ZX Computing


Return To Ithaca

Publisher: Atlantis
Machine: Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in ZX Computing #26

Return To Ithaca

You play the part of Odysseus in this graphic adventure, and must re-enact his epic voyage from the fallen city of Troy to his girlfriend Penelope in Ithaca. A journey which lasted ten years and was fraught with countless perils, according to the extremely brief instructions.

Return To Ithaca is "Quilled", with rather average, though not unattractive, graphics from The Illustrator. These are full screen, and annoyingly repeat every time you enter a location, so yu have to wait for them to draw each time.

The game is very difficult. Even I, a supposedly experienced adventurer, became stuck within the first two locations. In the end I have to phone Atlantis and ask for help (It was either that or risk the wrath of Bryan and his whip again!). However, rather than to be an entertaining challenge, the difficulty is increased to near impossibility by a very tight vocabulary. At times you are required to use really obscure wording like SET SAIL. The fun of trying various solutions to a problem is diminished because the program is almost totally unresponsive. Except when you enter the right combination, it doesn't play along with your ideas. Thus instead of the computer being a tool for you to control, you end up working for the computer, which isn't the way a good user-friendly adventure should be.

That said, for a mere two pounds, Return To Ithaca will provide a reasonable challenge for the experienced adventurer, if you can tolerate the finicky vocabulary. But if you're a novice: stay clear!