I very nearly didn't give this game a Monster Hit rating, but in the end I decided that even a below average Level 9 game is better than almost everything on the market. However, I'm extremely disappointed with Jewels Of Darkness; not so much for what it is, but because it isn't what it could so easily have been.

The games which form what was previously called the 'middle earth' trilogy are Colossal Cavern, Adventure Quest and Dungeon Adventure. The first is a version of the original mainframe game, with all the traditional puzzles, plus a special endgame where you rescue some elves in a race against time. Adventure Quest takes you, an apprentice magician, across varied terrain in your mission to destroy the Demon Lord. Dungeon Adventure is set just after said nasty's defeat, and sees you as an adventurer looting the treasure-filled caverns beneath his domain. The latter two have an obvious plot link, but the first one "feels" very different and doesn't fit in particularly; the only common feature being the same starting point as Adventure Quest.

These are all well-crafted, enjoyable adventures, and no matter what I will shortly say this must be borne in mind. They remain impressive for their mass of locations and puzzles, the lengthy descriptions and varied responses (though not as wide-ranging as in Price Of Magik). In their original forms they have rightly become classics, and the versions in Jewels have been technically updated, though the actual games remain basically unchanged. They run faster and look (marginally) better. The sophisticated sentence constructions marveled at in Price Of Magik are mostly here too (like DROP ALL EXCEPT...). The marvellous type-ahead, multi-tasking feature is provided. The originals lacked an EXAMINE command; this has been added, along with other vocabulary dimensions through the additional information that can be gained. The combination of three tapes provides months of entertainment and problem solving for a bargain price. The Jewels Of Darkness are a joy to play.

Why then am I not lavishing the games with further praise? It would have been easy for me to go into auto-pilot for this review (Level 9 - must be brilliant), but when looked at closely it contains faults which I would criticise heavily in other games. Though these are minor shortcomings separately, taken together they spoil a potential masterpiece.

Presentation quality is poor. Descriptions, commands and responses are printed in the same yellow on black, with no gaps between them. Everything merges into an untidy mess, particularly if you play the full screen text version; yet this game above all others requires the player to read a tremendous amount. So why no use of a colour, or a more readable character set?

Then we have the 'graphics'. These are so stupefyingly atrocious, so indescribably inept that I'd laugh if this wasn't a premier product. Just look at the lamentable screenshots we present here. I am not moaning at the inclusion of pictures - I realise they are necessary to gain wide distribution, and enjoy illustrations anyway - but these are so ghastly, no-one could want them. Have fewer of them, and make them monotone, if it means higher detail and the creation of something worth looking at. Instead, we have blotchy, vague shapes and mindlessly inappropriate colouring (purple trees?). An illustrated version of Colossal offers fascinating possibilities which Level 9 have completely thrown away.

Fortunately, a non graphics version with expanded text, mostly longer EXAMINE responses, is provided on the other side of the tape (ignore the cassette label which claims that side is for 128 users only - a stupid, unnecessary error).

The games lack RAMSAVE/LOAD, which is fast becoming standard, and should certainly be included in such a major release as this. It is claimed the commands couldn't be fitted in the Spectrum's memory, though many of the versions for other computers include them and they are even tantalisingly mentioned in the instructions! Even if memory was too tight in the graphics version - and seeing as they had no difficulty including the commands in Price Of Magik, this surprises me - why are they at least not in the text-only versions, utilising some of the memory freed by the welcome disposal of the "graphics"?! I for one would prefer a few messages not to be expanded in exchange for these useful features. A double punishment is that, when you resort to conventional tape storage, which in games this size is frequently necessary, you are forced to use the dreaded Lenslok *every time*! Why not just have one code to crack at the start?

There are other, tiny niggles which all add up. There's no abbreviation for LOOK, unlike virtually every adventure on the market. You are only given a score rating on death: if you type SCORE or QUIT, you are just given a number. If the rating routine is there in the memory why not use it?!

There are no proper editing facilities, just delete: annoying during long sentences.

Plus, I think more could have been done to pdate the games themselves. Some independent characters perhaps? And Colossal looks rather hackneyed these days, so some new problems would have been welcome.

Virtually every fault I've outlined is easily corrected. But they are present in what should be a particularly professional adventure as a result of the Rainbird deal. Apart from the packaging, the BT tie-up seems to have had no effect. For example, there is no loading screen, just the same "Level 9" printed in different colours that has been used for several years. The adventures are good... so why not polish them to perfection? Nothing annoys me more than wasted opportunity.

The attractive packaging is better than most by the way. The instructions are excellent; plus there's a highly readable, entertaining novella, which sets the scene for the latter two games. I expected this to be dull, standard fantasy fare, full of silly names, but it was unexpectedly humorous and gripping. Illustrations would have improved it though.

If you own more than one of these games already, then the revisions are probably insufficient to justify buying Jewels Of Darkness. If you have one or less, or if you are new to the world of adventuring or to the Spectrum, this package represents superb value for money and should keep you occupied for all the coming long, winter nights... perhaps the rest of 1987 as well!