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I
commanded a minion to perform the loading ceremony and
pondered on the mechanics of turbo load. The minor loading
person soon scuttled back whining about inabilities
to perform the ceremony of C2N because of a faulty cassette.
I examined the cassette myself to discover a Spectrum
version on one side and the Commodore version on the
other. The mindless lesser being had been trying to
load the Speccy program... Ignoring this idiocy, I informed
said minion of his foolishness and waited with impatience.
Once loaded, the scenario was revealed to me. I had
been bestowed with the task of finding the three parts
of the Time Lords' amulet that have become scattered
in three different time zones. I know these Lords well,
for they are careless beings who are always losing objects
of worth and without them (and some friends like them)
adventuring would hardly have got off the ground in
the first place. A few hints are also given which should
help with the final solution.
Pressing
RETURN led me into the game. An elementary puzzle was
immediately presented that should provide no problem
to the experienced explorer and took me mere seconds
to solve. A fishing rod was before me, and on taking
it, I discovered the amulet to be hanging at the end
of the fishing line. It looked dirty, a hint if I've
ever come across one, and so being a wizard wise in
the ways of cleanliness I gave it a good rub. This kindly
action transported me into one of the three separate
scenarios, each containing a part missing from the amulet.
A
tricky problem that needs to be understood is the way
in which objects are freely scattered throughout the
three separate time zones and that objects in one zone
may well be needed in another. Great problems may be
caused by this. Points of interest include a Frenchman
who upon being EXAMined informs you that he enjoyed
the close attention. Kissing him results in an even
stranger retort. The White Wizard became much amused.
The amorous Frenchman resides in the French Revolution
period -- one of the scenarios, whereas the other two
are presented by the prehistoric past and modern times.
The
problems presented proved themselves worthy for even
my metaphysical capabilities. The program's vocabulary
is sparse and gap-ridden, a result, I fear, of being
a son of The Quill, although as I have already
said, not necessarily a fault of The Quill itself.
But once you've deciphered the author's train of thought,
things become more obvious. The location descriptions
are generally sparse and not particularly atmospheric.
However, comprehensive SAVE and RESTORE functions are
included; as always this increases the esteem of any
adventure in the eyes of the White Wizard. All in all,
The Amulet proved itself worthy of any mortal's attention,
especially at the meagre few groats that is being asked
for it. Even the contaminated B-side holding the Spectrum
version may make a few misguided mortals happy.
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