AWKWARD ORCS

Memory: 48K
Price: £5.50

Smoke drifts over the devastated countryside as you set forth in search of the subterranean dens of the Death Moon Orcs. Not long ago a raiding band led by Thorg, chieftain of the unwholesome clan, laid waste your village and murdered your defenceless family. Revenge is all you seek and you will brave the perils of the Savage Lands around the Azonti river to find the bestial killers.

A magic runesword, kept by a hermit, will finish off the ghastly Thorg if you can trace it. Along your way are strewn the marks of war and death, and objects are scattered about which may help you in your single-minded quest. Magic and danger dog your every footstep.

The central theme of Orc Slayer by Gamma Software is relatively simple but the setting is well drawn and consistent, providing a good atmosphere for this pure text adventure. The program uses all the standard adventure commands, though the vocabulary did not appear exceptionally large. The interpreter had that irritating habit of responding to many requests with a simple 'I can't' and, at points, rejected the only appropriate responses to a given situation.

In general the program is an entertaining and eventful game full of mystery and monsters. The statutory maze is thrown in for good measure. A good average adventure in the classic mould. Slay sway.