Amstrad Computer User
1st March 1985
Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: Interceptor Micros
Machine: Amstrad CPC464
Published in Amstrad Computer User #4
Jewels Of Babylon
This is another adventure with graphics production from Banner/Greer of Interceptor Software fame. With graphics of the same high quality as The Forest At World's End but not limited to a small window in the centre. Loading is quick, as much of the game is loaded as one large block which sounds unnerving the first time you hear it.
This adventure puts you in the setting of a 19th century sailing ship which came off badly in a tangle with some pirates. You are the sole survivor of the attack and venture forth to recover the booty from the pirates; namely The Jewels (a wedding present from Queen Victoria no less!). On the island you will meet such charming creatures as crabs, crocodiles, spiders, water snakes and an octopus.
All creatures are supplied in the large economy size folks! It is very easy to get lost on this island and spend ages running around in thickets, dense jungle, swamps and the like. Eventually one encounters some obstacle (lion, crocodile etc) standing there. After dealing with the problem you notice an extra exit availible in that location which is usually worth following up.
The swearword and curse routine is very limited and this can provide simple amusement as when faced with a verb it is not familiar with, it replies "I don't know how to". On the more serious side, it does not recognise many (to me) obvious words that it has used to describe a location. For instance, telling it to, "go down" at the initial location on the ship, gets the reply "you can't", after it has said that down below there is a rowing boat. You also have to type, "climb into boat"; "climb in boat" apparently will not do.
The graphics, pretty though they are, can get a trifle repetitive as it is possible to be given three consecutive identical renditions of a collection of palm trees in as many moves. This is an advantage when travelling through mazes, as pictures are only displayed on as yet untouched screens, so when you get your fifth rendition of a thicket maze, you can be fairly sure of being quite lost.
A useful facility is being able to save the current state of the game on tape when you realise that it's three o'clock in the morning, or just before you do something risky like 'hit crocodile with plank'.
This is an interesting and challenging adventure (especially for me as I have not solved it yet), with the graphics livening things up for players who are not keen on text-only adventures.