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 re
you sitting comfortably? Wiped your noses? Rubbed away
that nasty crufflenut? Then I'll begin. Once upon a
time when the fields and rivers were uninhabited, and
trolls could stomp on anyone they found, one Master
at Arms decided to go and spoil it all.
Somehow
the talisman that had protected his village and his
three sons (Julian, Phillip and Kevin) had got 'lost'
and goblins, ghosts and skeletons were beginning to
take over the town. It was going to be a real riot of
a party -- corpses and mediums, there was even talk
of billy-goat pie -- but the tight-lipped old codger
poured cold water on the whole thing and insisted on
going for help.
Guess
what Mr crafty Cleverclogs forgot to put
in his knapsack this morning?
Not
that he's quite as smart as he makes out. He comes back
with a death wound and a garbled story: an evil Necromancer
is threatening to destroy the land and unless someone
manages to perform seven consecutive quests, he'll never
be defeated.
Any
sensible lad would think twice before going on an adventure
like that. Unfortunately, Julian, Phillip and Kevin
have all had a touch too much of the sun, so they all
want to go. Julian sets off first.
I've
already been round all the rest of the
village -- where else am I supposed to look?
This
is a graphical adventure (relying on the mouse) so a
lot of Jazza's journey from home through the surrounding
fields, forests and countryside, is spent fighting goblins
or running away (told you he was a spoilsport). As ghosts
and goblins are a lot more efficient in battle than
some snotty-nosed kid, you probably won't get very far
at first. Once you've notched up a few skulls though,
you can start using some of the magic objects lying
around, rummaging in boxes, spending money and casting
spells -- you know, abracadabra, shazam, minzaguinness
. . .
Santa,
are you really up there?
The
menu doesn't let you perform anywhere near as many actions
as a text-input adventure but you can still talk to
people, trade with them, look for hidden objects and
unlock doors. These put obvious limitations on the puzzle
factor (what are you supposed to do without an EXAMINE
icon?) so in the end most of the fun comes from the
sound effects -- bogey-ing down to the music -- and
the graphics: you can even see the bubbles when somebody
drowns. Ah, lunch.
Mediagenic's
Faery Tale Adventure:
taking a leaf out of storybooks
If
you like your adventures like your billy-goat (well-done
and meaty) you might get a bit fed up of all this sightseeing.
On the other hand, if you're patient, fancy yourself
as a bit of a fighting machine (boy, you must have some
imagination) and like making maps, you might want to
give it a go. Question is -- should any adventure really
cost £29.99?
Don't
ask me -- mine was free.
|
ou
don't have to be a brilliantly intelligent gamesplayer
(like me) with thousands of admiring fans (like me),
to know that there are some Amiga games which aren't
ever going to translate that well to the 64. You know
the sort of thing -- Starglider 2, Dungeon
Master, Carrier Command -- and Faery Tale
Adventure. 
