Producer: St Brides
Retail Price: t.b.a.
Language: Quill
Author: Games Mistresses

The Snow Queen is based upon the work of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish chap who lived between 1805 and 1875 and was quite something when it came to spinning a yarn or two. (If that's not a popularist introduction, I don't know what is). His other works which became famous are the Tin Soldier and Ugly Duckling. Software has pilfered the ideas of comics, TV, films and books in the past but this attempt to bring the flavour of the book to the computer program has worked quite well much as Tangled Tale from Pocket Money Software reviewed last month was true to the flavour of Lewis Carrol.

In the Snow Queen your job is to help Gerda through her long journey and many adventures to find her lost friend Kay, ensconced within the palace of the queen. We are told of how Gerda, a little Danish girl, can only comprehend simple English like GO EAST and LOOK UNDER THE CHAIR. The game follows the story very closely so it's a good idea to have the relevant part of the story (chapter III) close by while you play. There are also many events which are an addition to the story, little things which happened to Gerda which were never written down.

There are quite a number of things about this game which are truly pleasing to a weary adventure reviewer. First, there's its friendly vocabulary. If you are new to adventuring (and if you are a column regular you'll notice I've been putting the odd explanation in for just this sort recently) then 'friendly vocabulary' refers to the fact that one can expect to approach this game with a keen sense of fun rather than trepidation as much more often than not the program will understand the first thing you input (even if, for reasons of plot or logistics, it cannot carry out your request). In a friendly game you are often told why you can't do something or that you are attempting some action too soon, before acquiring the necessary tools for the job. The adventures I like best are those which have a fresh reply to anything you might like to input.

Secondly, the useful EXAMINE command, as is often the case in a friendly game, adds much to your feeling of genuine exploration. Thirdly, the location descriptions are never terse or abrupt and are always well written and mostly informative. Take this one for example:- "I am in a town street. Our house is north, the street runs east/west. Across the road, to the south, is a narrow alley. The town is just coming to life. The bakers are at work, the cocks are crowing and a few early risers are opening the shutters at their windows. The aroma of fresh-baked bread wafts on the breeze. Can you advise me?" Descriptions such as these add immensely to the atmosphere of adventuring.

One further feature which I especially liked is the odd occasion when the program has been so constructed as to deliberately build up suspense. For example, when you tackle the rough girls on the bridge just south of the town, and it looks like the only way to pass them is to offer them something, the program holds you in suspense as it comes out with "Oh, but it is the only thing I have to remind me of Mama". What then seems like a long time, but of course really isn't, passes before "But you are right. It must be done. The girls have snatched the gift and run away to town" comes up onto the screen to tell you that what you chose to do was indeed right.

The Snow Queen is the follow up to the St. Bride's school romp reviewed in the October Trail. It is a text-only Quilled game which makes very good use of the Gilsoft programming utility. It is atmospheric and consistent and I really quite enjoyed playing it.

COMMENTS

Difficulty: easy as it mostly follows book by H C Andersen
Graphics: none
Presentation: pleasant
Input facility: verb/noun
Response: instant

FAX BOX
Game: The Snow Queen
Publisher: Mosaic Publishing
Price: £7.95

A top of the morning to yers all. Well, I've been hearing the oddest things concerning those youngg ladies who attend that illustrious school, St Brides. First they brought us The Secret Of St Brides, a quilled text adventure, and now (Gasp Gasp) the girls have come up with The Snow Queen, a quilled graphics version of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.

What d'you mean you don't like fairy tales? This one's a traditional blend of witches and innocent young ladies. Just like the ladies in St Brides.

Young Gerda has lost her true love Kay, who is held under evil enchantment by the Snow Queen, a cross between Marilyn Monroe and a deep freeze. Gerda must sally forth, what ho! and find her beloved, who seems to have forgotten she exists.

The Snow Queen comes in two parts but you'll need a password to play the second game on the reverse side of the cassette. St Brides has thoughtfully included a 'dummy password' that'll enable you to have a stab at the second game even when you haven't finished the first.

Although The Snow Queen suffers from slowish response and rather limited vocabulary it's nicely written with some long location descriptions and enough atmosphere to send a chill up your spine.

FAX BOX
Title: The Snow Queen
Publisher: Mosaic
Price: £7995

St Bride's has been almost as busy as Level 9, with it's adventures now released by different software houses - in this case its adaption of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy story, The Snow Queen. If you think you've seen it reviewed before then you're right, as review copies went out but the game didn't go on sale and now Mosaic has stepped into publish it in this newly illustrated version.

The cassette cover contains an edited version of the tale, and you're advised to read the first couple of chapters while the game is loading. Then further reading of the story will give you some clues, but obviously won't tell you everything - this is explained in a rather charming way, by saying that of course other things happened that weren't written down! What did happen to start the story was that Gerda's friend Kay was spirited away by the Snow QUeen, and it's Gerda's job to rescue him - oh, and Gerda's a girl, Kay is a boy, in case you weren't too clear on the matter.

One thing you soon discover is that Gerda definitely has a mind of her own. The initial few locations inside her house include her grandmother's bedroom, where there's a wardrobe. OPEN WARDROBE, you naturally try, but Gerda says "Oh no, that wouldn't be right." Nor will she leave the house till she's done everything she feels she ought to. Hunger soon strikes, but a kind deed brings home the bacon... well, something edible, anyway.

The graphics are in keeping with the story, and it should appeal to the young audience it's aimed at - but definitely not one for the orc-bashers.

Label: Mosaic
Author: St Brides
Price: £9.95
Memory: 48K
Reviewer: Richard Price

Snow Queen, based on Hans Christian Andersen's original story, has actually been ready for release for a while now but the gels over in the deepest Ireland have been seeking out a distributor for their game.

Now Mosaic, who brought out Erik the Viking and Adrian Mole are issuing the classic and much-loved fairy tale, telling how young Gerda runs away from her cosy home in search of her friend Kay - who has been carried off by the evil but ultra-beautiful Snow Queen. Gerda journeys through numerous adventures to the icy wastes of the North Pole and the Snow Queen's palace.

The game-play follows the original tale quite closely, adding extra problems to suit the computer format. You will need to read the book carefully either before or during play but you won't always get your answer from the text.

The game comes in two parts and is written using The Quill. There are illustrated graphics which reflect the origins of the story by looking very much like the kind of pictures you'd get in one of those central European fairy-story books.

The descriptions and general approach are intelligent and literate. Gerda has her own personality and, being a wee thing, will sometimes not do quite as she's told unless she's put under a bit of pressure - you'll need to force her into reading the books that will help her to escape from the witch's enchanted garden.

Whilst it's fair to see the adventure as very much family entertainment, don't let that fool you into thinking that the play is a doddle. There are some tricky problems inside the innocuous format, as you'll soon find when you try to escape the garden or, later on, try to navigate your way around the Snow Queen's palace. Movement directions there behave very strangely until you remember that you're actually supposed to be at the Pole, where East and West are not quite what they seem.

When I previewed this, I said I thought it would make for ideal Christmas entertainment for all the family, even those who might not be too keen on computer gaming. I'll stick to that view, which, to me, makes it all the stranger that the game has been released in time for Midsummer's day!

SUPPLIER: St Bride's
MACHINE: Spectrum 48k
PRICE: £8.95

Elation was not exactly my mood while this game based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen was loading and a further blow was dealt by the appearance of a rhyme on the screen. It's all too ghastly to repeat, but it does give a brief idea of what the story is all about.

For those of you who don't already know it, I'll outline the plot. You play the role of Gerda, the female half of the supposedly inseparable pair of Gerda and Kay, two frightfully nice kids. A decidedly freaky goblin had a fiendish idea - he made a mirror which made everything look horrible, except things that were already ugly, which it made appealing.

The mirror shatters, and two fragments become lodged in Kay's eye and heart. Kay becomes more obnoxious, and goes out to play with the big boys of the village. Suddenly, in a jolly large blizzard, Queeny appears, grabs Kay, and whisks him off to her pad in the mountains.

As Gerda, your daunting task in the adventure is to rescue your pal from the clutches of this icy dame, even though she may not be all that keen to be rescued! Well, despite being cast as a female, it doesn't sound too bad, does it? And in fact, it is quite pleasant to play.

There are some pretty standard puzzles, most of which involve doing 'the proper thing' - ie returning a lost purse to its correct owner. A bug of sorts lurks in this area; once you have returned the purse, the owner is perfectly happy to reward you, only to repeat cries of "Oh, now where can it be?" the next time you return!

The game is in two parts, making a total of 64k, and Part two begins as you make your way towards the Ice Palace.

The Snow Queen probably won't achieve such chart success as a blood and guts adventure, and many garners will no doubt find the story idea rather repulsive.

Mosaic/St Brides
£9.95

Based on the fairy story by Hans Christian Anderson, the Snow Queen lets you accompany Gerda, trying to rescue her friend Kay. Kay has been captured by the Snow Queen after the devil's mirror broke and splinters entered his heart placing him under an evil enchantment. This involves a long and arduous trip to the Ice Palace.

The story starts with Gerda in her grandmother's house and the first problem is to find a way out - there are two things that must be done before you are allowed to leave. Once outside hunger soon sets in and you must find some food quickly or else you faint from hunger. The game follows the story fairly closely although there are some additional problems to be solved. The tone of the game is very much in the style of a fairy story and this means that the game is aimed fairly and squarely at younger players. A typical problem is getting past "a group of tough girls who have stayed up all night", a description that I suspect will bring howls of laughter to any adolescent boys playing it.

The vocabulary is straightforward with a list of unusual words being included in the instructions. I felt that it was a bit too fussy at times. When you help the little old lady, she presses something into your hand but you can only find out what it is by examining the inventory. Or when you find something on the ground, you must examine the ground first in order to find out what it is. The game has been put together using the Quill and Illustrator and there are a few colourful pictures to look at. On the whole though, I found this game to be quite disappointing and somewhat overpriced at just under £10. Aimed at younger players, I suspect that they may prefer something a bit more exciting.

Spectrum 48K, CBM64
Mosaic Publishing Co
Graphic Adventure
£9.95

Most people must have read, at some time in their adolescence, or have had read to them, stories by Hans Christian Andersen. From all those wonderful children's tales, Mosaic has, with the help of St Brides, brought to the computer that delightful story of Kay and The Snow Queen.

The story is about two small children called Kay and Gerda. One day, while playing in the garden, a sliver of glass falls into Kay's eye; also another sliver lodges in his heart. Those slivers were not ordinary glass but part of an evil goblin's broken looking-glass, which made all objects look ugly instead of as they were, with the result that Kay became a bit of a pest.

The summer passed and when the first snows arrived Kay seemed to become more and more interested in the snowflakes, remarking how much more interesting than flowers they were. One day, while sledging, Kay tied his sledge to the back of a magnificent sleigh and was promptly whisked to meet the Snow Queen. It goes without saying that Kay fell under the Queen's spell and forgot all about Gerda.

What you must do is guide Gerda to the Snow Queen's palace and rescue Kay - not a difficult task if you read the story carefully but one I feel will appeal to all ages. If you like an adventure without violence, written in a gentle and witty manner, this could be the one for you.