Avalon

Sinclair User

Billed as the first computermovie, Avalon sends apprentice magician Maroc on an underground quest for ancient wizardly power. It combines a novel graphics system with adventure elements to create a powerfully addictive quest. The sequel, Dragontorc, broadens the action to various parts of Arthurian Britain and introduces more characters - elves, skeletons and the like which may help or hinder. Doors visibly swing open, fireballs buzz through the air, and strange runes may be gathered to give access to new areas. The games are made by the energy-based spell system which gives depth to an enthralling epic.

ZX Computing

Greg Turnbull

Hewson Consultants Ltd 48K Spectrum Price £17.95 Avalon is a superb new 3-D graphical adventure program for the Spectrum. The screen displays are incredible; it's amazing what can be achieved on a Spectrum when programmers exert themselves, and this game is easily on a par with many Atari programs. The format is reminiscent of Atic Atac or Sabrewulf, but involves many adventure elements as well. The 3-D effect is one of the best around, however, it still isn't totally convincing. The sprite movement of characters around the screen is quite smooth; making it fun just to travel round the various rooms watching the action. A joystick is a big help as moving through doors can be tricky for the inexperienced. There are numerous characters to meet and problems to be solved; however, overall the style is far more arcade-game than adventure. Instead of a score option you have stages and ranks to ascend as your skill progresses. As you have assumed the role of Maroc the magician there are various spells to collect on your journey, e.g: "unseen", "energise", "missile", "flame" and "servant" (who can help you collect objects, etc,). Mapping is possible by pausing the game at suitable locations and SAVE/LOAD 'old' game is supported. Your quest is to travel through the eight levels and finally to banish the Lords of Chaos from the isle of Glass. There are numerous rooms to explore and objects to locate; but selecting and activating spells can be difficult, especially if you're being chased by enemies at the time. This makes the game hard to play at first, however, it's well worth persevering with it. Presumably it will appeal most to those people whose manual skills allow them to beat 'Atic Atac' with ease, and who are looking for something more challenging. Hopefully this trend in advanced graphics and player interaction will continue in other similar programs. It certainly seems to point the way for the future trend in adventures. Overall a superb game whose merits cannot be too highly praised.

Micro Adventurer

Chris Jenkins

ARCADE ADVENTURES Chris Jenkins looks at some of the more adventurous examples of the marriage of Arcade and Adventure. The software of the future combines the best aspects of adventure games strategy, the requirement for mental agility and complexity of plot - with the best of arcade games - brilliant graphics, sophisticated programming techniques and exciting action. These arcade adventures, or Aardvarks as I insist on calling them to the disgust of my colleagues, are in my opinion a genre which will come to dominate the market, as pure adventurers become bored with repetitive text-only programs, and arcade players come to demand something more sophisticated than mindless shoot-'em-ups. So how do you go about conquering the world of Aardvarks? First, go out and buy a joystick. I know, the very thought will fill some of you with disgust, but grit your teeth and get a bog-standard stick (no need for optional laser sighting attachment and self-locking neutrino ranging circuits) plus the interface necessary for your Spectrum, BBC or whatever. Next, check out the market carefully. Not everything described as an "arcade adventure" turns out to fulfill the requirements I've outlined. Manic Miner, for instance, could be described as an arcade adventure, but in fact requires no more than infinite patience and precise reactions to play. The best games require more strategic thought, and reading the blurb on the pack should give you some idea of the content. For some reason true Aardvarks usually seem to come in mega-packages with 150-page full-colour leaflets, badges, a club magazine, a scarf, three posters and a plastic goldfish. I exaggerate of course. For Spectrum owners, an excellent starter is SabreWulf from Ultimate. Like many adventures, SabreWulf is supplied with the minimum of instructions. All you know is that you mug collect four amulets and combine them to be able to pass through a mystic portal. The play area is a jungle maze of enormous complexity. Several games magazines have published SabreWulf maps, which are very helpful. As in an adventure game, you'll find on your journey through the maze that you pass potentially useful objects such as treasure, food, weapons and potions. Your character will automatically pick these up on passing over them, but there are also dangers such as various monsters, poisonous orchids and the eponymous Wulf, which you must avoid. For a game requiring more in the way of pure strategy, you should look at KnightLore, again from Ultimate for the Spectrum. This one features an intrepid explorer afflicted by lycanthropy. You have forty days and nights to find the secret of the Wizard's magic potion before you become a werewulf forever... The transformation scenes, in which you involuntarily change shape, are brilliantly handled, as are the animated monsters and obstacles. Each of the 128 3-D screens is packed with details; moving stone blocks, treasures, potions, portcullises and the like. The trick here is to approach the mysteries of each chamber imaginatively - for instance, if you can't reach a desired object KnightLore by jumping, can you stand on one of the other objects to reach it, or move it to a new position? Split second timing is vital, as is attention to the clock. Should you transform into a werewulf in the middle of a difficult routine you'll meet a sticky end, either from guardian monsters or from automatic traps. At the risk of making it sound as if only Ultimate produces good Aardvarks for the Spectrum, another goodie is Underwurlde. This has nearly 600 screens on a grid 52 deep by 16 wide, representing a selection of furnished rooms and mysterious caverns. To win you must find four randomly-placed weapons and destroy the guardians of Underwurlde. You can run and jump around the caverns and ledges, but must beware of various monsters and natural hazards. Blue gems will make you invulnerable for a limited time. Underwurlde doesn't feature as many strategic elements as Knight Lore, and is perhaps more of a joystick basher. For a little variation, let's look at the CBM64. Virgin's Sorcerer is a fast-moving Aardvark which features a flying wizard, who has to collect various magic objects in order to reach a confrontation with the evil Necromancer without falling victim to ghosts and goblins. The game looked very impressive when it appeared, but the Commodore version pales into insignificance besides the magnificent Amstrad CPC 464 version. This implementation of Sorcerer features stunningly sharp, colourful graphics, and a truly infuriating and fascinating plot. Six good wizards are trapped in the game's forty screens. Your wizard must fly around the castles and dungeons of the magic land, picking up useful objects by passing over them, and fighting off the baddies to liberate the six captives. Only then can you progress to the show-down. The objects scattered around the screens each have a specific task. Swords and clubs are for killing land-based enemies. Shooting stars and spells kill the airborne Demons, and Sorcerer's Moons, Scrolls and Bottles open various doors. Any contact with the enemy depletes your energy, though you can refuel by landing on a cauldron. But beware! If you try to refuel while carrying certain objects, you will lose energy. The game starts randomly from one of five locations, and it's essential to make a map and keep notes of which objects open which doors. Altogether this is certainly the best game yet for the Amstrad, and possibly the greatest arcade adventure I've seen. In many ways it's similar to Hewson's Avalon for the Spectrum, which again features a flying mage. This time you are armed with a selection of spells, selected using the joystick controls, which allow you to move around the 200-room Kingdom of Avalon in your quest to destroy the Lord of Chaos. Some doors are locked until you find a key, some are invisible until you cast the right spell. Sprites can be enslaved using a SERVANT spell, and made to work for you. Avalon is so complex that like many adventures it has a SAVE facility. It's one of the most Aardvark-like of Aardvarks, combining adventure and arcade features remarkably well. For the BBC, you could do worse than investigate MicroPower's Castle Quest. The scenario is similar to that of many an adventure - finding the wizard's treasure which is hidden somewhere inside the castle. To do this you must determine the correct use of the many objects found on the platforms and corridors of the castle. To give you some idea of the adventure-like nature of the problems you're set, if you are captured by the guards at one stage you are thrown into jail. To escape you must pick up a stool, leap into the air and throw the stool at a torch, pick up the stool and place it near the door, pick up the torch and use it to set fire to the bed, leap onto the stool then onto a ledge over the door, wait for the guard to rush in and leap down behind him, then through the door! It makes getting out of the goblin's dungeon look like a piece of cake. Back to the CBM 64 for Impossible Mission, a disc game from CBS. Again this takes a good deal of co-ordination as you control the brilliantly-animated figure of a secret agent, leaping from level to level in a complex of underground rooms. The object is to examine the items of furniture and computer equipment in the complex in order to discover hidden computer codes. These let you log onto security terminals so that you can disable the lethal guard robots or reset the elevators in each screen. The password for the final control room is in several pieces, which have to be assembled correctly to gain access. You have a pocket computer to help you, and can also call up your HQ computer at the cost of a time penalty. Impossible Mission features bloodcurdling software-generated speech and excellent sound effects. It's perhaps more of a logic puzzle than a strategy game, but should interest many adventure fans with a quick trigger finger. Finally it's worth looking at some more Spectrum games, since the Spectrum is still the first machine many Aardvarks are designed for. Microgen's Wally series veers towards the arcade rather than the adventure side, but is good nonetheless. Automania, Pyjamarama and the forthcoming Life of Wally are described as "graphical adventures", in which the usual arcade jumping-and-ducking idea takes on a new depth. Automania is almost entirely an arcade game, Pyjamarama has more of a quest element in the saga of the sleeping Wally searching his house for an alarm clock to wake him from his nightmare, and Life of Wally reputedly features several characters any of which can be controlled at any time like a more conventional adventure such as Lords of Midnight. Ocean's Gift From The Gods also features a combination of animated graphics and a quest element, following the ordeal of Orestes in the labyrinth of Mycenae. Hidden in the chambers are sixteen geometric shapes which, when placed in the right order in the Guardian's chamber, reveal the exit. Various creatures sap your strength, which can be replenished with streams of water. Orestes' sister Electra will help him to choose the correct objects if she's around, but the evil Clytaemnestra will confuse the issue. Gargoyle's Tir Na Nog winds up this brief look at the wonderful world of Aardvarks. Described as a "computer movie", it features convincing animation set in a world of Celtic myth. The design of the scrolling backgrounds is very rich and detailed. The hero Cuchulainn must traverse a series of interlinked paths. As is traditional, the quest involves finding and assembling the parts of a broken artefact, in this case a seal, while fighting off the baddies which include the ape-like Sidhe. There are some 150 objects which can be picked up and used. This concludes our brief look at the private life of the Aardvark. Die-hard adventurers will I'm sure curl their lips with, contempt at the idea of it all, but try to be a little flexible. The most sophisticated programs now being produced fall into this category, and you'll soon be finding that skill with a joystick has become as indispensable to the adventure games player as a working knowledge of Elvish.

Avalon - the Wizard beset by Undead

KnightLore

Sorceror - the Magus attacked by the Evil Eye

Tir Na Nog

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 9/10

John Gilbert 9/10

SOFTWARE SCENE While some software houses are taking the Spectrum to its limits and beyond others doggedly continue to churn out ever more diabolical pieces of programmed junk. John Gilbert present a personal pick of the bunch, and Chris Bourne take an irreverent look at the dwindling ZX-81 software scene. Their talents are combinedd in listing the Top Ten Turkeys of 1984. Let the reader be warned. SPECTRUM SOFTWARE A cynic may argue that development within the software market in 1984 was non-existent. The same type of game appeared as those which took the lead in 1983, the most popular being of the arcade variety. The programs were written in the same style and to please the same type of customers. That is only a superficial view, however, and if you look at the games market as a whole, dividing it up into sectors such as strategy, arcade and adventure, you will see that substantial and sophisticated changes have taken place. Despite what some pundits have said you will find that the world of computer games is still buzzing with life. AVALON £7.95 Hewson In the autumn of 1984 Hewson brought out Avalon, another step forward in 3D graphics. The game casts you in the role of a mage who has to defeat an evil warlock. In order to do that the mage must negotiate the terrors of the warlock's underground caverns, going deep into the bowels of the earth. The mage must discover treasure, fight monsters and gain spells which will ultimately defeat the warlock. The plot sounds, and is, mundane and is on the same level as other Dungeons and Dragons games or even Atic Atac. The graphics are, however, something special. All objects are displayed in 3D, the mage can rotate and float around the scenes and doors open outwards in perspective. Hewson called it an adventure movie when it was first launched. The graphics may not be that spectacular but they are very close.

Big K

Steve Keaton

AVALON: NICE GAME Is Hewson Consultants' Avalon difficult? Put it this way: it takes Steve Turner 20 hours to finish — and he WROTE it! Our Man Keaton extracts keyboard from stone, dons rusty green armour, and sets to... AVALON (Hewson Consultants) 48K Spectrum £7.95 Frankly, I'm not one for subtle colour. For me an adventure must REEK of atmosphere before I'll give it the time of day. Unfortunately this predilection for gratuitous padding often obscures the all important art of puzzle solving. Dragons can be slain and demons exorcised but heavy atmosphere will fog the nog every time, Look at Avalon the deliciously animated mega-quest from Hewson Consultants. I've become so entranced in its authentic gloom that I'm quite unable to make any headway! Once in, just wander aimlessly through the cobwebs and play hide 'n' seek with the goblin guards! The thing has me spellbound. Set in the afterglow of the Roman Empire, it tells of the eldritch confrontation between Maroc and Mage and his dread nemesis, the dark Lord of Chaos. As you might suspect, your task is to guide Maroc toward this climactic battle with the shadowy one, negotiating over two hundred rooms on eight levels in the process. Quite a task when you realise that entrance is gained to a room only after an impressive head-butt to the appropriate door. Something of an adventure innovation from creator Steve Turner. "I'd originally planned to write Avalon years ago," Steve tells me, "but no one was interested in the storyboard because 3D games were the in-thing. I think that if I'd gone ahead with it then I might well have become a millionaire, because that was about time animated programs suddenly took off! I'd always thought that a game which combined the scope and puzzle solving element of adventures with arcade style movement would be somethin' else to play!" He was right. But it also proved something else to write. An unexpected nine months, in fact. Still, the result is both engrossing and fiendishly difficult. Indeed rumour has it that even certain head honchos from Hewson are unable to progress beyond the first Gatehouse level! Can it be possible that Avalon is just TOO complex for us ordinary mortals? "No, I don't think so!" he declares cheerfully. "Standard text adventures are probably more complex! I guess it's possible that some people will buy it just as an arcade game and they might well have problems on the final levels. Y'see, there are four objects down there which must be used in sequence to create another object which you'll need to complete the adventure. But the first couple of levels hardly contain any problems at all! They're only there to introduce people to the style of movement. To enable them to get used to the joystick. It gradually gets more complex the deeper you go." IRON HEAD He ain't kiddin'! In fact, I rather think that we can take Steve's dismissive attitude with a pinch of salt - as he admits (when pressed) that Avalon still takes him around TWENTY hours to complete! And he wrote it! The thing is tough. No question. "I spent a lot of time researching the game," he explain& "All the place names are real and even the artifacts are genuine. The iron head on Maroc's staff actually exists in the British Museum. Go along and see it! I've tried to make the game so deep that even after maps are published and help given there will still be plenty of things for people to enjoy. I wonder how long it will take people to kill the spider in The Caverns of Doom! He can he killed, you know! I think that adventurers will like the way the puzzles take off in the last few levels. The arcade element is still there but it's not so important as Maroc has become powerful enough to trash everything in sight. I still enjoy playing it, more than anything else I've done." Apparently Maroc is already slated for a sequel in '85. His next adventure will be above ground and will involve a search for the legendary seven crowns of England. Should be good.

Steve Turner, author of Avalon, offers his advice to fledgling Dorkwriters: "Always give a friend a copy of your game, and mail a copy to yourself. File that envelope away without opening it. That's an easy way to prove your copyright. That way, you'll never have any problems should you need to go to court. Once you've done that, send your game off to all kinds of publishers and see what offers you get. "Don't accept the first offer. Remember, what you're doing is choosing a distributor, not selling a game. Having got some offers, shortlist them and take a look at their advertising clout. Do they use full page adverts? Could they sell your game to people? Take equal care with the contract. A reasonable one ought to be a document between five and ten pages thick. And watch out for clauses which cause you to forfeit all your royalties should the game contain an error! I very nearly got caught out by one of them when choosing a distributor for my first game, 3D Space Wars! "Royalty rates vary considerably. I get 20% but that's only because I write exclusively for Hewsons. That's 20% of the distribution cost, not the retail cost! Some smaller companies offer more but have you seen their name on a full colour ad? Weigh up the pros and cons. Finally, always be prepared to listen to people. If your publisher doesn't like something in your program, be prepared to change it. I'm forever changing sections of my games. Even now, Good luck with your game!"

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)C+VG Game of the Month

Graphics 8/10

Sound 6/10

Value 9/10

Playability 9/10

MACHINE: Spectrum SUPPLIER: Hewson Consultants PRICE: £7.95 What Adventure game can you play using a joystick? Come on now - there is one! It's called Avalon and it comes from Hewson Consultants for the 48k Spectrum. Avalon - oddly subtitled "the adventure movie" - is a cross between Dungeons and Dragons, Atic Atac and a full blown Adventure game and is destined to become one of the big games this Christmas. Avalon is a mythical Isle of Glass featured heavily in the Arthurian legends which set programmer Steve Turner off on the course to create this new game. You play the part of Maroc the Mage, a Lore Seeker, who sets out to destroy the Lord of Chaos who has taken up residence inside the Isle of Avalon. The game has eight levels - each getting progressively more difficult as you get closer to your final goal and the Lord of Chaos. In order to get this review to you as quickly as possible, this reviewer only pottered about the first two levels - but that was enough to see that Avalon is an absorbing and challenging game. Just as in Adventure, there are problems to be solved before the player can progress to the next level of the game. You have to collect various items and complete various tasks before unlocking the doors to lower levels of the Isle of Glass. Maroc has to travel around the many rooms of Avalon - at first collecting spells and gold which will aid him when he comes to venture into the lower levels. On the first level he also has to find the Servant - a funny little spirit creature who will aid his quest. There are nasties inhabiting the rooms and tunnels of Avalon who set out stop the Mage reaching their Lord. A nice feature of the game is that when you "die" it's only your astral form kicking the bucket and you return to the starting room complete with all spells and other goodies which you collected before the nasties got to you. This helps you get into the game without becoming terminally frustrated with it. Collecting and adding your powers is where the D&D element comes in to the game. The similarity to Atic Atac is that you find your way around a maze of rooms. The Adventure element comes in when you have to start solving problems in order to progress further into the game, which appear at lower levels. The 3D graphics are among the best I've seen on the Spectrum and there are a number of nice touches - like the Servant spirit. The screen is split into a large graphic display showing Maroc and his surroundings, with a small window at the bottom centre which displays command options - like "move" or the spells which Maroc has available to him such as "freeze" or "flame". To choose what you want to do, you simply pick an option scrolling the commands in the window and making your selection using keyboard or joystick. The game comes with a well written and informative set of instructions - which are essential reading before you sit down and play. I'm not sure about Hewson's claim that Avalon will appeal to out and out Adventurers a well a arcade game fans - but the game is fun to play, pretty to look at and challenging too. And at the price, you can't go far wrong! I can't wait to see the first map of the Avalon rooms - or hear from the first person who claims the ultimate and tells me he has achieved the rank of Supreme Lore Lord. I reckon that telephone call is a long way off! In order to help you reach that rank, we've got together with Hewson Consultants to bring you an exclusive Avalon map - plus games tips on the first level of the game. So don't miss December's issue of Computer & Video Games with special added ingredient of Prof. Video's visit to the Isle of Glass.

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 9/10

John Gilbert 9/10

MEET THE GUARDIAN OF CHAOS AND LEVITATE IN 3D AVALON Memory: 48K Price: £7.95 Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor Enter the 3D movie world of Avalon. You are a wizard intent on the destruction of an evil image who inhabits an underground web of caverns inhabited by goblins, skeletons, wraiths, a guardian of chaos and seven wizards. You move around the rooms after casting an astral projection spell which will enable you to levitate. Pursued by the various monsters which dwell in the caves you must accumulate your power by finding spell scrolls. Those enable you to freeze your enemies and summon a servant to help you in your quest for the mage's ectoplasm. To reach the bowels of the earth you must pass through the gate-house level and find a treasure chest in which the key to the dungeons is hidden. As you travel through the adventure you will become wise in the ways of magic and earn gradings no doubt given by the magic circle. Those are divided into stages and ranks. A stage describes the physical location at which you have arrived in the game. Those range from Apprentice to Supreme. The ranks denote your skill as a magician, and start at Lore Seeker progressing to the august title of Lord Lord. The magic system in particular breaks new ground. The spells you have are listed on a scrolling window, and you must use the joystick to select the appropriate spell. Even movement is conducted using a spell, so that physical and magical activities are directly interlinked. Graphics are not so clear as in the Ultimate arcade/adventures such as Atic Atac. However, the 3D representation of each room, with doors that really open, and the attempts at animation of monsters represent a bigger challenge than those earlier games tackled. Hewson claims the game will do for computers what the Jazz Singer did for movies. A ridiculous suggestion which should not however detract from a product that introduces a new style and sophistication in 3D graphics. If you are into arcade games then you will enjoy moving around and killing the monsters in the maze. If, on the other hand, you like adventures you will be fascinated by the puzzles.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Sinclair Programs

June Mortimer

AS THE CHRISTMAS SOFTWARE GOES ON SALE SPECTRUM OWNERS ARE SPOILED FOR CHOICE. Avalon from Hewson Consultants is billed as "the 3D adventure movie," and it makes a very creditable attempt at achieving this goal. Three dimensional pictures of locations around which your character can move are drawn on screen. As in television programs such as Coronation Street, this means that each room has a wall which you never see, a wall through which you can watch the action. The game is mammoth, including 223 rooms on eight levels, and over 100 characters. In many ways it seems similar to Atic Atac, rooms to move through seen from the side rather than from above; passages to travel down, rather than trapdoors and, of course, there is the player's ultimate goal to be located and villains to be defeated. Other aspects of the game, are entirely new. Around the building are placed various spells which can be used at different times. The Move spells with which you start are important, as they are the ones which allow you to move your astral projection around. Others which appear are essential to your progress. Spells to freeze your enemies, to make yourself invisible, or to control a servant can all be found and your skill in finding these and your judgement in knowing when to use them are essential for success in Avalon. Using a complete three-dimensional technique in an adventure is new. However, it does produce graphics which flicker incessantly. Those people who were expecting graphics of the quality used in Ant Attack from Quicksilva will be disappointed. The three-dimensional view also makes movements more complicated, as you try to move a character on a two-dimensional screen through three dimensional space. For short periods of time the game is excellent, but when played for a long time as it must be, it becomes a strain on the eyes. It will, without doubt, be an extremely successful game, but its success with flicker-free graphics would be even greater . Avalon is produced by Hewson Consultants, [redacted] and costs £7.95.

CrashCrash Smash

Use of Computer 89%

Graphics 94%

Playability 91%

Getting Started 90%

Addictive Qualities 93%

Value For Money 90%

Overall 91%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Hewson Consultants Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £7.95 Language: Machine code Author: Steve Turner 'Congratulations', says the inlay, 'You are now the proud owner of Avalon, the first in a new world of computer games, the Adventure Movie.' It's likely that in the next few months the words ADVENTURE MOVIE are going to become familiar. It hasn't happened overnight, of course, there has been a slow progression towards the interactive adventure which uses arcade style graphics (starting perhaps with games like Atic Atac) and which progress is now accelerating. History will dictate who is first, but Hewson have certainly made a head start with Avalon. The packaging is small video box style with a large inlay containing columns of apparently daunting text. In fact the game turns out to be one of those you can dive into immediately, but reading the instructions would serve a useful purpose as this is, primarily, an adventure and few things are instantly obvious. Also included is an explorer's map of the Avalon complex and a protection entry code with very pale blue ink on slightly paler paper to make it hard for photocopiers. It asks you to type in three separate codes before accepting access. You play Maroc (the wizard) or rather his astral projection. There are sixteen ranks (skills) which are subdivided into eight stages, and at the start of a new game your status is the lowest, that of apprentice. Your advancement is gained by penetrating deeper into the dungeons and by collecting spells. Maroc's task, to put it simply, is to destroy the Lord of Chaos, who dwells in the deepest part of the dungeons protected by several types of horror. These include goblin warriors, who gang up on you and can only be avoided by running quickly through two rooms or down a tunnel; wraiths who throw fire balls at you after a while and tend to follow your progress by materialising through walls; guardians of chaos, and finally warlocks, who may be helpful and may not, depending on what you can offer them. To help in this enormous, task there are many spells and useful objects to be found, some are collected just by walking over them, but others may need the help of a servant (one of the early spells to be found), who can do the task for you. Movement itself is a spell, since Maroc is only an astral projection, and this is given to you at the start of the game. Collected spells are listed in a continuous scroll at the base of the screen and are selected by using the up-down control and fire. Some spells can be used simultaneously such as 'move' and 'unseen'. A useful one is 'freeze', which stops time for a few moments and can let you get away from things like the goblin warriors. Here, an arcade skill comes in - the ability to get out of the freeze spell and into 'move' as fast as possible! All the rooms have some doors which may be open, closed or locked. The locked ones obviously require keys. Closed ones are operated by taking Maroc to the door at the correct height and nudging it, moving back slightly to let it open before proceeding through it. They shut just as easily. Because of its arcade overtones Avalon is reviewed here as an arcade game rather than by Derek Brewster but no doubt Derek will also have something to say on the subject at a later date. COMMENTS Control keys: A to G = up, Z to V = down, B, N = left, M, SYM SHIFT = right, H, J, K, L = fire Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, AGF, Protek Keyboard play: several options and positive response Use of colour: borders very colourful, the playing area is quite simple and avoids messy attribute problems Graphics: excellent 3D effect and well drawn and detailed characters Sound: good start tune, otherwise useful sounds as warnings Skill levels: not applicable Lives: not applicable Screens: over 200 rooms

Maroc pursued by goblin warriors.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 8/10

Sound 5/10

Originality 7/10

Lasting Interest 8/10

Overall 7/10

Bob Wade

Robert Patrick

Steve Cooke 7/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys, Kemp, Curs, Sinc FROM: Hewson, £7.95 There's no doubt about it, Avalon is a remarkable game, but it suffers from serious playability problems. There is a very attractive screen border and the main playing area occupies the centre of the display. Coloured lines sketch out your current location, a room with one or more doors, and a small seated figure, Maroc the Wizard. Maroc the Wizard can, with the help of a spot of magic and your joystick, float about the screen picking up objects (by passing over them) and avoiding contact with various malevolent sprites. As you wander from location to location you collect spells and other useful items in your quest to destroy the Lord of Chaos. There are eight levels and 200 locations to explore, and this is where the playability problems arise. To open a door you move Maroc up to the door knob and the door swings open. The trouble is that to close it you do the same thing, so unless you're careful you may find yourself opening a door and then closing it again before you have managed to get through it. The control problems are a pity because Avalon has a lot of novel features. There are a large number of spells to be found, allowing you to renew your energy supplies, attack your enemies, and even command a small wraith-like 'Servant'. Unfortunately, even selecting spells requires almost superhuman dexterity if you're in a hurry. The spell names appear on a scrolling list at the bottom of the page which you flick through with the aid of your joystick, but the list scrolls so fast that selecting the spell you want is very hit-and-miss. Avalon scores over its cousin, Ultimate's Atic Atac, in terms of size and complexity, but you'll need eleven fingers and a lot of patience if you're going to get the most from it.

Personal Computer NewsPCN Star Game

Overall 10/10

Andy Green 10/10

Bryan Skinner

PRICE: £7.95 PUBLISHER: Hewson Consultants, [redacted] You know Avalon is something special from the moment you clap eyes on the first screen. Set in a mystical, magical atmosphere the border alone is impressive. At bottom left there's a red, winged devil, while at the right a white winged human figure helps support the scroll on which game details appear. At the left there's a serpent coiled round a staff, to the right a green, blue bellied dragon, while at the top a skull holds court. You appear as a white wraith - the astral projection of Maroc the Mage. Your task is to seek out the Lord of Chaos inside the hill of Avalon on the isle of Glass. There are choices for Kempston, AGF or Sinclair joysticks, and a fair selection of keys for keyboard control. But this is one of those games where you'll need a stick - or you won't stand a chance. Beginning as a novice lore seeker you establish control of the wraith by pressing enter twice. The first time is to select a spell from the list shown on the scroll at the foot of the screen, the second to activate that spell. At the foot of the screen a long tongue of flame shows your energy level. And with the ability to only move, off you go on your adventure. Your viewpoint is always the back wall of each room, Maroc's spirit floats about more or less mid-screen. Its movement is ethereal, a sort of gentle gliding and floating motion, very easy once you get the hang of it. As you move around, so the room's perspective is adjusted. This is very well done indeed. To pass through a door, you touch the handle, the door swings open and through you go. Best policy here is to drift into it, back off as it opens then glide through. It can be very frustrating at first, when you're continually opening doors, misjudging movement and closing the door as you try to pass through. On your travels you'll come across various parchments. Collect these like a greedy squirrel - they're spells which will allow you to summon up a servant, freeze any nastys about to terminate your mission and so on. As you pass over spells they're added to the spell scroll and you can select one by moving an arrow to the spell you want. Also shown on the scroll are a number of tokens which indicate how many more times the spell may be used. Pressing enter again activates the spell. You'll need the servant spell to gain access to some other spells hidden in chests, and being a projection you lack the necessary corporeal substance to open chests. There are background and foreground spells, background spells continue while you activate other spells, the invisibility spell 'Unseen' is one of these. One nice thing about being an astral projection is that you can't die - once your energy is sapped you simply start again. When your energy has been drained you ascend to the skies, revolving as you go - just another indication of the attention to detail throughout the game. You can save a game and pick up where you left off. There are 16 main ranks, from Lore Seeker, through Magician and Warlock to Lore Lord. Each of these is subdivided into eight stages, from Apprentice through Learned to Supreme. This one's a winner; its good graphics and compulsive action mean it should be in the charts.