Previous Next

You are the village of Austburg's last hope. No, don't run away... you see, there are these zombies in the swamp, and unless you can retrieve the silver crucifix stolen by rotten old Baron Strieg, said zombies will engulf the village.

So off you go, in the guise of warrior, adventurer, elf or wizard, to explore the four levels of the Baron's castle, seeking out the pieces of the crucifix.

Of course, should you see any treasure that might happen to be lying around, no reason why you shouldn't have that too...

The Baron's castle is strongly reminiscent of the tortuous maze in Repton, but none the worse for that. Like Repton, there are puzzles to solve, creepy-crawlies to dodge (Ravensbees), things to avoid (acid pools, man-eating plants and so on) and things to pick up. Also like Repton, the game is difficult, frustrating and totally addictive.

You can do more in Ravenskull than you can in Repton though. You can carry up to three objects and use them - open a door with a key bash a wall down with a pickaxe, and so on. Apart from the treasure, there are loads of things to pick up, including dynamite, scythes, bows and arrows, food, scrolls and potions.

Trouble is, not all of these things are necessarily helpful - some of the scrolls are obstructive, if not downright lethal, for example. It takes a lot of time, persistence and luck to work out how to put everything to good use in order to clear each level.

After a brilliant opening screen, the graphics are a bit disappointing, perhaps because the game looks so much like Repton - and there have been three Reptons!

The jolly background tune gets a bit wearing after a while, too. But the scrolling's smooth, as we have come to expect, and the whole thing is well put together and presented. If you enjoyed Repton, you'll enjoy this.