Acorn User


The Ket Trilogy
By Incentive
BBC/Electron

 
Published in Acorn User #060

The Ket Trilogy consists of three separate adventure games, all on one tape. According to the cassette case, all three are: 'Giant adventure programs, which combine to create the colossal Ket Trilogy'.

When I played them, I discovered that they weren't quite so giant. Like most adventure games, they are text only, but Incentive Software has at least added some bright colours to the games to liven them up a little bit.

I wandered aimlessly about for a little while until a cartographer approached me. The computer asked for my next move. For some fun and action I typed in: KILL MAN. I was presented with a status screen showing my energy and my opponent's energy. As we battled through nine rounds, our energy slowly decreased until the computer announced that I had finally 'got him'.

The instruction supplied with the game confused me at first, because I didn't know where to start. They are on a single sheet of paper, on both sides, and half of it is upside-down.

The program understands a wide range of words, and it will pull a recognised word out of an unrecognised sentence if possible and question you about it. It also has a wide range of cheeky replies if it is confused by a sentence or word. The program also accepts mis-spelt words, provided, of course, they are not completely wrong.

My main criticism lies on the fact that there aren't many clues. Once you've been around the village and wood a few times, without much luck in finding the secret path to the mountains, you begin to want to give up. Then I noticed a 'Helpful tips' section in the instructions. They suggested I try typing HELP if I was stuck. I did and the reply was 'You're on your own'.

I'm not the most patient adventurer, but these kept me going for a while, with their amusing remarks and unusual situations. Being a three-in-one game prevents me from saying it's bad value for money; but buy it only if you are a keen, patient adventure fan.

Sam Greenhill

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