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Being new to the adventuring game, I have to say that I found the new Level 9 adventure very impressive. Past experiences have usually left me circling round between four or five rather dull locations without a clue as to possible escape. Anyone else who recognises this syndrome and has been put off adventures would be well advised to have a look at 'Red Moon'.

This adventure is of the old school. (plenty of dragons, trolls and magic), and, if anything, this makes it more enjoyable than some of the other Level 9 titles.

The aim of the game is to locate and return a red moon crystal that is the source of magical power. Some devious soul has stolen the said object (Ya, Boo, Hiss) and it is your quest to return it (Hooray).

The area of play contains forests, volcanoes, cave systems and a castle that can be reached once you have drained the lake (this isn't too difficult, even I managed it at the first attempt). Various objects that you find have a special significance. That is, they can be used repeatedly to cast a particular spell depending on the type of object (for example, Lamp allows one to CAST the FIND spell which will give a brief glimpse of an object's location).

One thing I would advise anyone starting an adventure is that it is absolutely vital to make a map. In only two or three hours of play, I managed to visit around 70 rooms, though the game actually contains more that 200, so I still have a long way to go. Another thing that helps to liven up this adventure is that every location has a half screen picture that helps to set the scene for those of us who have no imagination. Don't expect a Breugel; the pictures are quite basic but locations such as the castle have quite a reasonable amount of detail. To allow full text descriptions to fit on the screen, the pictures can be switched off.

Red Moon, like all the Level 9 adventures, is a very high quality program, both in content and the competency of programming, and will provide a perfect introduction for novice adventurers as well as old hands.