Greedy Gulch

Crash

Producer: Phipps AssocIate, 48K £4.95 The town of the title is a ghost town sat in the Wild West, deserted now the gold workings have run out. But there is a mine out in the neighbouring desert which still has a fortune tucked away. The problem is to find the right map, get something to carry water in and fill it, find a gun for protection and then get to the mine and back. Whilst not a massively demanding adventure, it's certainly an absorbing one. The graphics show you the map of Greedy Gulch itself, or parts of it, with some location graphics in the desert. There are several mysterious appearances by someone you only see out of the corner of your eye. Some problems are simpler to overcome than you might suppose - confronted by a crevass and carrying a plank which wouldn't bridge it, jumping across solved the problem! Good value.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Crash

Producer: Phipps AssocIate, 48K £4.95 The town of the title is a ghost town sat in the Wild West, deserted now the gold workings have run out. But there is a mine out in the neighbouring desert which still has a fortune tucked away. The problem is to find the right map, get something to carry water in and fill it, find a gun for protection and then get to the mine and back. Whilst not a massively demanding adventure, it's certainly an absorbing one. The graphics show you the map of Greedy Gulch itself, or parts of it, with some location graphics in the desert. There are several mysterious appearances by someone you only see out of the corner of your eye. Some problems are simpler to overcome than you might suppose - confronted by a crevass and carrying a plank which wouldn't bridge it, jumping across solved the problem! Good value.

Micro Adventurer

Peter Green

GOLD DIGGERS' DELIGHT MICRO: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £4.95 FORMAT: Cassette SUPPLIER: Phipps Associates, [redacted] Ever since The Hobbit proved that it could be done on a tape-based system companies have been producing graphical adventure games in ever-increasing numbers. A common theme is to set your adventure way out west, and although some of the results resemble more the antics of Laurel and Hardy than they do a good adventure, Greedy Gulch happily falls into the latter category. The idea of the game is to find a gold nugget buried out deep in the desert, retrieve it and bring it back to town. This, as you might imagine, is not as easy as it sounds. Before you can even contemplate going across the desert you'll have to find a map, find the word that the program understands before you can study the map, and then get bored to death while the computer insists on drawing the same picture on the screen about 10 times. There are plenty of other hazards to overcome in town, and while it's difficult to describe some of them without giving too much away, you will have fun trying to open the safe, read the hotel register, and get some water from the pump. As the game progresses the problems begin to pile in on you, and if you ever think you've got enough material to contemplate crossing the desert, it's a wise idea to take advantage of the game's LOAD and SAVE features before attempting to go any further. For each step along the way, after you've reached the mine that hides the precious nugget, you'll have another problem to solve. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the object needed to solve the problem has been left behind in town. Since the desert at this point is strictly one way (I think), you'll either have to start all over again, or reload a previously saved game. The graphics presented on the screen are an uneasy mix of pictures of some of the locations and maps of the town. Although the maps are drawn with commendable speed. the locations take much too long to come up, and the staggering. The cassette inlay card boasts a 'machine coded English command line scanner', which is supposed to speed up word recognition. It doesn't, and the vocabulary appears to be fairly limited. One final gripe. Don't try to speak into the program by pressing the caps shift and break key, since all you'll get is a little copyright message on the screen and the program stops. The only solution is to disconnect your Spectrum and start again. This is not up to the extremely high standards set by The Hobbit, but for just £4.95 you'll get your money's worth.

Crash

Producer: Phipps AssocIate, 48K £4.95 The town of the title is a ghost town sat in the Wild West, deserted now the gold workings have run out. But there is a mine out in the neighbouring desert which still has a fortune tucked away. The problem is to find the right map, get something to carry water in and fill it, find a gun for protection and then get to the mine and back. Whilst not a massively demanding adventure, it's certainly an absorbing one. The graphics show you the map of Greedy Gulch itself, or parts of it, with some location graphics in the desert. There are several mysterious appearances by someone you only see out of the corner of your eye. Some problems are simpler to overcome than you might suppose - confronted by a crevass and carrying a plank which wouldn't bridge it, jumping across solved the problem! Good value.

Sinclair User

Quentin Heath

BEGINNERS' ADVENTURE IN THE WILD WEST Quentin Heath goes in search of gold nuggets in Greedy Gulch with an unusual bunch of adversaries. Many adventure games contain fierce adversaries such as vampires, werewolves and slugs. Greedy Gulch, however, contains none of those and the only adversaries with which the player has to contend are natural hazards such as the desert and an unstable mine shaft. It would be helpful if I detailed a complete list of the objects you have to find but this month I will give you only some gentle nudges in the proper direction, as Phipps Associates, the manufacturer of the adventure, has informed me that it is for beginners. All Hobbit-hardened players should have no problems. An incomplete inventory of objects includes a gun, a lamp, some matches and a hat. All those items make sense with the object of your quest a nugget in the gold mine located in the centre of a vast desert. As the town is the focal point of the game you have to start in the main street, where you should be able to see the sheriff's office and the hotel. Make sure that you visit all locations, especially the hotel lobby. The decor of the lobby may not be interesting but you should walk to the reception desk, which is deserted, and look at the register. You will find something interesting in it. That vague clue may not offer you much help but I can assure you that when you have wandered round the town for several turns the name you find at the hotel will click into place and provide you with a clearer picture of what you are trying to do. Your encounter with the register in the hotel should give you some idea of how objects have been spread logically around the locations of the adventure. I have given a brief list of some of the objects which can be found in the town. Pairing the locations which the computer will give you either on the graphic displays or from the text below them on the screen, you should be able to tell where the other objects are located. For instance, you might find some kind of weapon in the sheriff's office and another more practical one an the blacksmith's forge. You will soon become adept at collecting objects but do not be lulled into a false sense of security when the computer tells you that you cannot pick up any more items. There is an object in almost every location and that is more than you can carry. The best way to collect all objects is to pick them up from the individual locations and carry them to the outskirts of the town where the desert begins. You must have every item or you could lose your way in the desert or be thirsty. Both events mean certain death. I have noticed that many adventurers take objects and do not appreciate that they could be connected with other items which will be found in the game. There is reluctance to return to places which have already been visited but Greedy Gulch will teach you that in some cases it is necessary. There are at least three objects linked with each other in the game and because the adventure is for beginners they are all easily linked when you have found them. The only clue I will give as to the items is that they should keep you enlightened during the game, even if they do not keep you cool in the desert. The language structure of the program is simple and, as a result, communication with the computer is easy. like most early adventures the program uses the word pattern of verb followed by an object. It will respond quickly to commands such as GET AXE but has difficulty with conjunctions such as AND. The best approach is to think of the easiest way of saying something; never ask a question and keep your commands within the context of the situation in which you are playing. By observing those rules you will waste less time. Greedy Gulch is an adventure in which the number of turns you take is important. That does not mean that you have to finish the adventure within a number of turns but to act a certain number of times. For instance, you may get nothing out of the pump in the centre of the ghost town for two turns. You need to crank the handle of the pump a few times before anything will happen. If you do not you will look like a drip. Once you have water and all the weapons and objects you need, you can prepare to leave town and go into the desert where, after much searching of the soul - and searching for water - you will find the mine. If you have not picked up all the items in the town, or if you have missed the vital item, you will land in an area from which you cannot escape. The desert will claim you. The object you must have in your possession when you jump over the ravine is something which will show you the way. It is easy to become lost if you forget it. If you are lost in the desert and you are not in the place of no return, there is a simple way out of your dilemma. The only thing you can lose if you fail in your attempt to get back to the original location is one of the carefully-collected objects. Drop an object at your present location. From there you should try to go in a circle. If you cannot go one way, try the other. At some point, two moves after you dropped your object you should arrive back at the location of the item. From the centre of the desert you must go south and then west to reach the cave. With the knowledge of the circular direction which you took and the number of turns which you needed to get back to the object which you dropped you should be able to determine where you are. If you are still having difficulty the computer will give you a hint about the general direction in which you should go. I see no harm in letting you know this now, so what you should do is look at Zeck's map. That will not give you the complete answer but it will point you in the general direction of the mine. You may still be wondering how to carry all those objects around with you on your back when there are at least two objects you cannot carry. To take all the objects to the desert you must make some trips back to town. I can assure you that there is a way back, even though it is along a winding kind of route. When you get back, pick up your objects and jump across the ravine again until you reach the place where you have been hoarding all the items. You will have to make several trips but they are worth your while. One object not to drop before you return is the map which you must have to get back into the correct part of the desert. Do not make the mistake I made several times when playing the adventure; it took me a long time to decide that the map was important. Another reason for taking the long route from the desert back to town is the need, by your player-character, for water. Do not forget that you have only a small bottle of liquid and you will need that after several steps into the desert. You should be called upon only once to drink water. If the computer asks you more than once you have either been very unlucky or have been going round in circles. The best way to solve that problem is to find an oasis which you should reach if you are on the correct track for the mine. Your encounter with the entrance to the mine will be sudden. Do not jump in immediately or you could die very quickly. The mine has only two or three locations to it but they are dangerous. You will need at least one of the weapons you collected in town before you pass on to find out the meaning of the Adventurer's Delight. Phipps Associates provided me with a map to help with the adventure. That, however, provided more problems than it solved, so the clues I have given are more from experience than from cheating with a reviewer's prop. The game is difficult and provided me with hours of frustration. I was very close to finishing, only to find that at the last location a nasty-looking reptile appears from nowhere. Next month I will be in festive mode, looking at some mind games you might like for Christmas.

'Your encounter with the register in the hotel should give you some idea of how objects have been spread around locations of the adventure. Pairing locations will help find the objects'.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 4/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 3/5

Overall Value 4/5

Rosemary Johnston 4/5

NAME: Greedy Gulch APPLICATION: Adventure Game SYSTEM: Sinclair 48K PRICE: £6.50 PUBLISHER: Phipps Associates FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Machine code OTHER VERSIONS: ? OUTLETS: ? GOLD FEVER Not being a Western fan I had to look up 'gulch' in the dictionary to find out that it means a ravine, especially with gold deposits. Most greedy prospectors heading out from this town in the search for gold however, will end up spending most of their time wandering aimlessly in the search for gold, however, will end up spending most of their time wandering aimlessly in the desert with not a nugget in sight. This is a great pity, because Greedy Gulch with its saloon, stock yard and sheriff's office has all the atmosphere of the Wild West. OBJECTIVES You begin in an old ghost mining town which, you are told, contains all the clues to lead you to a lost gold mine. Your first task is to decipher the clues. You must collect the necessary tools to survive in the desert and equip yourself to work the mine. Finally you have to get the gold nugget back to the sheriff's office, all the while dodging the mysterious strangers who are stealthily following your every move. The computer responds to commands in simple English having a hidden vocabulary of about one hundred words. You score points by collecting the right equipment in the right order and by following an intelligently planned mate to the mine. But be careful - if you ignore veiled warnings you are likely to meet sudden death or slow death from thirst in the desert. FIRST IMPRESSIONS The illustration on the cassette cover sets the mood with a cartoon of an eerie Western frontier town and a revolver in the foreground. Loading the program is easy. Text appears on the screen explaining the object of the game and basic operating instructions. Some possible courses of action. Including commands such as "enter assay office' or go north' are explained before you start. It is always possible to recall a 'help screen'. This has the basic instructions but unfortunately they are of little use when you are trying to do something the least bit complicated, like breach the impenetrable walls of the Stockade, for example. IN PLAY On starting the game you arrive in the middle of the town. Your position is presented in plan form at the top of the screen. A scrolling text beneath asks 'What shall I do now'?'. If you decide to enter one of the buildings a rather diagramatic 3D colour picture appears of the interior. In general the graphics are extremely crisp and colourful but come up on screen rather slowly. The most useful information is contained in the text description which appears underneath. Objects that you can collect are also listed and it rapidly becomes clear that cupboards must be opened and papers inspected. Sometimes the text poses riddles. You are told for instance that you have to work hard to gain a drink of water. It took many attempts before I realised I must type in USE PUMP three times running in order to obtain a full bottle. Unfortunately the sound on this program is limited to the odd 'beep' and the text alone tells you the pump 'gurgles' and the gun goes 'bang'. I even shot myself once in desperation. The program boasts a machine coded English command line scanner for fast word recognition. This produces a satisfactorily rapid response to commands, although the replies are generally elementary and humourless. Finding the right command to deal with each hazard is part of the game and can be enjoyable. When I came to the ravine I suggested a variety of elaborate bridge techniques, using the carefully collected poles and plank, only to discover, after much investigation, that the successful order was JUMP (plank and all!). Although seemingly useful gear for the would-be prospector abounds, only six items can be carried at once. I agonized for quite some time before heading across the desert with miner's lamp but no hat. Your score can be displayed at any time. As the game is likely to continue to puzzle you for several evenings you have the option to 'Quit' or to store your position in the game on tape for reloading at a later date. Before you quit it is worth trying 'Hint' although the program is sparing with its advice. Unfortunately the mystery of Greedy Gulch is still a closed cassette to me. I have not yet broken into the stockyard nor discovered the mine. I did spend many boring hours plodding haphazardly around the desert. The presentation of the desert maze in particular was a little uninspired. The same picture just keeps coming up wherever you look and you become very familiar with the yellow sand dunes, the shrivelled cactus and the dead steer. VERDICT Those who are particularly practised in adventure games may well progress faster than I did. Greedy Gulch should provide an enjoyable challenge for most players. The game must be considered weak on originality and humour, but it certainly does employ sensible locations and the problems usually require common sense or logic to solve them. Maybe this is why I didn't get very far! I might recommend this game as a good prospect for minors but it certainly is not my pick of the week.