are Ed Ringer, ex-Space governmental spy. After selling some
interspatial secrets, your bosses take offence and sentence you to death. By
some miracle, you escape, and board a shuttle to the moon. At the lunar
terminus, you are jumped by two agents and once again manage to escape. In your
rush, you jump in the first buggy you see and drive off into the lunar plains.
The buggy runs out of power four hundred kilometres out. Fortunately, you grind
to a halt by a deserted base station... Your task is to escape from your
pursuers... A small adventure (it only has 39 locations) but good fun. Once
again, it is easy to solve.
Welladay - A rather strange adventure - The thing is, your bedside table seems
to be missing something and you can't sleep until you find something nice to
sit upon it! No-one could ever called that an unoriginal storyline!
#####################################################################
Well, that's all we have time for this month, but next month the Balrog will
continue his delve into the PD libraries.
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Clue Sniffing
Thanks this month go to Joan Pancott, Dave Harvard, Stuart Whyte, Hazis
Dolgizas, Alistair Crook, Simon Netherwood, Jim Struthers, Howard Swains and
Ian Howlett. Special thanks go to David Campbell for his map of Subsunk.
Bored of the Rings - Part 2
Look under the mat to find the hidden treasure.
Buy the map it can be useful if you read it in the correct way !?!
Escape from Koshima
From the hospital N, Wx2, Sx4, W, S, throw meat to dogs, examine Airman,
get lighter, Ex4, S, get stick, Wx3, N, W, N, W, Nx2, examine Aircraft, fill
lighter, N, Ex2, N, get piece of wood, E to the pool.
Fantasia Diamond
Ask Boris to shoot guardian.
Send Boris back on the boat first.
To get rid of unwanted followers, open the cell door. When they all walk
inside, close it!
Corruption
At 2:44 if you are alone (in the car park) you get an attack from the
cleaning woman who finally turned out to be a man! Also avoid going out
(wherever you are) between 2:30 - 3:00 or you'll have to pay another visit to
the Hospital. Many dangers await you in every corner of the city...
Get in your car around noon, put the key in the ignition then turn it if you'd
like to see an explosion of your BMW. But get out quickly because if you don't
you'll be instantly killed.
Heavy
on the Magick
One of the keys found in methos unlocks the door in the room of horns.
The talisman for Astarot is the sword.
The talisman for Magot is the sunflower.
The talisman for Belezbar is the mantis.
When invoking a demon, put the talisman by an exit or wall and go to the other
side of the room.
The jar in the chest passed the fire in the sothic complex is a hemlock.
The heads in methos are smeared in poison and the might be needed in the
kitchen of ai to call him so make sure you have a lot of stamina!
Price of Magik
Carry the sprig of wolfsbane to avoid being attacked by the werewolf.
Bury the skull, knucklebone and bones in the crypt with the shovel.
Quest for the Golden Egg-cup
Drop beans, golden egg in the fountain hole.
Give the beans to the guard.
Examine the altar.
Search the straw to find something.
Catch the bird and put it in the cage it is very useful.
Be careful with the wand or it will be stolen from you!
Red Moon
Examine the bushes by the lake, put the handle in the hole then turn the
handle.
Erase the line in the Red Room.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! Map of Subsunk !
! by David Campbell !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zork
III
Touch table to go to room displayed.
Wear Grue Repellent to get through darkness.
Think of the maze as a sliding puzzle.
Say "Hello Sailor" to sailor to get vial of invisibilty. (Used to get
past guardian)
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Lords & Ladies of Adventure
Atalan, Bored of the Rings, DAA n Everything, Emerald Isle, Fantasia
Diamond, Forest at World's End, Gremlins, Heroes of Karn, Inca Curse, Jewels of
Babylon, Message from Andromeda, Mindshadow, Mordon's Quest, Never Ending
Story, Planet of Death, Red Moon, Seabase Delta, Subsunk, Test & Trial of
Arnold Blackwood.
Bob Adams, 81 Uplands, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL8 7E8.
All Infocom games.
The Grue, 64 Country Road, Ormskirk, West Lancashire L39 1QH. Tel between
7.30pm and 9pm Mondays to Fridays 0695 573141.
Colour of Magic, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Nightmare, Quest for the Golden
Egg-cup, Shadows of Mordor, Times of Lore, Werewolf Simulator & Wizard
Warz.
Douglas Thompson, 14 Cosgrove Close, Peterborough PE3 7JN.
Apache Gold, Boggit, Dodgy Geezers, Doomdark's Revenge, Heroes of Karn, Knight
Tyme, Kobyashi Naru, Message from Andromeda, Questprobe, Ship of Doom, Spytrek,
Terrormolinos, Never Ending Story, Warlord & Wizbiz.
Paul & Timothy Stitt, 7 Beaufort Avenue, Beechill Road, Newtownbreda,
Belfast BT8 4TY Northern Ireland.