Quest Adventure

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 4/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 4/5

Overall Value 4/5

Mike Gerrard 4/5

NAME: Quest SYSTEM: 48K Spectrum PRICE: £5.95 PUBLISHER: Hewson Consultants, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Basic OUTLETS: Mail order, Menzies, Boots, other dealers BE MY QUEST Adventures like this hardly need any introduction, as you know what you're getting before you start: forests, castles, gold, swords, elves and dragons, wizards and rogues. OBJECTIVES Your task is to search the landscape for an ancient scroll which contains a clue before locating a map. What happens when you find it isn't stated, but perhaps the scroll tells you, instructions and hints are clear on the fold-out cassette cover, including a list of about 20 main commands that the program recognises. IN PLAY You first must choose an identity from the list of wizard, cleric, rogue, fighter and simpleton; the computer distributes points randomly between various features of strength, luck, dexterity, constitution and charm. If any of the first four fall below zero that's the end of you; there are the usual commands to check your status, score and inventory as you go. Get stuck and you type 'Hint,' though the clues are frequently so cryptic as to be more of a hindrance. This is not a text-only adventure - some locations come with graphics, but they tend towards the simple rather than The Hobbit standard, and the quality of text is uninspired. Although the adventure began to absorb me as I wandered around mapping out the locations and encountering the dwarves and elves, not to mention the golem who has strayed in from elsewhere, some responses were odd. They seem to indicate the program hadn't fully allowed for a wide enough variety of instructions. In one place I was told 'You can see: a gold piece; a short sword; a bread.' While uncertain what 'a bread' was, I decided to try and nibble it anyway: 'Eat bread.'' 'What bread?' came the reply. 'Get gold,' I tried. 'That's meaningless!' I was charmingly informed 'Get gold piece' was obviously what was wanted, and only after getting that and the sword was I allowed to eat the bread... perhaps it was an unsliced loaf. Other features include a range of 12 possible magic spells and combat with various characters. VERDICT With The Hobbit and Valhalla setting the standard, (even though three times the normal price), average adventures like this begin to pale by comparison. It takes a Mad Martha or a Groucho to stand out from the crowd.

Crash

Producer: Hewson, 48K £6.95 Find a map hidden in a world inhabited by gruesome monsters guarding their territory and various pieces of treasure. To undertake the quest in question you can choose to be a wizard, a cleric, rogue, fighter or simpleton, each with his own characteristics and abilities. A split text/graphic game, it has a reasonably wide range of vocabulary. Generally a very good game and a traditional format adventure with plenty of scope. The only serious drawback is that you can't play another game. Once finished the program quits permanently.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Crash

Producer: Hewson, 48K £6.95 Find a map hidden in a world inhabited by gruesome monsters guarding their territory and various pieces of treasure. To undertake the quest in question you can choose to be a wizard, a cleric, rogue, fighter or simpleton, each with his own characteristics and abilities. A split text/graphic game, it has a reasonably wide range of vocabulary. Generally a very good game and a traditional format adventure with plenty of scope. The only serious drawback is that you can't play another game. Once finished the program quits permanently.

Crash

Producer: Hewson, 48K £6.95 Find a map hidden in a world inhabited by gruesome monsters guarding their territory and various pieces of treasure. To undertake the quest in question you can choose to be a wizard, a cleric, rogue, fighter or simpleton, each with his own characteristics and abilities. A split text/graphic game, it has a reasonably wide range of vocabulary. Generally a very good game and a traditional format adventure with plenty of scope. The only serious drawback is that you can't play another game. Once finished the program quits permanently.

Sinclair User

SEARCHING FOR THE FAMILIAR Quest for the 48K Spectrum follows a now fairly familiar adventure format featuring dwarfs, elves, swords, pieces of gold, black spiders, dragons, and a thick forest through which you might find yourself wandering interminably. The graphics, when you finally encounter them, are polished, and experienced adventure games players will probably enjoy trying to guess what answers and actions are required. Very few prompts are given in the course of the game but the insert gives detailed instructions. Novices may spend a good deal of time on a rough track choosing whether to go north south, cast or west - the game derives plenty of mileage from sending you back to where you started. You may also be axed suddenly by an elf or killed by a rat, just as you thought you were doing the correct thing, but you can be resurrected. At least you can be sure that it will take time before you exhaust the possibilities, if you are not discouraged first. One hint we can give - it is no use trying to bribe the dwarfs. Quest is available from Hewson, [redacted]. It costs £5.95.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online