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First
I must comment on the graphics. These are very controversial;
true adventurers reckon that if an adventure is good
then you don't need pictures to help you conjure up
the scenario and, in fact, pictures can even ruin an
adventure. The graphics in this one can only be said
to be fair, lacking something in the colour, although
boasting some nice detail. The program also takes quite
a while to draw them, making the going rather slow if
you are the sort of explorer who likes to whizz from
one location to another.
Red
Moon comes with a nice story that fills out the
background of the game and proves to be practically
informative in as much as it provides a few clues and
tells you exactly what you should be aiming for.
Unusually
for Level 9, the game itself has a bias towards combat,
with weapons and armour playing a very important part.
'Majik' too is another important aspect, with many spells
for you to use during the game.
When
you play you will find that the keyboard buffer has
not been removed -- this is quite a good idea, for it
allows such swift Wizards like myself to type ahead
and consequently move fast through the adventure, and
to some degree, this makes up for the slow drawing.
The other nice feature is that you only need to type
in the first three letters of a word, saving hours of
finger wear! This (typical also of Quilled programs)
is a friendly feature strangely missed still by so many
adventure games.
As
you would expect from this software house, the copious
location descriptions are detailed, atmospheric and
provide a good mental picture of your surroundings.
The
combat scoring used during the game is presented in
the form of hit points that are reduced during fighting.
This method gives you an idea of your survival chances,
although the game does give you several lives that allow
you to progress further. The majik, on the other hand,
is gained by picking up certain objects that let you
'focus', a situation that might seem hocus-pocus to
you but to me, dear reader, is quite simple and logical.
Once you have collected the correct objects, you are
able to CAST certain spells which allow you special
privileges; if, for instance, you find yourself stuck
in the castle, try ESCAPE CASTLE.
The
only major setback is the nasty habit most Level 9 adventures
have of not responding to things that don't have much
to do with the game as far as the program is concerned
(even if you think otherwise). For example, I found
myself in a large field full of red flowers. When I
typed EXAMINE FLOWERS I was told I couldn't see
them, even when I was standing in a field full of them!
This can be irritating because it is clearly illogical,
and the best that can be said is that when the adventure
does not respond logically, at least the player knows
that he is on the wrong track.
But
despite my few niggles Red Moon is yet another
brilliantly original adventure from the programmers
of what must be THE best cassette adventures. Highly
recommended and thoroughly enjoyable.
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