Title: The Golden Locket
From: Zenobi Software, 26 Spotland Tops, Cutgate, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 7NX
By: Keith Burnard/Zenobi Software
Price: Cheques and PO's for £2.49 payable to Zenobi Software, overseas add 50p (or £1.00 for airmail) to cover the extra postal costs.
Reviewer: Tim Kemp

The Golden Locket differs from most other adventures in that it was written using Tartan Software's Adventure Builder System (ABS). What does that mean? Not a lot really except a slightly slower screen refresh rate, though apart from that everything looks very Quill-like.

On to the game... you are sitting in front of your TV late at night watching one of those old westerns. "Put your hands up!" a voice cries. You think it's part of the film until you notice the three desperados standing before you. They search you and take the present you had bought for your wife, the golden locket. Each villain pockets a piece (chain, locket and photo) and they run off sniggering! Naturally you run after them in order to get your property back.

Once play commences properly, and you get down to some problem solving you'll see that the author, in all his wisdom, has decided to make things unbearably difficult right from the start. There's a bear who kills you at every opportunity, and even the help-sheet that I had by my side was hopelessly hopeless - giving the wrong information at every stage. The bear can eventually be dodged, though even after that there are more horrible twists and turns to endure in your search for the Locket. I'd be more inclined to let the baddies keep the flaming thing and buy the wife a nice frock instead!

All in all it's a pretty hostile game, both the parser and the setting that is, but it should prove to be a challenge for those of you who want to really test your mettle. Even with the help-sheet I doubt if you'll solve it in much under six weeks. I tell you what, if you are the first one to solve the game and tell me the ending (write to the usual YS Adventures address) I'll proclaim you master adventurer and send you some fabbo adventure goodies... you'll definitely deserve them!