It's not very often a game comes out that takes a computer into a whole new dimension, but that's exactly what happened when Incentive unleashed Driller into the world. Programmed using a new technique called Freescape, it blew away every so-called 3D game that came before it. Nick Roberts makes the journey into 3D city.

Domark/Incentive
£19.99 Compilation

There have been four main Freescape games from Incentive: Driller, Dark Side, Total Eclipse and Castle Master. But what you might not know is there have been special editions of the last two created especially for members of The Home Computer Club.

A BIT ABOUT FREESCAPE

So what's so amazing about the Freescape graphics system anyway? Well, it enables the programmer to create new worlds using solid three dimensional graphics. These worlds can then be explored with immense freedom.

You can walk, run, crawl and fly around as if you were actually there (sort of). You can walk toward an object and look up at it from below. Put on a jetpack, rise up above and look down and all around. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Once you've got a system like this to create games with it must be easy to fall into the trap of having amazing graphics but no gameplay at all. Luckily, Incentive managed to steer away from this path by changing the locations of the games and giving the player something different to do than just walk around collecting objects.

CRYPT - REALLY CM2?

Driller, Total and Castle Master we've covered plenty of times and they're all very good.

But what of this new(ish) game, The Crypt? Basically, it's Castle Master with redefined screens. This can't have been very difficult with the new Domark/Incentive release 3D Construction Kit around! if you've bought this games creation utility you'll know just how easy it is to make a game. However, I'm not moaning (not much, anyway) because all Freescape fans will love a new game to tackle and there are plenty of new puzzles and scenes to entertain.

If you haven't already got all the Freescape games in your software collection, this is an excellent opportunity to pick up most of them at once. I can't imagine what made them leave Dark Side out of the compilation, though, as it was one of the best games. Software houses, eh?

NICK [88%]

Oh dear, am I getting all old and crotchety? Or are there others becoming slightly bored with the whole Freescape phenomena? When Driller and Total Eclipse were first released I raved over them (as did the rest of the CRASH team). But don't get me wrong, just because I'm not going over the top about Freescape these days doesn't mean they're anything less than technically superb. As always, the 3D shaded graphics are a treat to watch and the puzzles are as brain-bending as ever, it's just the game content that's bordering on the tedious 'cos it's been done so many times before. Castle Master 2 - The Crypt is the only new game on the compilation though that's only Castle Master with a couple of new screens. Freescape fans are urged to purchase this compilation, though, provided they don't own the games separately.
MARK [84%]

Domark (Incentive)
£14.99 cass
Reviewer: James Leach

When life gets you down, when you want to escape (and can't afford a holiday) you can always depend on Freescape. Just dive in and fade away - it's the perfect virtual reality. And now thanks to Domark, you don't even need to jump from box to box, because they've very kindly squashed four of these Incentive titles together in one pack, under the rather mesmeric title of Virtual Worlds.

Driller, Total Eclipse and Castle Master have all been out before of course, so rather than giving them to Jon for Replay I've written a quick round-up in that box over there, but The Crypt is a newie. And it's this one that I'll be concentrating on in tonight's lecture. So dim the lights please. Miss Jones, and let's take a look at the first slide...

WHO WRITES THESE CRYPTS?

The Crypt is the sequel to Castle Master, but instead of starting off outdoors, we're stuck down in the depths of, erm, somewhere rather dark and damp and horrible. The game's got the same spooky claustrophobic feel (like one of the old movies where you see everything through the monster s eyes as he shambles around eating people or whatever) and looks just as stonkingly brilliant! As before this restricted viewpoint means you've got to be careful where and how you move around, in case you get trapped or bash into anything!

Right as I said, you start off in a crypt (You didn't actually say that. Ed) Oh. Well, you do anyway. There are two closed coffins keeping you company, and the door's locked - so the first puzzle is how to escape! (Actually, I won't really be giving anything away if I say there's a key in one of the coffins - so have a peek in there!) Escape out of your prison and you're faced with the usual labryrinth of tunnels and rooms - press the action key now and again to examine, eat, push or shoot all the things you come I across.

SLICE OF CHEESE, SIR

And it's incredibly megastonkingly fab! Of course, you have to stop all the time to scribble down different bits of map and solve puzzles, but that's half the fun. And you have to be prepared for making some ghastly mistakes too - I wandered into a room called the Mousetrap, found some cheese on a table and ate it. What an idiot! The screen flashed hideously for a mo and then I collapsed and died. (So, erm, the moral of the story is don't eat any cheese!)

The Crypt is certainly large enough to keep you wandering around for months, and easily as big as Castle Master. The locations have an even more menacing look, and the puzzles are perhaps even more fiendishly difficult than they were before. Finding the hidden objects to help you escape stretched my logical powers further than I ever expected. (Just make sure you look on top of all the objects!)

Of course, the graphics are just what you'd expect from the people who brought us 3D Construction Kit - everything's beautifully designed and positioned, and, as usual, you get totally caught up in the atmosphere of the whole thing and forget you're sitting at your telly. If only I could make games like this with my copy! It's not that far removed from Castle Master- so don't expect to see something completely different (to coin a phrase) - but lots of tweakish little improvements make it even better. So I'm going to give it a whopping...

1991 Verdict: 95° (Blimey!)

Label: Domark
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £19.99 Tape, N/A Disk
Reviewer: Matt Regan

DoMark's release of this Freescape compilation neatly ties into their 3D Construction Kit system reviewed on page 50. is this a clever marketing ploy? Maybe, maybe not, but it hardly matters when a set of games this polished is released in one box.

The four games in theis pack are Castle Master, its sequel The Crypt, Total Eclipse, and Driller. All the (at the time) revolutionary Freescape system games are here. with only Dark Side missing, which is a bloomin' shame. This system uses polygons to represent the areas to be explored - this graphical style is usually only seen in flight sims and the like. So let's have a look at each game in turn...

CASTLE MASTER

This is the most recent of the games in the set, and has a distinctly supernatural bent. Set in a castle (quelle surprise!) populated by evil spirits with bad attitudes. The aim of the game (as Brucie would say) is to rescue your twin, either male or female, from the sweaty clutches of the Magister.

As you explore the landscape, discovering secret rooms and collecting keys, your spirit level (groan) keeps you informed of your health. If this drops too low it's curtains for you, blue eyes. The Freescape system allows you to look at the floor or celling, and even crawl under beds and run screaming from the castle!

The puzzles are rather cunning, and deserves to have been such a hit the first time round. It's a strong contender for top dog in this collection, with a nippy feel to the play. The graphics are simply lavish, and they don't get any better than this on the Spectrum.

DRILLER

This game was the very first Freescape game, and I'm afraid it shows. Set in the far future, the colony of Evath is in great danger. One of its moons, Mitral, is full of explosive gas (like Steve), and an impending meteor strike is threatening to shower the hapless Evathians with debris. Somebody has to travel to Mitral and drill out the gas before the meteor arrives. Guess who gets "volunteered" for this mission? That's right, it's you, you poor git.

The task in hand is to locate the areas of gas build-up and call in the drill to free the noxious stuff. All this is against the clock, and failure obviously means death. On top of the time limit, there are violent laser beacons and skanners (sic) intent in frying your whatsits.

Driller lacks a basic level of excitement and atmosphere (ho ho), but still manages to be a workman-like game. It's fun for a short while, but doesn't have the thrills of Castle Master or Total Eclipse. Every compilation has a weak game, and this is not nearly as poor as some.

TOTAL ECLIPSE

Those zany Egyptians certainly knew how to screw things up for future inhabitants of Earth. Thousands of years ago, the priest of Ra the Sun God decided that the pyramid needed that extra zing to make it interesting. So he put a curse on the building, if it was ever hidden from the sun during the day, whatever caused the obstruction would be annihilated. Unfortunately, there's an eclipse on the way...

Set in the 1930's, the star of the show is an archaeologist who has discovered the curse and and is racing to destroy the shrine of Re before the big bang. A revolver and compass help him on his way, but dehydration is a major worry - keep an eye out for troughs to replenish supplies. The pyramid isn't completely deserted, of course, and various nasties lurk in his dark passages waiting to cause aggro. Luckily this is counterbalanced by the presence of enormous quantities of treasure, all ripe for the plucking.

Total Eclipse is a highly original game, with a true feel of the period and location. The time limit helps to keep things moving at a brisk pace, and a heart beat is used to measure health - a novel idea which works effectively. This is probably the best game in the compilation.

THE CRYPT - CASTLE MASTER II

This is the sequel to Castle Master, and was previously unreleased on the Speccy. This time Magister has captured you, and the horrific fate you've been assigned is to become a ghoul yourself. There's only one thing to - escape from his catacombs and avoid this terrifying prospect!

This uses the same system as Castle Master, and so it's best to tackle its forerunner first. The puzzles avoid being just more of the same, and the graphics have been tweaked to give a greater variety of locations. As before, keys are vital to success, as is accurate exploration of all the nooks and crannies of the rooms.

Basically, if you like Castle Master you'll love this. It's more than a data disk and virtually (nyup nyup) a complete a in itself. Obviously it seems that the game is easier than its predecessor, but that's because you get used to solving them as you play. Either way, a worthy addition to an excellent compilation.

GARTH:
Some of these games are showing their age (Driller in particular), but that doesn't detract from the general quality of this compilation. If you haven't got the games already, get them now!!

STEVE:
This is an enjoyable compilation that will keep you out of the rain for months (perhaps years!).

Domark
Spectrum £19.99

Take the most ground-breaking graphics system ever devised. Use it to make three of the best ever Spectrum games. Lump them all together in a box. And chuck in a previously unreleased sequel to one of the titles for good measure. That's Virtual Worlds in a nutshell. Driller, Total Eclipse, Castle Master and The Crypt (aforementioned sequel to CM). All utilising the Freescape system of 3D Construction Kit fame.

All four games are of such a high quality they'd probably shift for around a tenner apiece. So at a price of just under a score for all four, we are talking bargain! The graphics are great. the puzzles are brain-bending and the value is enormous. You'll be playing these lot for months!