The Quest is an Adventure from Commodore for the C64 and is supplied on a disc along with five other games plus a back-up utility program, under the collective title of The Six Variety Games Programs. The package is often supplied free when a disc drive is purchased.

The back-up utility, I discovered, was just about the slowest back-up on earth, requiring about 45 minutes (with operator intervention throughout) to copy a complete disc. I tried it out on the Commodore disc itself and found none of the games would run from the back-up copy! So much for taking precautions against Commodore disc failures! I loaded The Quest from the main disc with a feeling of foreboding!

The leaflet that comes with the disc includes a reasonable guide to playing The Quest and explains that it has a vocabulary of 51 words, but accepts others in certain situations. In fact, this is an understatement, since there is a 'Glossary' command which lists 51 words, all of which are verbs and directions. As there are plenty of objects and scenery in the game, the overall vocabulary is much bigger.

When played, the game gives a similar feeling to Colossal Cave, although the plot is entirely different. The setting is, nevertheless, in a network of underground caves and the objective is to find the Maker and return him to his source of power.

Although it is supplied on disc, that is not strictly necessary, for I discovered that it does not access the disc during play.

In exploring the caves, one must traverse a variety of passages and crystal chambers etc. - all the usual trappings. Stone and iron staircases abound and from the centre of it all spreads out an orange glow. Various mystery objects are encountered that appear to require magic to move and there are some nice puzzles for the mind to grapple with. A lot of exploration will have to be done to discover the various facilities available for solving the puzzles.

This is a text-only adventure, with a fast response and, according to the instructions, it has 120 rooms and 53 objects. I never like to know how many there are - it adds a dimension of surprise to find out for yourself!

Quite a good Adventure for the beginner and one that will probably be played by more experienced players too. To explore and map the game will take quite some time. Although it is supplied on disc, that is not strictly necessary, for it does not access the disc during play.