Dark Lore

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 4/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 4/5

Overall Value 4/5

Bill Davies

Bob Chappell

Geof Wheelwight

Jim Ballard

Mike Gerrard

Simon Williams

PCN MICROPAEDIA VOL 21 PART 2 GAMES GALORE PCN stacks up the best games on the block for Spectrum Dragon Atari BBC As promised in our last issue, here is the second part of the games Micropaedia. If you didn't find something to suit your taste last week you'll probably have more luck this time around. The featured micros are the Spectrum, BBC Micro B, Dragon 32 and Atari. On the following 2 pages we present a selection for the Sinclair Spectrum - both for 16K and 48K machines. NAME: Dark Lore SYSTEM: 48K Spectrum PRICE: £6.95 PUBLISHER: 8th Day Software, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Basic OTHER VERSIONS: ZX-81 OUTLETS: Mail order Dark Lore is your good old-fashioned traditional text adventure: no pictures, no prizes, just the simple task of finding the long-lost Sacred Talisman of Yurach by searching through the game's locations. There are over 100 of these, each described fairly vividly at the top of the screen. Once the title screen has disappeared you're straight into the game with no instructions other than a few on the cassette cover about abbreviated inputs. 'You are outside a small cave at the top of a high mountain. A steep path drops to the north, and a ravine drops to the west. What next?' With my map on the table I set off on a straight northward path through a green valley towards a forest, only to be devoured by insects before I'd got going. Fortunately reincarnation is instant. In another direction you pass through grassy plains to reach a desert where. If you don't get lost, you might stumble across an ants' nest. If you could only get past the massive red ant blocking your path you could perhaps find something useful. Experienced adventurers will know that the way to many creatures' hearts is through their stomach so off you set to try to find something sweet and edible. If you don't already have it with you. The next problem is dealing with a rather superior wizard, who scarcely acknowledges your presence (nor my presents, come to think of it). If you do progress, the game opens up into encounters with pirates and bird-men, and what secret could a gargoyle hold? For those who get really stuck a help-sheet is available if you write off for it. This is an enjoyable no-frills adventure, with tasks that tax the ingenuity, and it should keep most people puzzling well beyond the Eighth Day. Micropaedia Editor: Geof Wheelwright Design: Paul Clarkson Contributors: Jim Ballard, Bob Chappell, Bill Davies, Mike Gerrard and Simon Williams NEXT WEEK We begin a five-part series of detailed graphics techniques for the BBC Micro, the Acorn Electron, the Oric Atmos, the Oric-1, the Atari series of home computers, the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair Spectrum.