Title: Starship Quest
Price: £2.50 (please spcify if 48K or 128K version wanted)
Publisher: FSF Adventures, 40 Harvey Gardens, London SE7 8AJ
Reviewer: Mike Gerrard

Larry Horsfiled's Starship Quest is the follow-up to his very popular Magnetic Moon, and, before I forget, if you want to buy both games together you can do it at the reduced price of £4.50. Magnetic Moon was a very enjoyable multi-part space game, inspired by Larry's love of science fiction, and this is an even better sequel, again influenced by several sci-fi novels but in particular a story called Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton.

Once again there are both 48K and 128K versions of this three-parter, and it's good to see someone making full use of the extra memory of the bigger machine rather than producing the bog-standard 48K game and leaving it at that. The 128K version has more features, much more gameplay and a greatly-extended ending (something I know loads of people wished every adventure had), and that's the one I looked at. Remember though that some of those features will be missing on the smaller memory machines.

The PAWS-produced game begins with an optional story and instructions program. This is well worth reading - in fact, it's half a novel in itself, but I wish the author would disable the key with the exclamation mark on it!!! I don't mind them now and then, but it gets a bit wearing when they're in every other sentence!! See what I mean?! He should also learn the difference between 'it's' and 'its', which he confuses constantly.

As for the story, well, basically it's that you're Mike Erlin, you're on a spaceship and you wish you weren't. You've got two minutes to gather some equipment together, make it to the lifeboat and jump ship before the mother ship does its hyperspace number. Then you can get back to the planet you just left and find out the secret of the two discs that were given to you in Magnetic Moon by a beautiful princess. These aren't any old discs, not your Dolly Parton 45 and Jason Donovan Live At The Adelaide Abattoir - these two discs could hold the key to the universe! Blimey. But don't tell me... In the next part you have to find the lock.

Back in this bit, and specifically the first part (The Abandoned Planet), you begin in the Stellar Queen's control room with Cap'n Morgan and Mr Pocks for company. I'm glad to see the author's included a few more response messages this time, so that you're not forever being told that "You can't do that" every time you try to examine the billion and one things in the location description. Okay, so often you get a "That's just scenery" message, but at least it makes a change.

I made a quick trip around the ship and found Commander Giles being treated in bed by my girlfriend! What? Oh well, it is the sick bay and she is the ship's doctor. I'm glad I found her though, because when I said I was leaving she gave me something I really wanted. You'll have to play the game to find out what it is.

The use of other characters in the game works well, and adds a lot to the atmosphere. While there is any atmosphere, that is, as pretty soon you should be down on the surface of an alien planet, although it looks remarkably like old England to me - gently rolling countryside, long grass, dotted with trees. There's a sign on a derelict fence, but unfortunately it's written in alien and I must have left my Teach Yourself Alien book back on the ship. That's a shame, as you pretty soon find quite a few other signs too. And what do those markings on the two discs say as well?

There are some abandoned buildings about, and you get quite a good picture of this seemingly deserted planet. There are some creatures around, apart from the droids you find later on. There are a few worms to be dug up, and a pair of eyes down a hole in the ground. I'm going to give away the answer to one of the problems here, as it shows why, to me, FSF Adventures are still in the second division of adventure producers and not the first - although they're admittedly near the top of the league! To get the creature whose eyes you can see, you have to THROW WORM IN HOLE (and do it twice). If you try the more obvious PUT WORM IN HOLE you're told you can't do it, and this could make many people, especially new players, think they were on the wrong track and so not persist. If you try to DROP WORM DOWN HOLE you merely DROP WORM, which burrows away into the ground and disappears - and there is only a limited supply of the wormy things. Other little errors like "a area" and "a animal's burrow" just slightly spoil what's otherwise a jolly good romp.

You certainly can't fault the features the game has. It accepts full sentences, and you can LOOK NORTH as well as GO NORTH. You can also LOOK UNDER, ACROSS, AROUND, OVER and IN things (and will need to). INFO gives a list of which commands have been abbreviated to one letter, and VOCAB gives a lengthy list of acceptable commands. There are RAMSAVE and ALL commands, and with the EXAMINE ALL command you can specify whether it's the objects WORN, CARRIED or HERE. Phew!

At the end of the day adventures, like books, films, music or anything else, are all down to personal taste. Some people rave over Larry Horsfield's games, saying they're the best things since Heinz Steamed Puddings, but, while I quite like them, they don't have that extra bit of sparkle for me that you get from John Wilson or Linda Wright. Don't let that stop you trying one of them though, as they may well sparkle for you.

FSF (Fantasy and Science Fiction) adventures is run by world-renowned tall person Larry Horsfield. Larry has, in the past, tended to concentrate on bringing out multi-part adventures of the highest imaginable quality. Since his last real blockbuster - an epic four-parter that sneaked into my all time top fifteen adventures and received a YS megagame rating - I'm talking about the legendary Axe of Kolt - he's quietly been working on more titles. Some are his own creations while others have been inspired by other people but coded by Larry. It's about time we had a brief look at FSF'ss winter collection so here we go with a focus on FSF...

Title: Starship Quest
48K tape... £1.99
128K tape... £1.99
128K +3 disk... £2.99
Magnetic Moon and Starship Quest
48K tape... £2.99
128K tape... £2.99
Reviewer: Tim Kemp

Starship Quest is the three-part sequel to Magnetic Moon. The game begins more or less where the previous mission left off. You discover that there's more to the planet you've just been exploring than meets the eye and decide to return for another root around. Sadly your captain has other plans, and you have to jump ship and go on a solo mission to find the Star Matrix, the third key that will enable mankind to inherit the Last Starship of the Galaxans. What's that? You'll have to play the game to find out.

At that point we come to the end of the Mike Erlin Space Opera series of games, though there's the promise of Revenge of the Space Pirates (release date: late 1992) which once again features part-time hero, Mike Erlin, in a hyper-galactic search for a kidnapped priestess. Should be a good 'un.

Right, looks like we've come to the end of what's turned out to be a rather detailed look at the FSF collection. If I had to sum up what I think FSF stands for I'd have to say that most of the games offer a great challenge, are full of rich evocative text that conjures up vivid images of the realms that you find yourself adventuring in. and there are more than enough plot twists and turns to keep you guessing. Larry Horsfield doesn't release games all that regularly (which is one reason why you'll not find him frequenting these pages too often) but when he's got a newie coming out you'll find me at the head of the queue waiting for it!

All games available from FSF Adventures, Larry Horsfield, 40 Harvey Gardens, Charlton, London SE7 8AJ. Cheques and POs made payable to FSF Adventures. Overseas customers please add: 50p per order (Europe) or £1.00 (the world).

Spectrum (48K or 128K) £2.50 each, £4.50 both

In Magnetic Moon, you play Mike Erlin, part of the crew of the spaceship Stellar Queen. Your task is to try to free the ship from the tractor beam originating from an alien moon. In the sequel, Starship Quest you must find the secret of the Keys to the Universe given to you by a priestess.

Both adventures impressed me by the very high standard of design. In addition, there is a handy Vocab command listing recognised words. The standard of the puzzles in Moon are high yet the plot, which injects a welcome vein of humour, moves at a brisk pace. The game gives you handy prods and pushes to aid you in case you become stuck.

The 128K versions of both contain extra locations and messages which increase the atmosphere and improve gameplay. I thoroughly recommend both adventures and can't wait to get my hands on The Axe of Koll, Larry's next release.