Masterclass

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Vocabulary 4/10

Atmosphere 8/10

Personal 7/10

Paul Coppins 7/10

MACHINE: Spectrum SUPPLIER: Trinity Software. Available by mail order from above at: [redacted] PRICE: £4.95 Dr Haversham, the principal and proprietor of the academy at which you have been working as a teacher, is nearing retirement. He has promised to leave the school to the teacher who can locate the deeds. I thought that sounded like an interesting plot - a welcome change from saving the world, slaying dragons, having battles with wizards, and all the other things Keith thinks I do before breakfast each morning! Hmm, yes, a nice quiet walk around the grounds of the school, filled only with echoes of last term, would be quite relaxing. I was right, for after the initial mapping and puzzle solving, all the action ceased. There was nothing left to do except check out the whereabouts of the blackboards. The blackboards had some very strange questions chalked up on them: WHEN TIME IS SHOWN, WHO IS ON THE THRONE? However, having already spotted the answer in the history room, I boldly typed in: ANSWER XXXX XXXX - only to get the reply: SORRY - CAN'T DO THAT! Things then got worse, for no matter what format I tried, the computer always gave the same answer. This was not altogether unexpected, for I had already come across a projector that would not project, and a microscope that no way was going to reveal the secret of a microdot! The screen layout looks normal at a glance, but if you type LOOK, the bottom half turns into a simple but effective line drawing of the location you are in. On examining the blackboards, a close up in graphics is displayed. Despite the adventure's somewhat strange vocabulary, it has in its favour some very good features.