Computer Gamer


Kayleth
By U. S. Gold
Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in Computer Gamer #22

Kayleth

A rare mineral was the downfall of the Zyronean race. The ore in question is chromazin and it is craved by the powerful Kayleth who has sent down hordes of androids and used his atomic bisemblers in order to enslave the Zyronean people. You managed to avoid capture and were all set on discovering exactly who Kayleth was and how best to get rid of him when events overtook you.

The time is 340 a.k. You awake only to find yourself strapped to a conveyor belt moving inexorably towards a giant pair of pincers that seem intent on parting the top half of your body from the bottom. Your memory is only working in patches and there are huge gaps in your knowledge that instinct tells you you must relearn or remember as soon as possible. The first problem is how to escape as the bands of steel are too strong or a mere human to break. How is it then that you can escape with ease? This only leads to further trouble as alarms are triggered and a Destroyer Droid is sent after you to restore the peace.

Kayleth is a graphic adventure but the pictures are highly detailed, colourful and some of them animated. A nice touch is that you can opt for a preview of things to come before you start playing and this certainly whets the appetite. The text is fairly brief but fits in well with your limited memory recall. Full and good use is made of 'examine' and the program even prompts you if you are looking in the wrong place.

The parser is reasonably complex and able to handle commands such as 'ask Broznek for the Qnuts' or 'get the fuse and insert it'. Use can use 'all' to pick up and drop multiple objects. Other useful commands include a RA_save and something called BOM. Not as sinister as it seems, this merely allows you to correct a temporary mental blackout by going Back One Move.

It makes quite a change to have a science fiction adventure to review and certainly, from reading the accompanying blurb, the authors have no love for goblins, trolls and their ilk. Based on a story from Isaac Asimov's science fiction magazine, the plot is both well constructed and logical. If you're a lover of both SF and good adventures, then Kayleth is for you.