Marlin Games
£4.50 (128K only)

The title conjures up visions of evil and the much-used demonic 666 theme, and although The Beast is not concerned with the occult, the mysterious goings-on it details in a village have a distinctly sinister flavour.

This homegrown, PAWed adventure spins a yarn based roughly on the recent perplexing case of The Beast Of Exmoor. You are a bored reporter working on the rag, The Lowsea Gazette and are hassled to a great extent by your grouchy editor (sounds familiar), Mr C D Slime (geddit?!). He is also fed up with the run-of-the-mill reports on what the local Women's Institute is up to, and wants a really big story to splash all over the front page (sounds a bit like the Ludlow Liar to me - Ed). Well, this seems an impossible task; after all, nothing ever happens in this quiet part of the world, or does it?

An envelope is lying on your desk, containing a letter from one Rose Myrtle, who tells of strange happenings on the moors near the village of Puddlecombe. A strange black animal has been sighted and one of the local farmer's sheep has been mauled to death.

At last you have a decent story to investigate and soon set off on the bus to Puddlecombe (your stingy editor won't give you a company car). Arriving in the middle of the village, a suitably rustic atmosphere is soon created by the verbose, but not waffling, descriptions of the local shops - there's even an estate agent (remarkable for such a tiny village). You are immediately greeted by the Ranger, who spontaneously tells you that all these Beast rumours are pure nonsense.

It is at this point that it becomes apparent that to successfully track down the elusive Beast (if it exists), you must use all your powers of investigative journalism. By asking questions of the various colourful characters who inhabit the village (in the form of ASK someone ABOUT something), a picture of the recent, curious events is built up.

And apart from listening to the local people's gossip, more conventional adventuring techniques are used to find clues in typical Agatha Christie style, bringing an air of suspense to the proceedings. Virtually all objects may be examined so the ability to abbreviate the EXAMINE command to X saves much typing. Conveniently, the many objects collected can be put in your pocket or in one of two containers which can be found; this reduces the number of objects carried allowing you to effectively hold more things simultaneously.

As well as the shops and businesses in the high street, which include the obligatory pub (the barman is only too happy to help you with your inquiries and sell you a pint of beer!), the 'tiny' village also contains its own church, scout hall, church hall and all the homes of the many characters - these can only be entered on invitation (you're not one of those devious tabloid journalists, or an even more unscrupulous CRASH writer!). Access to businesses is also restricted to their respective opening hours, while the veterinary surgeon won't see you unless you've brought along a pet!

There is just so much to do and find out in this enchanting village, before you're ready to tackle the utter contrast of the damp, depressing moor where the Beast is rumoured to be lurking. The loquacious (LMLWD) characters don't just stay in the same location either - they wander around the place, adding even more realism to the totally engrossing plot.

If all this sounds a bit too creepy, the dark mood of the excellent scenario is marginally lightened by the odd bit of acidic humour, but not so much as to ruin the excellent, menacing aura. Surprisingly, hardly any use is made of the PAW's excellent graphics facilities, although a few ill-drawn pictures might have ruined the atmosphere, as well as wasting valuable memory. Nevertheless, the presentation is very neat with a legible, redefined character set and a Rainbird-style location title at the top of the screen, also displaying a clock - every action uses up a minute. This increases the difficulty of what is already a tough adventure, but the inclusion of a option aids progress.

The Beast represents a achievement in homegrown adventures, bringing together the sophistication of the PAW parser and an intricately woven plot to produce an interactive adventure of a very high quality indeed. It is available direct from the author, Linda Wright, at Marlin Games, 19 Briar Close, NAILSEA, Bristol BS19 1QG.

FAX BOX
Game: The Beast
Publisher: Marlin Games, 19 Briar Close, Nailsea, Bristol BS19 1QG
Price: £4.50 (128K tape versions only)
Reviewer: Mike Gerrard

Marlin Games continues to ring the changes with its releases, and this time it's a massive 128K text-only tape-based game, giving you a mystery to solve in a real-time framework with lots of character interaction too. And it's every bit as good as previous games from author Linda Wright, like The Jade Stone and Cloud 99.

The Beast is a fictionalised version of the story of The Beast Of Exmoor the wild cat that is said to be loose on Exmoor but which hasn't yet been caught or identified for certain. At least I think that's the case - local readers can correct me if I'm wrong. In The Beast you're a reporter on a local paper, and one morning your mail's brightened up by a letter from a Miss Myrtle in Myrtle Cottage, Puddlecombe, which tells you about sightings of a large black animal on Torrack Moor outside the village, where a sheep has been killed. The vet says it's not the work of a fox or a dog...

Just the thing for a good front page story and your editor, C. D. Slime, thinks so too. Go about it the right way and he may even dig deep into his pockets for some expenses. Well, deep for an editor as he hands you a fiver - just about enough for the bus fare to Puddlecombe. Inspect your office thoroughly first, though, and keep an eye on the clock at the top of the screen. The command TAKE ALL FROM DRAWER worked, and provided me with a timetable which showed that the only bus to Puddlecombe left at 9.48 - and it was already 9.33. Yikes!

Graphics in the game are limited to some of the objects that you EXAMINE (X for short), such as the letter the timetable, a jumble sale notice and a few other things. Reasonably done, but I think Linda Wright would admit that she's no Picasso. She's a dab-hand with PAW, however, as you discover when you get to the village. The time element is very well handled. The church bell rings on the hour and half-hour, which serves as a useful reminder to you because certain places are only open at certain times. If you're outside the pub at 11 o'clock you'll hear the clock strike, see the landlord open the doors and watch the first customer of the day walk in, but bear in mind that The Puddle Arms hasn't yet taken advantage of the new all-day opening hours!

Down the road the mobile library has arrived but only for a couple of hours, so here's one problem you have to solve before it goes away again. Most other places kindly display their opening hours, but even when the vet's open you can't get past his receptionist unless you've got a sick animal - and can you find a sick animal when you want one?!

There's plenty of chatting with other characters (and plenty of them to chat with), and this works more effectively than in some adventures. At least you usually get some kind of response, and you soon learn the subjects you can talk about. This provides you with several clues along the way, but I'd make very frequent use of the SAVE command (not just RAMSAVE) as you'll often find that the place you want to visit has just shut for the day!

The Beast is a very 'user-friendly' adventure too, which you can afford to be if you've got 128K to play with. If you find something useful you'll frequently pick it up automatically, doors will open if you've got the right key, and there are handy containers of various sizes: your wallet, your pocket and a rucksack. I'd advise finding the rucksack ASAP as one time I bumped into the vicar who asked me to do him a favour and handed me a key, but my hands were full, the vicar disappeared, and so did the key! I did manage to track him down again later, though.

There's definitely a lot of pleasure to be had out of this game. Beginners should find themselves slowly piecing together the clues, and working out the right order for solving the problems, while old hands will admire many of the features as well as the depth of the game. In other words a thoroughly good adventure with something for everyone - that the beauty of The Beast!

Some good news for those of you who have played and enjoyed Linda Wright's games, Jade Stone and Cloud 99. Linda has finished her latest offering "The Beast" which is for 128K machines only. The price is £4.50 on cassette, a little steeper than usual from Linda, but she assured me that this was because all her own costs had gone up. If you would like more details about the game or would like to send for a copy you can contact Linda at Marlin Games, 19 Briar Close, Nailsea, Bristol, BS19 1QG.

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £4.50

Marlin games have had some success in the past with adventures such as The Jade Stone. Linda Wright is the lady responsible and at present she is experimenting with STAC - soon all you ST adventurers will be able to experience her games.

The Beast is roughly based on the mystery of the beast of Exmoor and involves you as a reporter hot on the trail of some strange sightings.

The story opens normally enough with you and your Boss in the office. He seems none too pleased with your work to date and demands you go out and get the 'Big Story'.

This is your lucky day as while he is attempting to burst an ulcer, a letter is delivered which tells of a beast that stalks the moors near Puddlecombe. Showing the letter to the Boss results in him calming down long enough to give you the job of investigation and a fiver for expenses. Quickly picking up your anorak, you rush outside to catch the 9:45 bus to Puddlecome-On-The-Moor.

A VERITABLE BEAST

The village holds many clues and there is a lot to do here so don't be too keen to get to the moors. The barman of the local pub is very helpful as is Mrs Myrtle (the author of the letter) and the Reverend. The jumble sale and mobile library are likely places to find the latter.

Once you've had a good sniff round and your inventory includes all the necessary items such as a map, camera, cagoule etc, you can go to the moor to hopefully find your story.

There are several nice little touches throughout The Beast, the church clock chimes the half hour and people go about their village business in a very realistic fashion.

Unfortunately, the colour scheme is awful, comprising of black type on a light blue paper - a great strain on the old mince pies. Also any graphics displayed are basic and unprofessional - especially the picture of the beast at the start of the program. Linda should stick to text, or get someone who can draw to do the pictures.

However, the PAW has been used well and quite a good story and atmosphere are created. For the price The Beast is like unto an oasis in the present desert of adventure games and should keep those of you who don't expect too much happy for some time.