Subsunk

ZX Computing

Brian Robb

Firebird £2.50 The software arm of British Telecom has now moved into adventures with the inclusion of both Subsunk and The Helm in their range of budget software. Budget software does not always mean bad software and Subsunk proves this point being a very competent graphic adventure. You play the part of a reporter from 'The Seafarers Gazette' with the highly unlikely name of Ed Lines. You are on board the Sea Lion, a submarine, researching an article about life onboard a modern working sub. Life, though, is not being kind to Ed Lines, as the sub is attacked by an enemy fleet while he is carrying out his research. The sub is overrun by the enemy, but Ed escapes capture by hiding under a bunk. The enemy leave and sink the sub with Ed on board. At the start of the game, you are trapped in the sub on the sea bed. Your objective is to find your way to the sub's telex room and send a message to bring a rescue party. The message you must send is 'subsunk'. This is not as easy a task as you may suppose, as it's rather a large sub for you to find your way around, and several problems must be solved before you can send the message. This is a Quilled text adventure with graphics. The graphics are fairly simple, though the majority are not static pictures. Many feature flashing consoles and even a sonar. There are also occasional sound effects which accompany the pictures. The text descriptions of locations are fairly simple as well, being just the name of the room, the exits and anything of interest. Unlike Mordon's Quest, which had no graphics, this game lacks atmosphere. Everything is very stark and sterile. It is, though, a very enjoyable game, mainly because of its sense of humour. As with Imperial Software's Clueso, which I reviewed last issue, Subsunk rises above its status as a standard Quilled adventure because it is quite funny in places. For example, if you were to examine the sonar, the computer replies with 'You're on the sea bed, matey!' There is also the result of pressing a button marked 'Galley'. You smell a burning noise, and upon visiting the galley you are attacked by a burnt slice of toast which escapes from the exploding toaster! There are incidents at almost all locations, and messing around with levers, buttons and switches will always produce a response of some kind, the majority of them in a humourous vein. The game is adequately presented and laid out, though much more cannot be expected of a quilled game. The graphics are of a simple nature, and scroll off the screen as you type your responses. The game supports a limited vocabulary of around 150 words, but that is large enough for the scope of the game. As an attempt to supply budget price adventures, Subsunk succeeds admirably, as there are worse games on the market for double the price. Firebird are continuing in the adventure market with The Helm at the same price. If you want a cheap, but challenging, adventure then Subsunk is for you.

Sinclair User

Overall 4/5

Richard Price 4/5

Publisher: Firebird Memory: 48K Price: £2.50 This month's final offerings are both produced by Firebird and written with the Quill. The first is Subsunk. You are Ed Lines ace reporter for the trade rag Seafaring Gazette. Your assignment, to seek out the truth of life in a nuclear submarine, has run into deep trouble. A foreign power has attacked the sub, captured the crew and scuttled the vessel. Your only way to safety will be to rig up some sort of aerial and send a distress message to Headquarters. There are fast, bright graphics for many of the sub's numerous compartments, the occasional sound effect, and a friendly interpreter which gives information about even useless items. Add a few wry jokes and you have an enjoyable adventure. You have to devise a way not only to sort out the radio link but also to send up the aerial on a float. One slip and you will depressurise. I was initially put off on reading the cassette notes and thought I was in for another dose of rather dreary escaping. Not so, as the sub is interesting enough to take your mind off the lack of other creatures. Well designed and thoroughly enjoyable escapism.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

ZX Computing

Firebird, the BT company who made such an impact with their first collection of SW have added to their range with the introduction of seven new programs in their Silver, £2.50, series. SUBSUNK is a graphic adventure in the standard format which presents many brain teasing puzzles, although not outstanding it is well written and is comparable to programs being sold at twice the price. Worth adding to your collection if adventuring is your forte.

Crash

Atmosphere 7/10

Vocabulary 7/10

Logic 6/10

Addictive Quality 7/10

Overall Value 7.5/10

Derek Brewster 7.5/10

DEREK BREWSTER'S ADVENTURE TRAIL A WALK IN THE PARK For some time now one aspect of adventuring has become ever more prominent in my mind as I've walked through a local park. This park has a river flowing through it, buildings of some interest, both genuine historical structures and more fanciful follies, alongside the traditional embellishments of a city park - layers of flowers of every hue lining sinuous pathways. What struck me on my stroll was the realisation that every device needed to fill an adventure lay not in a darkened room festooned with the latest bits of microcomputer hardware, but out there in the sunshine and sudden summer rain. Why not base an adventure on this very park? This got me thinking about adventuring and microcomputing and where it was all going. Why indeed had adventures come to be based upon myth, legend and fantasy when they could concern themselves with the real world and all its infinite variety and natural abundance. I noticed a little while ago an artist featured in Crash went to all the trouble of obtaining a real specimen before attempting to draw an ant. Rightly, the artist judged no better feel for the subject could be infused into his work than that derived from the real thing. So it is with novelists. Authors, even when they can't visit the real location which provides the backdrop to their book rely upon the most authentic second-hand accounts they can find, such as tourist guides, street maps and other novels, and by so doing, enrich the final draft. Adventures, until greater memory and perhaps finer resolution can produce more meaningful graphics, are closely related to the short novel and it is nothing short of amazing that no-one has attempted to write an adventure which deals with a real life structure or situation. Surely there is an area between frivolous amusement and erudite education where microcomputing can play a part in broadening our whole perception of where studying and work finish and leisure and relaxation begin? It seems only fair that microcomputers should cushion the bumps along the road of social upheaval which leads to the revolutionary world of computers and robots (remember them? They were all the rage on Afternoon Plus about two years ago when discussing the future seemed like a good idea). How about an adventure where the subject matter concerns itself with a real Scottish castle and a story which gives an authentic rendition of its history? Or perhaps it could traverse a real park (say Hyde Park in London, Central Park in New York or your local Jesmond Dene) whereby at the end of the adventure the player has not only enjoyed an entertaining game but has also picked up the rudiments of some tourist spot. Two games this month had me thinking even more about the possibilities. Although I do not know for certain, I think an Arendarvon Castle does not truly exist in NW Scotland, and when considering the layout of the submarine in Sub Sunk I find it hard to believe the author has consulted any reputable works on the subject of submarines or their internal design. It is hard to imagine indeed any author embarking on a novel concerning submarine warfare without first consulting the facts so freely available to anyone with the time and tenacity to unearth them. By and large, considering the high standard of published novels, most authors look on research as an essential prelude to writing itself. It is my hope that adventure authors will consider carefully their subject matter and what relevance it might have. SUBSUNK Producer: Firebird Retail Price: £2.50 Language: Quill Author: Peter Torrance & Colin Liddle Sub Sunk is one of two cheap offerings from British Telecom's Firebird label reviewed this month. This is probably the better of the two as it concerns itself with just the one immensely engaging activity that of escaping from a sub sunk to the bottom of the sea by a surprise enemy attack. You are Ed Lines a reporter from the Seafarers Gazette on board the Sea Lion assigned to write an in-depth insight into life aboard a modern working sub. An alarm bell rings and before the sub can submerge the crew are overrun by the enemy who fail to find our intrepid reporter hiding under a bunk in the wardroom. Your prime objective now is to get to the telex room to send the message that will bring a rescue party. The message is: sub-sunk. Up and running, the program has an attractive appearance on a b/w TV, but bright white glares too strongly on a colour set. Since this review is on the whole favourable let's just say I played the remainder on a b/w set after the glare of the coloured instructions, and in monochrome, all looked well. For an inexpensive Quilled game the graphics are presentable and sometimes rather good (as in the sickbay and the cold store). What's more, in places like the control room, with its sonar display (and bleeps), and in the reactor compartment, the control panels show some life like the flashing control desks which lined every spare inch aboard the sub in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ("Captain, a huge octopus has grabbed the ship', 'don't just stand there, melt 10 lbs of oil and serve with a little garlic'). I must say, for the asking price I thought this game wasn't at all bad. The logic required to solve one or two of the problems was thin in some places and suspect in others but anyone who has played many adventures can soon get that self-congratulatory glow of satisfaction within a reasonably short space of time as problem after problem bites the dust. The balance between getting somewhere and solving problems is about right and on your travels you will find much to keep you interested and entertained. As you might guess the DDDeep FFFreeze CCCCompartment is rather cccold, so much so you are quickly returned back to the Cold Store before you freeze to a block. Most of the rest is freely accessible right from the off and almost all you care to examine, pull or otherwise fiddle about with causes something to happen, or gives an opportunity for the program to show off some new witticism. In the torpedo handling area PULL LEVER and 'whoosh! A huge column of air leaves the tube'. In the Control Room EXAM SONAR to find 'You're on the sea-bed matey!'. In the Navigation Area you can examine the map but the torn bits left reveal little that's intelligible. I can't remember a single location where something new wasn't discovered with only the most cursory poking around. Sub Sunk is a much fairer attempt to bring adventuring to the cost-conscious consumer than, say, the offerings from Scorpio reviewed earlier this year. The graphics are by no means minimal in many locations they add to the atmosphere and make play more enjoyable. Almost everything can be examined and every lever pulled maintaining a high level of involvement throughout. Getting out of this submarine is a challenge and you could do a lot worse than devoting some of your Summer hols pocket money towards having a go. COMMENTS Difficulty: moderate Graphics: on some locations, relatively simple Presentation: poor, black text on white background and graphics scroll off with text Input facility: verb/noun Response: instantaneous Special features: some sound effects