Crash


The Incredible Adventure

Author: Derek Brewster
Publisher: CRL
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #5

Incredible Adventure

As a knight of the Fire you must find the Magical Globe which is protected by an evil Lord Nadish and the imprisoned souls of the Minotaurs, Serpents, Trolls and Skeletons.

So goes the blurb on the cassette cover but really this game is far more mundane. You are a small square block and you walk into crosses. In the bottom two lines it tells you what you have walked into.

A castle and its grounds are mapped out over a large number of screens, each screen showing a corner of the castle. There is no on-screen I scrolling - when you leave a section a new map is drawn. You move your block around with the cursor keys but your progress is hampered every 22 paces (when running) while the beasts' positions are updated. If this wasn't bad enough the program insists on flipping you back to walking when interruptions occur even more frequently.

A status report along the side of the screen informs you of your wealth, stamina, food, water, rating and map numbers. Unfortunately this is only updated when you leave the screen, which can lead to a situation where you are chopped down in your prime when all seemed well. Your wealth is amassed by seeking out crosses whereupon a report will tell you that you have a dull jettstone or a brilliant bauble along with the usual gold, rubies, emeralds, etc.

Pressing 0 will fire one arrow in the direction you last moved. But this game is no video nasty - the beasts you must kill are represented by arrow and ' spade shapes which are in no way intimidating and will not approach to fight.

Given time, and patience, you proceed through the castle to the main part of the game. As if in a sleep (as if?) you come over all funny - dit's an aura and it signifies the presence of a soul nearby. When you've captured the four souls you can confront the Evil Lord.

Incredible Adventure is far removed from what many would call a traditional adventure in that much of the movement is achieved simply with the cursor keys as opposed to movement achieved through solving problems. The game is debugged but remains unpolished.

Well, there's too much software and too little time so I think I'll wrap this little piece up. This adventure is incredible but for all the wrong reasons. This game is cheaper than sleeping pills ... but certainly not as addictive. Computer Rentals market this tape and I would suggest you rent before buying.

Derek Brewster

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