Previous Next

Blackstar, a traditional text adventure, is a veteran of several other micros and is a standard implementation of a standard adventure theme.

As an adventurer transported to a clearing in a mystical forest, not more than a few strides from the mysterious castle of the title you must find an orb and return it to a beautiful woman who appeared to you in a dream.

Wandering round the imposing edifice reveals no obvious entrance, though a little deduction will reveal that the key to this puzzle is just one shot away. Once inside the keep there's a maze of rooms to investigate and objects you'll need in your ongoing adventure.

This is all very much first generation adventuring, compared with the sophisticated interactive fiction now available. The descriptions are somewhat stark and the authors seem to have thrown in everything but the kitchen sink, though maybe that's in one of the deeper recesses of the labyrinth.

However there are probably newcomers who would welcome this rather uncluttered, straightforward deduction. It's just that soon you'll want the added atmosphere of a Level 9 title, the sophistication of The Hobbit, or the sheer genius of Infocom.