Producer: Adventure International
Retail Price: £9.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Scott Adams, conversion by Brian Howarth

Spider-man follows The Hulk as the second instalment in the Questprobe link-up between Marvel Comics and Scott Adams marketed in the UK by Adventure International. In keeping with the theme, the background to the adventure and the loading instructions are contained within a comic which features a long comic strip episode entitled 'Mysterio times two!'. In it we learn how Peter Parker, a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle in New York, dons a spider suit and uses his powers of spider-sense (which warns him of impending danger) and icky-sticky spider webbing to become Spider-man, a character often swinging spectacularly about skyscrapers in his never-ending fight against crime.

His assailant in this episode is the former Hollywood special effects designer Quentin Beck, otherwise known as Mysterio. He wields his power of hypnosis and illusion from behind a fishbowl helmet supplied with oxygen to isolate him from the thick gas emitted from his canisters which obscure Spider-man's vision and spider senses. We can learn more of Spider-man's friends and foes in a glossary of Marvel characters in the back of the comic. Details go as far as personal attributes such as Mysterio's five feet and eleven inches height, 175lbs weight, blue eyes and black hair.

Two unusual objects, and one imposing character dominate the storyline. The objects are a matter energy egg and the other a bio-gem. The bio-gem is one of many such fragments each protected by an egg. Should the gem try to break free, or anyone be foolish enough to move it before neutralising its energy, the egg explodes. The dominant character is the Chief Examiner, familiar to those who have played The Hulk. At first Spider-man confuses the Examiner with Mysterio and hence the title 'Mysterio times two', but later realises, when he passes through the dark void of the Examiner's portal, that he represents a great power which oversees all the Marvel superheroes. It is here that Spider-man has his mind stripped of everything he knows, every experience, every thought, every sensation he has ever had is laid bare to the probing portal. To find out what goes on in the portal we are directed to the adventure program.

Following the comic strip, and after a brief introduction to what adventures entail the comic goes on to give examples of valid sentence structures e.g. TAKE GEM FROM THE AQUARIUM and TALK TO MADAME WEB along with the extremely useful (especially early on) TAKE EVERYTHING and DROP ALL. Continuing in this helpful mode a list of 24 useful words are provided.

If you are over the tender years of fourteen or so, and you are wondering why you should engross yourself in the antics of a cartoon superhero then perhaps it's worth noting that these comic strips can be, in a self-deprecating fashion, genuinely amusing, much as the classic Batman TV Series. Spider-man, for example, must swing about the skyscrapers on a sultry summer's evening to keep cool wondering what sort of society has glamorous hero-types unable to afford an air conditioner. His finances are low because his editor at the newspaper wants something a little more than just shots of Spider-man in action (how exactly Spider-man can take pictures of himself is not explained).

The crux of the adventure is how you go about dealing with Spider-man's friends and foes from Madame Web, a friend with useful psychic powers, to the likes of Sand-man, who can convert all or part of his body to sand, and the Ringmaster, another foe, who runs a circus of crime, hypnotising and robbing his audiences. Although the solution to the encounters with these characters can be gleaned from the information in the glossary, there are still one or two places which left me puzzled. Moving a crib is apparently beyond the powers of a superhero like Spider-man; there are one or two locations which lead to an abrupt 'something stops me' but I never quite worked out what, and, despite keen super senses, in the dark our hero falls and breaks his neck. There is one major programming niggle which you will most certainly come across. On picking up an object, or setting one down, the scene is taken from the screen momentarily and then redrawn so quickly it results in an awkward flash. Picking up several items quickly can leave you dazed by all the flashing. This is simply poor programming.

Spider-man is another good game from Scott Adams where the Marvel characters really give the game that edge. The graphics are superlative and capture the scenes right down to the smallest detail. The mix of comic book hero, fascinating plot and super graphics will ensure the game's success.

COMMENTS

Difficulty: quite difficult
Graphics: in all locations, some repeated, generally excellent
Presentation: average
Input facility: accepts reasonably complex sentences
Response: fast

MACHINE: Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC, Amstrad, Electron
PRICE: £9.95

Meanwhile, back in the £8-10 range, Adventure international have just released Spiderman, Scott Adams latest Marvel Comics spin-off. The Hulk has already been a great success - how does Spiderman shape up?

Well, there's no doubt about it, the wispy-bearded man from Florida has done it again. To my mind, Spiderman is even better than The Hulk. The graphics are excellent, of course, but this time the game is set in more Earth-like surroundings, though the characters you come across look as if they've come straight out of a comic, which of course they have. The game's available on five machines, but only Spectrum and '64 owners get the graphics. Ah well....

As you explore the sky-scraper in which you appear to be temporarily imprisoned, you'll encounter such oddities as Sandman (that's right, you're standing on him - Ouch!) and Hydroman, who's really rather wet. You'll have fun messing about with deadly chemicals, consulting Madam Web, or fighting it out with the Lizard.

The game is different from Scott's earlier adventures in that it is no longer limited to simple verb/noun input, but will accept complex sentences. This means you can 'Talk to Madam Web', for example, and string commands together using commas or the word 'then'.

Once again you must collect bio-gems and outwit your adversaries, and yes, there's another Natter Energy Egg to be dealt with (don't try eating THIS one!). The game is initially somewhat easier than The Hulk, but rapidly becomes very challenging. The White Wizard is currently deeply involved and urges other adventurers to join him.

PRICE: £9.95
GAME TYPE: Adventure

Super powers may be useful in many circumstances, but they certainly make adventure games no easier to solve. Ouestprobe stars the player in the role of Spiderman, continuing the adventure depicted in the Marvel comic supplied with the game. With super strength, the ability to climb walls and Spiderman's many other powers, things should be relatively easy but, in point of fact, it is difficult to remember what your new-found powers are, let alone where and when to use them.

Spider strength soon comes in useful as you attempt to leave your start location by way of the lift. The ability to climb walls is less immediately useful, things seem to look just the same from the wall as from the floor.

The graphics of the adventure are superb, the Marvel comic characters such as the Sandman, Hydroman and the Ringmaster appear in full colour immediately you enter a location. Despite the quality of the graphics, they do not appear to be overly useful. Objects you can see quite clearly are not recognised by the program, while objects which are described as soon as you examine a location are not visible in the pictures.

The adventure itself is excellent, with enough puzzles appearing immediately to keep any adventurer involved and intrigued. One slight problem lies with the instructions. Your object in the game is described, but why is no mention made of the gems which can be collected, what they are, and what is to be done with them?

Questprobe is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Adventure International.

CATHY FOOT LOOKS AT SPIDERMAN, THE LATEST IN THE QUESTPROBE SERIES, AND THE SANDMAN COMETH, FROM STARDREAMS.

Psst - hey, you out there - wanna trade places with Spiderman? You can now, you know!

There is never a dull moment in this job - only yesterday I was Spiderman, opening lift gates with my super spider powers, since I had become tired of waiting for a lift that would not come, climbing up the lift shaft, and generally being Spiderman to the best of my poor ability.

There I was, trying my wings as Spiderman for the first time. I knew already that I was expected to move in three dimensions in this game, rather than its being all on the same level - it was for this reason that I was told not to map the games being reviewed this month , after all - but the durn lift would not come and I was unable to find the stairs, so I exerted my spider powers and snapped those gates open - still no lift! Ah, well, now was as good a time as any to find out whether I was Spiderman or Peter Parker at that moment. I stepped out bravely into the void and found myself clinging to the side of the lift shaft. I tried going down, but "something stops me".

The Health and Safety boys slipped up badly over the fire regulations on this building, since the only means of access between floors seems to be a non-operating lift: I found no sign of a staircase taking off from any of the lobbies nor even any way out of the building for anyone not in the possession of super powers.

But the building is even weirder than that - what I have said so far merely makes it a fire trap. Take a GOOD look at the design of this building, I'm VERY glad I was specifically told NOT to produce any maps for this month's issue! Have you spotted what is wrong with the building yet? Take it very slowly - open the lift doors and go up a floor; you come out onto a very small amount of floor space, so small that it consists of only the waiting room.

There is an exit from the waiting room, but you NEED to be a Superhero to take it, since, when you go west from here it is punningly correct for a normal person, because you find yourself clinging to the OUTSIDE wall at the TOP of a skyscraper (you can get onto the roof of the building too, by the way!).

Now go back in, re-enter the lift shaft and go up a floor, where you will find five rooms cunningly balanced on top of the ONE room below them, and one floor ABOVE the top floor. The Planning Department must have been drunk to a man when they passed this one! Euclid's enemies strike again!

While wandering round this aMAZEing building you will discover many enemies going about their nefarious businesses - or should I say "staying" about their businesses, since they never seem to leave their rooms. Funny, that. For a moment, at least, I thought I was in the Daily Bugle offices, but even Jonah would not employ these guys .

The only thing that I have found for sure that works in the room with the gem fragment and the Natter Energy Egg, is to back out again fast, otherwise you need to take an interesting side trip into Limbo - somewhere below Heaven and above Earth , I gather - before getting back to the nitty-gritty of solving the game and saving the world .

Another problem I hit was in playing around with the chemicals - you always seem to have too many to be able to mix them together but, since the Spectrum recognises the word "mix," it must be possible to mix them somehow. Try a stricter segregation between the ingredients you want to mix and the rest - such as putting a closed door between them.

One of the more pleasant aspects of this game is the ease with which one can shrug off one's disappointments. Somehow, finding that the solution of the first problem leads directly to the emergence of a fresh one can be accepted with equanimity - like the problem of walking about on walls. Something stops me. Since it cannot be sheer terror that stops Spiderman, it is more than likely to be problems with web. Yes, web dispensers are empty. O.K. that must be what some of the chemicals are for, to make some more. Even if this is not what is stopping me from moving over the sides of the building, Spiderman cannot fight with empty web dispensers. It would be like asking James Bond to fight with an empty gun.

If you remember that Spiderman is never a vandal, you may save yourself time and effort, although there is at least one place where he is allowed to break something - he is allowed to remove some wire mesh in order to enter the ventilation system.

At no time in Spiderman did I actually get down and chew the carpet in rage and frustration, although other games have left their mark and, until SOMEONE invents a logical, acceptable vocabulary AND MAKES IT STICK, there will always be programs best worked at from inside a padded cell and with expert medical advice on hand.

Spiderman is produced by Adventure International, 85 New Summer Street, Birmingham and costs £9.95.

ZX Spectrum
Adventure International
Graphic Adventure
£9.95

Keep cool, pilgrim. Mary Jane, my ex, knows I'm really Peter Parker, my boss at the Daily Bugle doesn't dig the freelance photos I've been submitting, my aunt won't speak to me since I dropped out of graduate school, and my current girlfriend - the Black Cat - can't stand Peter Parker. Only likes me as Spider-man.

No-one knows better than Spiderman what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive. And so we enter the wacky twilight world of Marvel comics where the characters, with their secret identities and double lives, are cathartic reflections of the schizophrenia inherent in modern Western society (What's going on? - Ed).

Spiderman is the second adventure in the Questprobe series, a combination of comics and computer adventure games that allow you to become your favourite Marvel superhero.

The screen gives you a static display of the area you are standing in - watch out for piles of sand - they turn into Sandman.

£9.95

Not being a fan of either Spiderman, or Scott Adams adventure, the combination of the two was not particularly appealing to me. This game is packaged similarly to it's predecessor "The Hulk", and comes complete with some rather lackluster instructions. These instructions consist of an explanation of the adventure game concept, followed by some examples. Both the explanation and examples are rather juvenile. This reveals an unresolved conflict in the game - young Spidey fans may want it, but it's difficulty rating is certainly not for someone new to adventure games, as the instructions would suggest. The game seems to be aimed at both the younger market, and the experienced adventurer, and I feel it fails in both aims.

This adventure can be summed up in a single phrase - "Nice pictures shame about the game." The graphic representations of locations and of Spiderman's enemies are nothing short of stunning, but the game is not of good enough quality to support the graphics, and certainly doesn't do them justice. Stunning graphics, unfortunately, do not make for a stunning game, and "Spiderman" proves this.

The meagre plot consists of collecting diamonds, fighting enemies, and replenishing your spider-web fluid. This, frankly, is all quite boring, so I spent most of my time in the lift shaft.

This is a totally uninspiring game, but with excellent graphics. Not recommended, unless you prefer great pictures over a great game. For my money, the latter comes first every time.