Talespin, the graphic adventure creation program, was released a few years ago and met with a lukewarm reception. At the time it was too expensive and only suitable for simple adventures.

This is a menu-driven program - the only time you need to type something in is when you want to enter text or a variable's name. Every "location" is actually a screen upon which appear the characters and objects of your adventure. Just click on a character to ineract with the game. A speech bubble then appears, perhaps with some options. Click on an option to continue. You are limited in what you can do, but it saves you from having to find the right words.

Games are produced by fitting together character graphics, backgrounds and objects on the screen. You may assign text, variables and conditions to any of these. You can also resize images and use them on more than one screen - they don't take up huge amounts of memory either. A full graphics creation section is included. The program has no sound facilities however. Even so, you can still produce and distribute any standalone games you create using the program.

You'll never produce a rival to The Secret Of Monkey Island with Talespin, but for the price it's good value. If you just want to create a trivial adventure for your friends you can do it quite easily because the package is so straightforward to use. Therefore its ideal for educational titles. Talespin is available direct from Deltronics, PO Box 175, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2WA.