Previous Next

OK, 8th Day, I admit it. I fell straight into the little trap you set. Having put Quann Tulla on to load, I wandered into the kitchen in order to get a cup of coffee. On my return, I was greeted with a screen full of gibberish. Assuming that something had gone wrong with the turbo load, I tried again - and got exactly the same. Only on closer examination did I realise that all the clues for me to progress were there.

Quann Tulla is one of three budget adventures released by 8th Day Software under their Games Without Frontiers series. It is a science fiction story which starts on the wreck of the space ship of the same name. Your task is the usual one of overcoming the baddies (the Empire) and so saving the goodies (the Federation).

Described as moderately difficult, the main problem with this game is that you get killed far too frequently without warning. You have to find an exact sequence of four commands in your first four moves. Any deviation and you suffocate. You then come across a cockpit where you have to press one of three buttons. Get it wrong and, again, your game ends. All this is within the first couple of locations so, as you can guess, progress is somewhat slow.

Another problem comes with some of the room descriptions. "You are in a passage with exits to the east and west." Whilst this is true, it look me a long time to realise that there were a lot of rooms off to the north. It seems very churlish not to tell you what doors you can see!

Later on you will have to overcome a probe, a crane and a droid, to mention but a few of the puzzles before destroying the ship and teleporting to a distant planet.

The atmosphere of the game seems to be lacking a certain something. This is a very difficult thing to define but, compared with a game like Level 9's Snowball, everything seems a little disjointed. To counteract this though, it must be pointed out that these games are a quarter of the price of Snowball.

The other games in the series are Ice Station Zero, a beginner's game in which you have to kill Sterling, an international terrorist who is holding New York to ransom. You have to chase your quarry across the arctic, meeting eskimos and polar bears en route whilst avoiding snow ploughs and helicopters.

Faerie is an advanced level fantasy tale based loosely on the characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lots of magic words are needed throughout this quest as you battle your way past ogres, bulls, sandmen and an enormous granite chess set.

These games, all written using The Quill, will while away many a frustrating hour and, at £2.50 each, they represent excellent value for money. Despite the criticisms voiced above, they are some of the best budget adventure games on the market at the moment.

The marks given here are for Quann Tulla.