Producer: Terminal
Retail Price: £5.95
Language: basic
Author: Andy Hackett (Deeds) and Peter Dwyer (Ashes)

I'm reviewing this game much as a music paper reviews a single. You see, this adventure has a flip side called The Ashes of Alucard. As is often thought the case with singles, the first side of this tape is by far the more commercial as it sports graphics which are simple but effective. The B Side is a very simple text adventure. Both adventures are unusual in allowing the explorer to wander freely throughout their respective lands. Solving problems is something attempted only when almost the whole adventure is mapped out. This release represents the first in the Merlock the Mede Pilgrimage with a cassette carrying two different adventures appearing each month from now until Christmas. In their press release Terminal suggest side two of these tapes, the text-only side, will appeal to wallys and hardnuts alike. I couldn't help feeling a wally when I played side two of the tape.

So, if the games aren't up to much, what can Terminal do to arouse your interest. How about a competition? The series is linked by a competition. Each completed challenge yields part of the solution. With eight solutions and proof of purchase every adventurer can win a Terminal digital watch. I'll have to give it to Terminal, this is not a bad marketing exercise. My only complaint is that, as an adventure games reviewer, it may well have been better to send not the computer tape, but the digital watch!

Right, enough of this banter, and down to the sort of stuff I copy off the cassette inlay, partly due to review burn out (chiefly caused by reviewing so much drivel) and partly due to my struggles to understand a single thing that passages like the following are on about.

During Merlock's early childhood he was initiated into the ancient rites of the Medes. After many years of Medean mental development he became Keeper of the Medean Time Sceptre. As the Keeper of the Sceptre he must complete eight challenges successfully. Merlock will then possess the power to unlock the gates of the Forbidden Temple.

Actually, reading through that stuff as I wrote it out, it seemed to make just that bit more sense than is usually the case. A little more ambiguous is the intro to Side A. A small tavern, excellent game broth and potent ale. A young man with a personal problem needs help. The young man's personal problem is not the age old one (not washing behind his ears) but a far more worldly one how to get his hands on his uncle's estate. He meets you, Merlock the Mede, in the tavern where he plys you with ale and tells you of how, although his Uncle Hamish has snuffed it after living out his days as a recluse in Glengarry Hall, the young man's attempts to find the deeds of his inheritance have come to nought. They must lie somewhere amongst the yards of corridors and acres of servant's quarters in the hall. As you play the part of Merlock you obligingly agree to help the man find his deeds and bonds in the hall. Presumably, in exchange, the young man will give you a digital watch.

Playing Deeds of Glengarry Hall, the more commercial of the two programs, you just can't help but get the feeling you are stepping back to a time when Spectrum adventures were in BASIC and response times were a subject of discussion. This adventure plods along slowly but is ridiculously slow when you're picking up objects or trying something the program has to think about. No beep accompanies your input and inputting a reasonable amount at the one location causes the picture across the top of the screen to scroll up and off. As has been pointed out in this column many times before such scrolling leads to the inevitable LOOK (to bring picture and location description up onto the screen once more) being used time and time again (REDESCRIBE is the equivalent in Quilled games).

If you are in need of a fruitless exercise try EXAMining everything in this adventure and count how many 'I see nothing special' reports you can count. EXAMINE is not error checked so EXAMINE XXX brings the same response as everything else. A more sophisticated program would tell you that you cannot see an XXX. In general, the vocabulary is unfriendly and the program unhelpful.

It isn't just the program construction which is reminiscent of programs written over a year ago; the layout, presentation and feel of the game are dated. Everything is just a bit too simple and straightforward. Having said that of course, if you are new to adventuring you may well enjoy the game's accessibility.

The Ashes of Alucard on Side B is hardly an improvement on Side A. Whereas Deeds could be described as dated, this side surely must rate as positively backward. The removal of graphics has not made room for a more comprehensive text, quite the opposite, with very terse location statements. The fast response time raised my suspicions about this being a Quilled game and so indeed it is, as quitting for good puts up the perfunctory 'Bye. Have a nice day'. Perhaps first impressions are a little misleading with this one as once you get into it the game can be surprisingly resilient to boredom. There are a great assortment of nasties to deal with including a zombie, vampire, wolf man and many rats. Fighting these adversaries involves a quick combat sequence flashing up onto the screen. Whenever I played taking on a rat resulted in a kill (which puts one onto your score) or the rat running away.

Many objects to aid you are scattered about the adventure. These are heavy-handedly pointed out in true Quilled style by residing in a position beneath the location description. When picked up and displayed in your inventory the objects are colourfully depicted along with a small token graphic. Along with the frequent sound effects and good overall presentation one thing you can say is this game at least uses the Quill to good effect.

The first part of the Merlock the Mede Pilgrimage consists of two games: The Deeds of Glengarry Hall and The Ashes of Alucard. The first is a graphic adventure which is pretty run-of-the-mill and the second is a Quilled game with some nice touches but very terse location descriptions. Although neither game is anything special they may be worth playing in order to win a digital watch.

COMMENTS

Difficulty: moderate
Graphics: average by today's standards but alright Presentation: glaring white background
Input facility: verb/noun
Response: slow

RICHARD PRICE SEARCHES FOR A GENUINE HERO...

In the pages of a dusty book.

Judging by some of the mail I get, it seems that many adventurers think that game reviewers possess some form of magical amulet to help them solve any and every adventure without so much as a drop of perspiration. Not so. Like everyone else I've wasted hours, sometimes days, locked in cells, stuck in wells or straddled across some vertiginous chasm waiting for the stroke of genius that will get me home safe with the treasure, or the breathtakingly lovely princess. Verily the sweat has poured forth on those occasions.

There's quite a lot of help around if you investigate. Naturally, you will first write to the Fat One at the Ogre. His Vastness' drinking habits put him in touch with many rumours and tips. Companies are surprisingly helpful and many provide help sheets - but remember, they won't give complete solutions.

Level 9, Artic, Incentive, Adventure International and many others give help, though some may charge for booklets which list problems in more than one of their games.

Modem users can access the accumulated knowledge of many dedicated players on Prestel Clubspot 810. There are pages giving hints on specific games and a large section for those seeking help.

I've also been sent a mailshot from the Adventurers Club - 64c Menelik Road, London NW2 3RH. 01-794-1261. They offer help, newsletters, discounted games and a telephone helpline. The subscription fee is £10.95 for those living in the UK.

So, to business. Movie spin-offs are big business these days and it's often difficult for programmers to produce games of a film or TV series without causing pain to those punters who've already formed a clear view of the fantasy or storyline. Disappointed players of The Tripods game will know what I mean.

MERLOCK THE MEDE
Publisher: Terminal Software
Price: £5.95
Memory: 48K

Talking of doing worse we come to Terminal Software's Merlock the Mede. This double-sided production offers a graphic adventure on side one and a plain text game on side two. Merlock is meant to be some sort of time traveller but that has no real bearing on the games.

The graphics game is called The Deeds of Glengarry Hall and mainly consists of a search around a vast and empty mansion.

The plain text game is a straightforward search through another empty and fairly unresponsive landscape for Count Alucard the vampire. There are a few monsters to slay but, as the examine command keeps telling you, 'There is nothing of interest'. I'm afraid the only stunning thing about this game was its appalling grammar and almost total lack of punctuation. Viz... 'you are in the hallway of the rectory there was some steps up to the landing but they look to fallen down a long time ago.' Or... 'a peace of paper' and 'you can smell something fowl'. A rat I expect.

SUPPLIER: Terminal Software
MACHINE: Spectrum (Amstrad version to follow)
PRICE: £5.95

Whilst we were at the PCW Show, a strange looking fellow with a flowing cape and odd jerkin approached our stand, and smiled. Being of true adventurer stock, the whole team shuffled back a few paces and looked around for visible exits. He winked, and with a swish of his rather grubby cape, vanished into the crowd...

The event had almost been forgotten, until loading Merlock the Mede. Who should appear on the cover and title screen but the very same character, cape and all.

There are two games in the package, one on each side of the tape. Yes, great value for money, but not much use if one fails to load...

The games are the first in a series casting you as Merlock - a helpful chap who jaunts around the countryside helping folk in need.

The game which loaded, The Deeds of Glengary Hall, begins with a few screens of instructional bumph to set the scene and explain who you are.

Whilst drinking some brown liquid sold to the locals as ale, a nervous looking man comes over to your seat in the inn and explains his plight.

His mildly insane and decidedly nasty uncle seemed to have the same mentality as the famous J. Pierpont, Flathead: "If I can't have the money, no-one can!" The deeds to his plush residence have been hidden away, and before the young man can inherit, he must... You get the idea.

The graphics are much like those of Colditz (Phipps). They are component designed, which cuts down the variety. They can be turned off, but you still have the feeling that the memory space could have been better used.

In my travels I found only a handful of objects, most of which seemed useless. The descriptions are brief, and much of what is included seems irrelevant. Most of the locations are corridors, landings, stairways and rooms.

There's a digital watch up for grabs if you crack the games. I suppose you could take the view that paying six quid for a watch isn't bad, assuming you have the patience to play through the game!