1st April 1986
Lost In Space
The Magic Knight from Spellbound has been propelled forward into the 25th Century in Knight Tyme, a sequel written specially for the 128K Spectrum
The story so far - our hero, the Magic Knight has saved Gimbal the Wizard. Thus Mastertronic author David Jones left him at the end of Spellbound but instead of retiring the Magic Knight has been thrown forward centuries in time to find himself as an anachronistic stowaway on the USS Pisces bound on a trading mission somewhere in a faraway quadrant of space.
The laws of time are protected by the "Paradox Police" who are out to hunt the Magic Knight down and dispose of him. Under your guidance the Knight must find the Tyme Machine before he meets a grim fate.
As with Spellbound, Knight Tyme uses the "Windimation" control system which features animated graphics commanded from a series of window menus. These options depend on where you find yourself on the ship and the objects you have managed to pick up.
Somewhere in sector two is the Tyme Machine and you have to find your way to it in the face of total non co-operation from the ship's inhabitants. Their indifference may stem from the cloak of invisibility which can be turned on and off at will.
Some aid is given by the ship's transporter system Derby IV and you have a blank ID card for which you need to get a picture. With your identity established you can set about controlling the crew members and eventually pilot the ship yourself.
Ports of call in the galaxy include Serendip, Aridia and Pern and slightly more down to earth the dreaded planet of Revenue the collection point for the universe's tax returns.
The ship's transporter must be repaired before you progress and your supply of nutrients dwindles. But if the worst comes to the worst even dying in Knight Tyme is not without compensations - the transporter disassembles your molecules and puts them together in deep space in the shape of a butterfly. It's a nice way to go.
Littered throughout the Pisces are objects of different shapes, sizes and uses. And of course on the Pisces there are many red herrings to eliminate before you can find if the objects are a help in your quest.
One tip: don't pick up the pot of glue - you won't be able to put it down again and it restricts the number of objects you can carry around.
Although Knight Tyme has been developed especially for the Spectrum 128 there wll be a "concentrated" 48K version available soon.
When playing Knight Tyme you forget that you are becoming addicted to what is technically a budget game. However, the only 'budget' aspect of the game is the price which will be £2.99 even for the 128K version. With knockout graphics and animation, the windimation control system, music by Ron Hubbard and an enthralling storyline, Knight Tyme puts to shame a lot of games which are three times the price.
Spellbound set a new standard for budget games and Knight Tyme pushes that standard up even further and is a welcome addition to Mastertronic's already impressive catalogue of Mastertronic Added Dimension games.
And to cap it all, there is a third Magic Knight game in the pipeline.
