Robyn Hode

Your Computer

Hugo North

48K Spectrum £9.95 Runesoft Note the Olde Englishe spelling - the adventure is set in the 13th century, all the place names and spelling are based on original ballads Of Robin and his Merrie Men. In fact, in order to make this adventure as authentic as possible, a great deal of research has been conducted, including reference to such historical documents as the Domesday Book and early maps. The adventure is massive, providing over 400 locations for you to heigh-nonncy-no around. Because it is so large, the adventure comes in two parts on the single cassette, each part using all 48K of the Spectrum's memory. To get to play part two, you'll need to finish part one first - this will give you a two-part code as your password lo the second half. The vocabulary is similarly impressive - over 120 words in all - yet response is immediate. The entire program being in machine code, generated with the aid of The Quill. The plotte: Maid Marion has been captured by the Sheryffe and held in Notyingham Castle on a charge of treason. Although it may well be a trap, Robyn decides to rescue her without the aid of his men. Can you, as the outlaw of Scherwoode Forest, outwit the Sheryffe and so save fair Marion? If you fall, mortally wounded, Lyttle Johnne carries you to Kirklees Priory where, on your deathbed and bow in hand, you fire off a perfect final arrow through the open window before expiring. Beat that for a poetic demise! Odds Bodkins and by my troth, this is indeed a smashing adventure, highly original and beautifully put together.

Big K

Graphics N/A

Playability 2/3

Addictiveness 3/3

Overall 3/3

Steve Keaton 3/3

A JOLIE GODE GAYME MAKER: Runesoft FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £9.95 Runesoft stalwarts Slack and Stevenson have made great efforts to keep Robyn Mode as authentic as possible. All the locations (in this mammoth text adventure) actually existed back in the 13th century, and background info has been culled from such literary sources as Nottingham City Library, Nottingham Castle, the Robin Hood Society and The Doomsday Book. The upshot of all this research appears to be an abundance of extremely odd spellings. These adde considerablie to the mediaeval atmosphere and so compensate for the lacke of an evocative narrative. I've been giving it a good old thrashing the past couple of weeks but as yet the Sheffyffe of Notyingham has little to fear from this particular Hooded Man. I'm still looking for a way out of the forest! Still things will doubtless improve. One day a crib-sheet will arrive in the post and thus inspired I'll stagger into the city of Notyingham, find the secret caves which lead to the castle and (gasp) go on to rescue Maid Marion. Mead and venison will then duly flow.

Personal Computer Games

Complexity 6/10

Atmosphere 6/10

Interaction 5/10

Value 6/10

Steve Cooke

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £9.95 VICTIMISED By some strange coincidence, Maid Marion crops up in another adventure this month for the Spectrum. Once again the poor woman is down on her luck and being victimised by the brutal male aristocracy. This time she's been locked up in Nottingham Castle and as valiant Robin Hood you must sally forth and rescue her. The first thing you notice about Runesoft's Robyn Hyde is that all the names have been given archaic English spelling. Sherwood Forest becomes Scherwode Forest and the town of Worksop makes an appearance as Werchesope. Strange at first, this olde-Englishe approach does succeed in adding slightly to the atmosphere of this text-only game. When you first start playing Robyn Hode seems rather an uninspiring game. The location descriptions simply tell you where you are, but don't do much to set the scene. However - and here's the crunch - there are over 400 of them. This isn't a game you can expect to finish in an afternoon and as you get into it you find yourself becoming more and more absorbed. Locations in Robyn Hode include small villages, the usual caves and crags, medieval towns, and even the odd 'shambles'. The White Wizard has to admit that he didn't know what a 'shambles' was until he found one inside an oak tree, and very useful it was too. MISLEADING In play the game has some very annoying features. The program doesn't check the inputs properly, so if for example you enter 'Examine pghtly' it will reply 'You can't do that' rather than 'I don't understand'. This can be very misleading, since if you enter, for example, 'Examine cave' and it replies 'You can't do that' you don't know whether you really can't examine the cave, or whether the program simply expects you to refer to the cave by another name. There are one or two nonsenses in the game as well. To escape from a dungeon, you simply call the guard and then enter 'Leave Dungeon' - far too easy, I would have thought. A rope down a hole is liable to disappear without explanation, and spraining your ankle doesn't seem to stop you climbing up a cliff a couple of moves later. Ah well, this Robyn's a tough character. The game comes in two parts, each part recorded on a different side of the tape. Completing the first half gets you a code word that will enable you to enter the City of Nottyngham in the second part. This isn't a very complex game, with a limited vocabulary and simple two word input, but the number of locations and some original puzzles makes up for a lot of shortcomings. At £9.95, however, it is perhaps a bit on the pricey side.

Personal Computer News

Mike Gerrard

MERRIE ENGLAND Mike Gerrard takes a time trip back to 13th century England and becomes enmeshed in the world of Robyn Hode, Maid Marion and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Now read on... Adventures are becoming as well-researched as thrillers these days. After visiting the Holy Land in Jericho Road, you can now take a time trip to the 13th century of Robyn Hode, complete with 13th century spellings, but done courtesy of the very 20th century Quill adventure generating program, and the people at Runesoft deserve to be called scurvey knaves for not acknowledging the fact anywhere in the program or accompanying leaflet. Ye storye so farre is that the Sherryffe of Notyingham has imprisoned Maid Marion in Notyingham Castle and charged her with treason for aiding an enemy of King John... that's you, Robyn Hode himself, and very fetching you look in your suit of Lincoln green, which is all that you have when you start this adventure. If you find the authentic spellings a little off-putting, don't panic (to borrow a well-known 13th century expression) as they don't appear very much in the program itself, apart from the proper names. The spellings and geographical facts have been thoroughly researched, with thanks being given to everyone from the Robin Hood Society to the Doomsday Book. The adventure is text-only, though rumour has it that a graphics version of Quill is on the way. The historical accuracy of the descriptions adds to the game, and there is at least some attempt to give atmosphere to the text. But don't expect a screen full of purple, or even Linclon green prose, as there are about 200 locations in each part of this adventure: reach the end of the first part successfully and you will be given a code to enable you to commence part two, which is on the other side of the cassette. This allows you to enter the castle, through Nottingham's famous caves, find Maid Marion and escape. MARION'S ARREST First things first. You begin outside the inn where news of Marion's arrest has just been brought to you by Much, the Miller son: 'To the Southeast, the North road runs almost straight to Newerc. Bernesdale forest stretches to the South, towards Scherwode and Notyingham.' It won't be long before you meet a rich nobleman, and you don't need a degree in Medieval History to know what Robin Hood would do to him... or what he would do with the proceeds. The tasks do get a little harder, which is just as well, but the hundreds of locations aren't exactly littered with objects. It's difficult to strike a good balance in an adventure between having the player trip over axes, dwarfs and dragons every time they make a move, and travelling endlessly without ever finding anything. Robyn Hode is towards the travelling endlessly side of the scale. You spend a lot of time wandering round forests, and the traditional maze isn't exactly difficult. Nevertheless there are some perplexing problems. In several locations you are attacked by the SherryflBs soldiers, sometimes being mortally wounded (when Lytell John arrives to carry you to Kirkless Priory, where you the your last arrow to mark your burial place), and sometimes thrown into a damp, dark, smelly dungeon. You can sleep here in the comfortable straw, and the guard brings you a hearty breakfast regularly, but I haven't yet found a way of overcoming the guard and obtaining a key which will open the locked cell door. There are also plenty of natural hazards, with holes, wells and cliffs to fall down if you're not careful, and apart from being pounced on by the soldiers (you soon learn where this happens, as it isn't done randomly), I like the way you're usually given sufficient warning of any situation where your life may be at risk. It's not the kind of game where inexplicable holes appear in the middle of the street or rocks fall out of the sky. Robyn Hode's an enjoyable adventure, but hardly one you need to rush out and buy this very instant, particularly as it is rather highly priced at £9.95: although there are, in effect, two adventures, both written using Quill and only occupying one cassette. Spectrum software pricing is very competitive, and it has to be an adventure that's something special to justify charging almost twice the price. MAKING PROGRESS Runesoft is one of the smaller software houses, and I'd also like to quickly mention its adventure Paradox, which came out a few months ago. There's definitely a vivid imagination at work here. You don't even know what your quest is, apart from progress and survival. Progress is through four different but connected divisions of the realm of Dream, the first being The Tunnel. As you leave your comfortable cottage behind you and enter into the network of tunnels, you become thirsty. It transpires that you have just 17 moves in which to find a drink (shades of Dennis Through the Drinking Glass, though in this case water will be quite sufficient). You find a pool of water, but if you drink from it direct you are poisoned. Just beyond is a flask, but as you take this way back to the pool is cut off. Paradox is also Quill-generated, but shows how different you can make adventures using this system if you try. After The Tunnel comes The Gamesboard, made up of 56 squares which you have to cross to reach the Palace, each square having its own vivid description and many of them containing riddles that you have to solve in order to move on. Not that you've much idea which way you're moving, or which way you ought to be moving. Several hours of play later I'm still stuck there, and intrigued. Worth watching out for in the shops, or from Runesoft at [redacted].