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Zodiac is a full-length adventure for the 48K Oric. Using slow format, the program loaded successfully, but took half an hour to do so.

This features a very large vocabulary and uses the large memory to very good effect. It's a standard text adventure. You start in a small hut and wander through various locations retrieving treasure. There are six valuable objects to be retrieved and it will take you a long time to complete the whole game. Tansoft reckons five hours for a seasoned adventurer and 50 or more for the novice.

There is a good range of locations and plenty of detailed description. If you find yourself in a room, the Oric will tell you that it has high ceilings, a sturdy mantelpiece and exquisite panelling, which denotes that the house owner has good taste and high financial standing. You are not restricted to simple verb/noun instructions. You can add descriptive adjectives which will affect the way the computer carries out your orders.

Music is added at relevant points of the adventure - in one location you come across a radio that is playing the theme tune from the Archers. This detracted from my enjoyment as the sound did terrible things to the screen display. I assume that production Orics are now free from this annoying feature.

Sound bugs aside, this is a very nice piece of software. I am not an adventure-addict, but I think this is a game I would return to.