THE BALROG
Welcome fellow Balg's to another exciting instalment of adventure gossip,
reviews, hints and tips. So untie that orc you were saving for lunch and get
reading the latest missive from the monstrous Balrog!
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Review
Treasure Island
£5 disc, CPM 2.2 & CPM +
The Adventure Workshop, 36 Grasmere Road, Royton, Oldham, Lancashire OL2 6SR.
Tel: (061) 652 7565
Treasure Island is based on the classic book by Robert Louis Stevenson with the
player acting the role of the cabin boy Jim Hawkins. The game is authentic to
the storyline of the book - you'll meet most of the characters (including the
Doctor, Squire and the infamous Long John Silver) and fans of the book will
feel right at home.
PAWed in two parts, Treasure Island was originally written on the Spectrum and
has been converted by Phil Reynolds, the head honcho at TAW.
Puzzles are mostly very well done although there are a couple of time related
puzzles that can be annoying to complete as the time allotted is very short -
one wrong move or mistype and you're dead!
Treasure Island has all the ingredients of a good game - plenty of atmosphere
(especially for adventurers who have read the original book), good puzzles that
aren't too difficult, some well-designed mazes and a large number of locations.
Well worth playing.
Atmosphere 72%
Atmospheric especially if you've read the original story
Interaction 72%
The parser works fine
Challenge 75%
Two parts and some tough puzzles means there's plenty to do
Overall 79%
Well written game - try it
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Contacting the Balg
To get in contact with the Balg, write to him at Amstrad Action, Future
Publishing Ltd, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, AVON BA1 2AP.
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News
Adventure Probe relaunched
Adventure Probe, recently thought finished after financial problems, has been
relaunched with a new editor Barbara Gibb. The Balg has seen the new edition of
Probe and it looks to still have the same quality and style as when Mandy was
in charge. Probe now costs £2.00 an issue and is available from 52 Burford
Road, Liverpool L16 6AQ.
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Clue Cauldron
This months clue cauldron is on Castle Master and is written by Edward
Fitzpatrick from Ellesmere - thanks Edward!
To kill the spirit in the 'Dragons Lair', which is the ultimate baddie, you
must first kill all the other spirits in the castle (there are twenty in all).
If you're stuck on trying to find the last few remaining spirits and have 9
keys, then you'll find the last key in the cavern beneath the hot baths. You
must activate the box in the cavern, this will then tip over and you will be
able to walk on top of it and get on top of the blue barrier next to it. Once
on the blue barrier, turn 90 degrees to the right, now walk along the barrier,
making sure you don't fall off it. Keep walking along it until you hit the wall
in front of you. Look straight up and you'll see a hole near the ceiling - this
is the key to the 'Spirits Abode'. Aim your sights on it, make sure you have
rock travel and then press fire and activate it. At first you may not get the
key but keep trying as you will eventually get it.
Get out of the caverns and go to the 'Guard Room', here is a door to the
'Spirits Abode' which you can now unlock. Kill the three spirits in there. You
should now have killed all twenty spirits and have ten keys collected, if you
still don't have all of them killed yet, then look for the one that is hidden
by the flag in the courtyard, shoot the flag and then shoot the spirit by it.
With all the spirits killed you can now go to the 'Dragons Lair'. Unlock the
door, once in here aim your sights on the dragons forehead and keep firing
until it is destroyed. Now a pathway is opened to a door on the left. Go
through it and you will be in 'Magister'. Activate the two boxes on the walls,
they will then disappear and the barrier blocking the door on the left will
also disappear. Go toward this door and activate the knob, the door will open,
go through it and you will have freed the captive.
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Cluepot
Thanks this month to Simon Avery, Nick Carter, Brendan "Legolas"
McGoldrick and Daniel Pooley for their adventurous hints and tips - if you have
any then please send them to the usual Balrog address.
Black Fountain - Part 2
Give the slimy creature the meat.
Say laughter to the sprite.
Charm snake with pendant.
Steam the mirror with the jug then wipe it with the cloak.
Give the fish to the men then dig.
Give the gold to the guard.
Show the mirror to the abhaldos.
How to be a Complete and Utter B******
Get the sheet and do ghost impressions (be sober).
Eat the compost.
Don't eat the frozen pizza or chicken.
Don't kill anyone with the chainsaw.
Watch the Sicko 3 video on TV.
Tie someone up with the hose (be drunk)
Place the rake on the ground (be sober)
Dig a hole with the shovel (be drunk)
Don't watch the dirty video
Don't read the dirty mag
Zap the furry pet in the microwave (be drunk)
Don't reset the computer
Stab somebody with the pen (be sober)
Place the tyre about somebody (be drunk)
Do big farts if the room is crowded
If you can only see one person, go next to them and do a little fart
Do not fart if you've eaten curry or coal
Do not open the umbrella
Smash furniture with the hammer.
Lord of the Rings (esp. for Gandalf the Grey)
Location of the elfstones: Tell Merry to climb into the silver lake (2
elfstones will be thrown at him)
Climb the climbable tree in the forest and get the elfstone.
Pippin gets two elfstones when he is trapped in the fissure.
Look in the flowerpot.
To use the elfstones say Elbereth.
Use the ring to get past the hobbit guard then follow Strider.
Panic Beneath the Sea
To get money from the bank you need to go to small wooden cabin, move table, open
trapdoor, down, get and search uniform. Get both cards. Use plastic card found
in your office then go to cash dispenser and get money.
Shadows of Mordor (esp. for Gandalf the Grey)
The skinny orc needs to be killed to get the fishing line.
Seabase Delta
Get magnet from speaker and the washing line from the kitchen. Then tie the
magnet to the line, get the key and unlock the hatch in the lift shaft. Drop
line, pull line, get the disc and insert it into the computer, push joystick,
pull joystick. The tiger missiles co-ordinates are degrees bearing 104,
elevation 199.
Smirking Horror
Fill cup with water and go outside. Wait till water turns to ice and throw ice
at Arthur.
Cut the bar with the boltcutters.
Wedge open elevator with the bar.
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Letters
Revenge wanted!
Could you tell me if Doomdark's Revenge is still available? I've just finished
Lords of Midnight and am itching to get my hands on the sequel.
Captain Faramir, Aradoria
Sorry Captain Faramir (?!), Doomdark's Revenge is no longer available. However
if any readers out there have a copy they want to sell then why not write in to
the usual Balrog address.
Fantasy found!
I have tracked down a mail order company that supplies one of the three
fighting fantasy games (Forest of Doom, Rebel Planet and Seas of Blood). Mark
Cocerdale asked where he could get them so here's his chance to pick up Rebel
Planet (the hardest of the three). The game costs £6.29 plus £1 p&p on
cassette and the company is called Anneva Leisure Ltd on 0890 3232.
Tony Hutchinson, Saltney
Thanks Tony!
Adventure Rebirth?
I'm writing to agree with your comments in AA79. The
8-bit adventuring market is undergoing a rebirth, but as we have Joan Pancott's WoW software and Debby Howards Adventure PD,
we have nothing to worry about. I've been investigating the world of 16-bit
adventuring, but if you strip away the flashy graphics and sound effects there
is no game left. Any 16-bit adventure worth playing is just as easy to play on
an 8-bit - most of the stuff was written on an 8-bit originally anyway.
Infocom, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls... We've seen them all on the old CPC
before. As soon as someone realises that flashy technical routines do not make
a game enjoyable then we 8-bitters will have as much backing from the
commercial adventure houses than the 16-bit adventures.
Thomas Christie, Grangemouth
You're right Thomas, many of the 16-bit games look very flashy but really have
no gameplay at all. The Amstrad is capable of some fantastic games - Suspect,
Lurking Horror and Lords of Chaos to name but three and it seems a shame that
software houses are turning away from the CPC. The major reason is that of
money - the companies can make a lot more money selling ST and Amiga games.
However as long as Wow, Adventure Workshop, FSF and the other companies stick
with the CPC the adventure scene will live on!
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Lords & Ladies of Adventure
Crystalius, Dizzy 1-4, Frankenstein, Grange Hill, Ground Zero, Imagination,
Knightmare, Necris Dome, Questprobe 3, Rigel's Revenge (part one), Seabase
Delta, Stormbringer & Spy Trek.
Avenger (send me your game - Balg), 16 Glasbury House, Ferndale Road, London
SW9 8AY.
Grange Hill & Knightmare.
Helen Yeo, 11 Lear Drive, Wistaston, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 8DP.
Colour of Magic (Part 1), Cricket Crazy (Part 1), Football Frenzy,
Grue-Knapped, Helvera, Hunchback, Scary Tales, Seabase Delta, Subsunk &
Terrormolinos.
Andy "Adman" Thelwell, 87 Elm Street, Cobridge, Stoke on Trent,
Staffs ST6 2HL. Tel: (0782) 827134 Sun-Fri between 4-7pm.
Avon, Forest at the Worlds End, Hollywood Hijinx, Kobyashi Nari, Morden's Quest
& Scapeghost.
Angela Allum, 22 Point Royal, Bracknell RG12 7HH.
Apache Gold, Atalan, Base, Bestiary, Black Knight, Boggit, Bored of the Rings,
Castle Blackstar, Castle of the Skull Lord, City for Ransom, Classic Adventure,
Colour of Magic, Cursed Be the City, Dodgy Geezers, Dracula, DAA, Escape from
Koshima, Espionage Island, Fantasia Diamond, 4th Protocol, Gremlins,
Grue-Knapped, Guild of Thieves, Heavy on the Magick, Helvera, Hobbit,
Hunchback, Imagination, Inca Curse, Island, Jinxter, Kentilla, Kobyashi Naru,
Mindfighter, Mindshadow, Mordon's Quest, Mountains of Ket, Mystery of the Indus
Valley, Necris Dome, Never Ending Story, Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less,
Nova, Panic Beneath the Sea, Pawn, Planet of Death, Project Annihilation,
Project Volcano, QOR, Quest for the Golden Eggcup, Questprobe 3, Rigel's
Revenge, Robocide, Scary Tales, Seabase Delta, Seas of Blood, Smashed,
Smuggler's Cove, Souls of Darkon, Spiro Legacy, Spytrek, Star Wreck, Subsunk,
Sydney Affair, Terrormolinos, Test, Top Secret, Vera Cruz Affair, Very Big Cave
Adventure, Village of Lost Souls & most Topologika, some Infocom, ALL Level
9, Interceptor and WoW games!
Joan Pancott HPilg, 78 Radipole Lane, Weymouth, Dorset
DT4 9RS. Tel: (0305) 784155 Any day - 1pm to 10pm.
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Help!
Stuck in an adventure? Or desperately trying to find one - the helpline is the
place for you! Just send a postcard to Balrog's Helpline at the usual Balrog
address.
Carolyn needs help in Wizbiz to wake up the dragon. Can anyone help?
How do you avoid being shot by the assassin in the Big Sleaze?
Shane O'Sullivan, Woodley House, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dublin 14.
In Imagination how do you open the tin of paint?
Laurence Boyce, 24 Croft House Road, Morley, Leeds LS27 8PB.
Wanted maps for Bloodwych or help for getting past the red gate on level 1.
Andrew Stevenson, 8 Inverleith Avenue South, Edinburgh EH3 5QA.
How do you get the office key from Prigarl in the game Detective?
Benjamin Lomax, 8 Norwich Drive, Bury, Lancashire BL8 1BE.