Producer: Hewson Consultants
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Steve Turner

Here is the second adventure movie, The Dragontorc of Avalon. Well yes of course it's a sequel to Avalon (rev. issue 10) but there are some important changes that should make this a very different game to play. As with Avalon the game comes complete with a map, a code sheet and a fairly exhaustive instruction sheet. The screen effects are the same so the player still needs that degree of arcade skill to direct Maroc and be quick on the draw with a spell. Even the screen surround is similar to Avalon as is the way one invokes spells using the pointer on the scroll, and of course Maroc hasn't changed a bit, dear old soul.

The Dragontorc story is different to that of Avalon so to help set the scene, a little tale... Many years ago this land was ruled by Bran. Now he was a realistic sort of chap who knew that one day he would die, which would leave his only son and heir as ruler. Bran's son could be generously described as a spoilt wimp, the sort of chap that drives around pub car parks in Dad's Porsche (not in those days, of course, the pubs didn't have car parks). To make his son a strong and mighty leader Bran sought the power of magic and bade the Lords of Lore to make The Dragontorc. This was to be an awsome thing, so great were its powers that even a C5 would pale into insignificance. But power such as this went straight to the young wimp's head and after Bran's death he used the power for evil, not for good. Eventually the Lords of Lore managed to recover the Torc, but they dared not destroy it lest the power of magic itself fade, instead they forged five crowns which they scattered across the kingdom. Now the Torc is harmless, until the five crowns are joined together again. Enter Morag the Shape-shifter, she yearned for the power of the Torc and used her evil on the Kings of the land so while they warred with each other she could steal the five crowns and inherit its terrible power. Morag has already managed to get the Crown of Dumnovia. Only Maroc can thwart her plans and only he with the help of Merlyn, Maroc's old tutor and prisoner of Morag. Merlyn's first advice 'seek the Ley Rod....'

Essentially the game is played in exactly the same way as Avalon. Maroc has a small collection of spells which he may add to as he progresses, but this time he starts with the 'Bane' and 'Servant' spell as well as 'Move'. The spells work in the same way as in Avalon, for example 'Move' and 'Unseen' are background spells and can be used together, this would allow Maroc to be invisible while still exploring. The disadvantage with background spells is that they are a persistent drain on energy. There are a some new and more powerful spells hidden away which you will need to deal with the extra nasties that will try to impede your progress.

The game itself is larger, having more locations, more treasures and more dangers. But the most important change of all is that Dragontorc uses a trick called sensory animation. All of the creatures that Maroc meets have lives and characters of their own, some are downright belligerent, while others can be persuaded to support your cause. The importance of this feature will become apparent when the game is played, for Maroc to be successful he must enlist the aid of allies. As a general rule 'be nice but be quick'. The system of ranking has been slightly changed, instead of having 16 ranks there are now only 8 subdivided as before 8 times.

COMMENTS

Control keys: A-G/Z-V up/down, B or N/M or SS left/right, H-L fire
Joystick: Kempston, AGF or Sinclair 2
Keyboard play: responds positively
Use of colour: superb
Graphics: more scenery changes than Avalon, but generally similar and excellent
Sound: music is great but there's little else
Skill levels: N/A
Lives: one cannot die
Screens: scrolling, over 250 different locations

It is all too easy to condemn a game simply because it looks ike the original. Who can blame publishers for continuing to use a successful theme? Lots of people seem to but I don't think the issue is as simple as that. There comes a time when a well tried system that was once exciting is now positively pedestrian and this is certainly the case with a few recent releases, where you say the graphics are still superb but the story line and objectives are not really different. So have Hewson simply re-vamped Avalon hoping that an eager public will snatch it up regardess? I think perhaps not, Dragontorc has the advantage in that while the graphics made the game excellent in its own right, the story and tasks that the game set were the ultimate chalenge. The graphics are the same, the method of play is the same, some of the characters are the same BUT Dragontorc is, in itself, hard and challenging to play. Sensory animation adds greatly to this challenge. Let's not be rash, if you only enjoyed Avalon for the graphics then there's nothing really new for you here. But if you enjoyed the challenge of Avalon, relished the puzzles, revelled in the disasters and setbacks, then Dragontorc is for you. Be careful it's a tough one.

I didn't actually see Avalon which is a shame because I would have had some idea of what I had let myself in for. When I was given Dragontorc to review, being a simple arcade freak, I can only just appreciate the fantastic qualities of this game. It has excellent graphics that give a slight perspective view, eg paths vanishing into the distance, and its size is enormous. I've had Dragontorc for quite a long time and I have hardly reached into the game at all, it took me ages to get out of the first screen but that was because I didn't read the instructions properly. This game didn't appeal to me but that's because I am the sort of person who likes to blast things to kingdom come without having to think too much but I am sure that it will appeal greatly to those of you who enjoy the adventure element.

I thoroughly enjoyed Avalon and Dragontorc looks as if it will surpass that. It's in the same style as Avalon but rather than having to explore rooms the game is set all over ancient Britain so there's forests and caves etc to explore. The 3D graphics are well drawn although there is still that flicker but once your eyes get used to it it's unnoticable. This is a great arcade-adventure with plenty of tasks and challenges. Dragontorc is much more involved than Avalon and is certainly a worthy CRASH SMASH. The author Steve Turner has created his best game yet, exciting, challenging and highly addictive. It's also pretty damn hard so I shall expect you all to be sending tips to Rob. The save game facility is valuable as is the feature of not going back to square one after a death. An excellent balance of incentive and difficulty.

Ross: Here it is, the follow-up to Avalon, featuring the same graphical furniture but with a finer back-drop. Your quest is to seek out the five crowns of Britain and free Merlyn from the evil grip of Morag the Shapeshifter (and don't try saying that when you've had a few! Ed).

The game comes with a map of the Realms of Dragontorc and a potted history of the story so far. You control the familiar figure of Morac by choosing the move spell from the scroll displayed at the bottom of the screen.

You've also got two other spells at the start - the servant spell does all the graft by providing you with a hard-working sprite that runs errands and fights, and there's also the Bane spell. That's much more mysterious and I'll leave it to you to discover how to use it!

There are about 256 locations to explore and over 80 characters - or so it says here.

I didn't get that far and I reckon it'll take quite a while for someone to crack it.

If you liked Avalon, you'll love this. I found both of them to be dreary dark-age dramas - not a patch on Dallas. 3/5 HIT

Dave: It's an improvement over the original but I still rate this as a triumph of programming over playability. 2/5 HIT

Roger Ding-dong! It's Avalon calling again... More of the same and just as satisfying. 4/5 HIT

Publisher: Hewson
Price: £7.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston

Dabble in a spot of dark age magic, pitting your wits against Morag, witch queen of the north.

Dragon Torc, from Hewson, is the sequel to Avalon. You play Maroc who, with the help of a few spells, has to search for the five crowns of Dragon Torc.

The search takes Maroc into the Lost Vaults of Locris and from there, along ley lines, to various locations across the British isles.

You start with three spells, Servant, Move and Bane. Other spells must be added to the list as without them nothing can be achieved. Wisps, skeletons, spiders and a flying cauliflower are just a few of the creatures you will meet and can be disposed of if you have the right spells.

Other characters who you meet may help you and the manner in which they are approached will affect their attitude towards you. Elves are particularly useful.

Maroc travels via levitation, gliding along in a lotus position. In fact Maroc is really sitting by a fire and you are guiding his astral projection.

The actions of all characters are fairly realistic. Skeletons come running with outstretched arms and snakes stop, wait and then dart forward to strike. Doors really open.

All spells, objects collected and instructions from Merlin are listed in a scrolling window at the bottom of the screen. Selection is simple - bring Maroc to a halt and press the fire button, use your joystick to select the option and press the fire button again to implement it.

Although the graphics are relatively simple, they are clearly defined and scroll in four directions. However, when Maroc is in motion, the scrolling is jerky and can be distracting.

Avalon fans will love Dragon Torc, which is more user friendly. The puzzles are well hidden and tricky. If you have never played Avalon, however, start with Dragon Torc, it is the better game.

PRICE: £7.95
GAME TYPE: Arcade Adventure

At last! The sequel to Avalon, the adventure movie, is on sale, and it is better, far better than Avalon.

Dragontorc sets you, as Maroc the wizard, to defeat Morag, the witch queen of the north. You must move your astral projection through a series of three dimensional rooms, find and employ a series of spells, map a route, utilise objects which you find on the way, defeat enemies and make friends.

Make friends? Yes, because each of the characters in the game reacts to you depending on their original characteristics and how you act towards them or others of their race. Skeletons are empty headed, and what brain remains to them tends to be full of death, so it probably saves time to kill them, rather than attempt friendship. Elves, though, are friendly little chaps, if a trifle shy. If you avoid killing any of them, either on purpose or by mistake, and if you try out a spot of trading with them, they will become friendly, and willing to help you in any way that they can.

A number of nice touches add to the computer movie effect of Dragontorc. The sound effects let you know what is happening, as far as is possible with the Spectrum. You can hear skeletons thudding around the room, or the elves skipping in. There are some surprises waiting for you too. Wait until you try unlocking one of the boxes. Yeeuch. Or, until you search the wrong skeleton. Aaagh.

Dragontorc is an excellent game. It makes a good film as well. Catch it on your local Spectrum. Produced by Hewson Consultants 60a St Mary's Street, Wallingford, Oxon.

Spectrum 48K
Arcade Adventure
Hewson Consultants
£7.95

Maroc is back. So what? Well, this is the entity who vanquished the Lord of Chaos and banished him from his earthly realm - a neat thing to mention in job applications. Aficionados of Hewson's Avalon will remember him; more importantly, they will have experienced the lateral thinking necessary to get things done in this program. Hardly anyone does anything for themselves; Maroc kicks off by projecting his soul - not one of the more manoeuvrable souls I may say - but quite a lot of Maroc's soul's work is done for him by a servant creature.

To move, you get the arrow pointing to move. Press the fire button once and the scroll changes to show the move you have selected and how many more uses of it you have left. "Project they soul" hints the scroll. In the style of Gargoyle's Tir Na Nog, you have to move around on pathways.

To access the servant, you scroll as before and press the fire button twice. A small will-o'-the-wisp appears which you control with the joystick instead of Maroc.

The graphics are rough - scrolling, sacrificing smoothness for colour, so sometimes irritating to the eyes. But I am sure that the actual mechanics of the game will prove an irresistible addictive factor to adventure fanatics.

Hewson Consultants
£7.95

The amazing thing about this is not the graphics, which are superb, the sound which is very way as Avalon, 3D perspective with the scroll at the bottom for messages and options. One ofthe new features is "Sensory Animation" which makes the characters react to you depending on how you act towards them. Most are initially rather aggressive!

The plot is based on mythological characters and involves Morag attempting to reconstruct the all-powerful Dragontorc. Morac's almost impossible task is to prevent her from doing this and to rescue Merlyn who is being held prisoner by her. With the character interaction, locations which need mapping, puzzles to be solved and a specific task, this must be close to perfect in the implementation of adventuring in a graphic manner.

I find Maroc's tendency of bouncing off boundaries one that makes control difficult and frustrating, and the colour attributes sometimes overlap, but these are minor quibbles.