[Game to be added to database first]

Infocom's new fantasy series expands the horizons of the Great Underground Empire beyond the Zork trilogy. Part of the once extinct GUE has been re-inhabited, but now the emphasis is on magic, rather than finding treasure and fighting other characters.

In Enchanter and Sorceror, the currency is the familiar Zorkmid and Frobozz magical devices abound! But the Adventurer's way of going about solving the mysteries and completing the games is somewhat different.

Paul Coppins has been defeating the evil Krill in Enchanter whilst KEITH CAMPBELL, as a junior Sorceror, has been rescuing his mentor - Belboz the Necromancer. Here Keith and Paul present an in-depth rundown on the series.

IN THE PACKAGE

As with all Infocom games, it's worth having a closer look at the packaging.

Within the simple cardboard box containing Enchanter is an inner folder, distinctively coloured with symbolic drawings. Tucked away inside is an instruction booklet produced in the form of a Medieval Guild directory and a piece of off-white paper closely representing parchment, upon which are written your orders. All this is closed by the seal of the circle of Enchanters.

Sorceror comes complete with a holding pouch containing ,a 12 page issue of "Popular Enchanting" magazine which is really a comprehensive guide to playing the game, in satirical form. An Infotater is also included, being a large cardboard disc revolving within an outer case. It contains codes to which you will have to refer to get very far in the game.

Oh, and of course! With each package you get a disc!

SPELL CASTING FOR BEGINNERS

Enchanter and Sorceror are games in which the player must learn as he goes along. Information found it various books and documents will stand him in good stead - once read, he can skip them next time around, possibly saving valuable moves.

More important, though is the acquisition of magical skills and in this respect it is important to understand just how spell-casting works. A spell may be resident within the Enchanter or Sorceror and he will only need to cast it for it to take effect. The power and number of spells so readily available will depend on the experience of the Enchanter, but among them will almost certainly be the Gnusto spell, used to write spells into a spell book.

A spell is found on a scroll and may be cast directly from it. In such circumstances, however, the spell can be used only once and is then gone forever - turned into dust. Alternatively, it may be written into a spell book. This is the Enchanter's most valuable tool - without it he is lost. A spell, when written in the book, must be memorized before each casting - a slightly tedious chore, but with the bonus that it remains in the book for further use.

There are one or two spells that are too powerful for the Gnusto spell to copy into the book - these can only be cast direct from the scroll. It follows, therefore, that the use of such a spell must be considered very carefully.

Each spell has a name and the READ SPELLS command lists which spells are currently available to an Enchanter. A typical list would be Gnusto, Rezrov, Frotz, Gaspar, Meef and Izyuk. Remembering which spells are in the book, which have been memorized and their purposes is not as difficult as it sounds.

You get a real feeling of magical power, when, with confidence. you can cast the right spell at the right time in a competent manner!

SORCEROR

I'm all right. mate - I'm fully Gaspared! A peace of mind has passed over me! Not only that, I've meefed the morgia, aimfized Frobar, yomined a gnome and given a parrot a brilliant but momentary glimpse of its own future.

In case you wonder whether I've really flipped for good, I'd better tell you that I'm playing Sorceror - and I'm learning fast. In fact I am already able to cast spells with a fair degree of success. Whether they have the desired effect is another matter!

To start off, you are pitched into a horrific situation in a twisted forest - every way you turn it's curtains, either at the fangs of a hellhound, the venom in a snake pit, or at the whim of a Frobozz minefield.

Lucky then, that this is only a dream! But when you wake up, you find all the other occupants of the guild mysteriously absent and it's not long before you come around to thinking they've gone further than down to the village of Accardi-by-the-Sea for a spot of shopping. Due to an overconscientious nymph, your only way out is to cast a spell.

You are helped along the way by an ancient volume of the Encyclopaedia Frobozzica, in which you can look up information on almost any subject you want. You can't just browse, though - you have to know what you want to know! Should you need more information on Aimfiz, for example. the entry reads: "A spell produced by International Business Magic."

How you get that spell is part of the puzzle, and cleverly locked into an Infotater - a rotating wheel of coded information included in the package.

Once you have cast the spell, you can drop in on one, and only one, of the persons missing from the guild. Doing the rounds provides interesting reading, but one true path leads you to the game proper.

Guess where you find yourself? in a twisted forest! But this time, if you've spent your time at the Academy well, you will have some powerful magic at your disposal.

Once on the right track, there is a whole new world to explore, all part of the Great Underground Empire that was once Zork. An enjoyable trip is a visit to the amusement park, where you can take a thrilling roller coaster ride - courtesy of the Frobozz Magic Roller Coaster Co. The ride is described in detail, all in text of course - who needs graphics with an Infocom-style narrative? There are plenty of other attractions down at Bozbarland, Entertainment Capital of the Empire! - a casino with a killer of a one-arm-bandit, an arcade where you can try your hand at clobbering bunnies with a rubber ball, a Haunted House and a Flume.

The text has gems every bit as good as the best of Zork. I particularly liked a sequence by the toll gate, guarded by a fat sleeping gnome. I tried opening it, but "only the gnome can open the gate," I was told. Looking through my spell book, I decided to try the IZYUK spell, enabling me to fly. No luck - the arch over the gate prevented my passage. Perhaps a touch of the Revrovs might do the trick, I thought. Success! Or was it? The gate sprang open, awakening the gnome who immediately slammed it shut, shouting "Nobody gets through here without paying a Zorkmid - no-one, not no how!"

Being minus the necessary mid, I took a sneaky peek into the gnome's mind, using my Yomin spell. "The thoughts of the sleeping gnome are focused on certain activities involving female gnomes. Embarrassed, you withdraw." Such attention to detail!

In Sorceror you will almost certainly have to SAVE your position time and again, even if you have taken the precaution of Gasparing yourself. Gaspar is a spell which bestows powers of reincarnation upon the casters but, believe it or not, there are places where a good Gasparing doesn't help much! For you may think you are well insured, only to discover, on reincarnation, that you fell into a logical trap by casting it in such a way as to make continuing the game pointless.

Sorceror is another huge Infocom Adventure, full of excitement, mystery and humour. My only disappointment was that, on the Commodore version. the response is abysmally slow - much slower than for Commodore Zorks. A simple GET (object) for example, takes about 30 seconds for a response. Nevertheless, it is still a game to which I am addicted, for the rewards are worth the wait! Coming from an impatient Adventurer like myself, that is saying something! In fact, I'm decidedly FWEEPY about it!