Producer: Incentive
Retail Price: £5.50
Author: R. A. McCormack

Vicious attacks have come from beyond a range of mountains to the east - the Mountains of Ket. The Priest King Vran Verusbel, leader of the cult of mad monks, and their High Priestess Delphia, the most beautiful woman in existence, are set against you. They find shelter in the evil Temple of Vran where you make you way accompanied by the magic assassin bug Edgar whose poisoned fangs will sink into your neck should you decide to shirk your mission. You must be under close scrutiny as you play a rehabilitated criminal-type who arose this scheme as a device to escape almost certain death. When you confront the likes of the green slime you will wonder at the wisdom of your decision.

The Final Mission is the third part in what has now become the famous Ket Trilogy. It follows The Mountains of Ket and The Temple of Vran which, if successfully completed, give the aspirant the chance of a prize. The adventures are classic text-only games with large numbers of locations with many problems to solve. There are a good number of useful objects which when first sighted, and later viewed in the inventory, are accompanied by a small token graphic. Input is confined to verb/noun leaving the program to concentrate on giving a greater, more intelligent feedback to whatever input you might devise. These and other refinements, including an endearing plot and consistent theme, have won many converts to the Trilogy adventures.

In part three of the Ket Trilogy you meet the evil Verusbel himself in his inner sanctum located beyond the five enigmatic Gate Guardians. Should you defeat him and remove the threat to the Lords of Ket, you must still secure your own escape.

Loading The Final Mission is very quick as it takes place at twice the normal Spectrum speed. It loads in an unusual sequence which makes it impossible to BREAK and very difficult to copy.

You wake... stunned...

Gradually your memory clears. You recall a blow to the head as you descended some stairs enshrouded in gloom. "We are in a dark and dank cell. There is no light save for a low glow coming from our east. Near us is: a wooden chair." So starts The Final Mission with yourself, Edgar, a magic ring and... a wooden chair. I wouldn't be giving anything away if I said that you just might need that chair and so with the help of the cassette inlay notes, the first problem unravels easily enough. The second problem is another matter - it's pedantic and you don't so much solve it as stumble on the solution by doing as many daft and not-so-daft things as they come into your head. I'll have to come straight out with it. The early part of the adventure lacks something in that you keep thinking of how you would have devised a stronger plot, say using the glass from the window to focus the rays of light onto the straw. Or anything whereby you might use you imagination and I reasoning skills. Instead the plot transpires to be dull and the solutions to the problems arbitrary. You get the feeling that the second problem is no more than artifice to slow your progress.

The descriptions of the seemingly endless corridors and passageways with doors marking the end of one and the beginning of another leaves you with few locations which, on reflection, make any impression. Often it's difficult to know how to label a location on your map when you're simply standing outside a secret passageway. While I'm griping, the input routine is just a touch slow although a pleasant beep with every key depression helps alleviate some of the annoyance. Switching off the beep with the BEEP command does not appreciably speed it up.

Now that's off my chest I can get down to what's worthy about the game.

There's a polish and panache about the project which singles it out as one where some thought has gone into its construction. Right from the first screen, or the very attractive cover and loading screen before that, the game makes its presence felt. Above the neatly boxed location description ornate markings accommodate the score in the top right corner which increments on each new location. As you enter the new locality a distinctive tune sounds directing your attention back to your map where you now add another label. Simple ideas which add up to your enjoyment of the game.

The vocabulary is quite friendly, but where it is exceptional is in its responsiveness to your input. By monitoring the continual string of mostly useful comments your efforts are guided to more fruitful endeavours. You can EXAMINE almost anything and affect a response.

As with the previous episodes of the saga interest is enriched with the combat routine where your prowess or swordsmanship energy or physical condition, and luck, descending from their starting values of eight, are pitted against those of your aggressor. In the case of the En Monster, which has prowess and energy of 10, you would be wise to disengage and forgo any shallow victory you might extract.

The Final Mission, by reason of its position as the last tale in the Ket Trilogy, is sure to prove popular. It maintains the same high standards of the previous two episodes and also features one or two improvements. However, the overall impression is of a game not so much crafted as produced to a deadline.

Difficulty: Average
Graphics: None
Presentation: Good
Input Facility: Verb/Noun
Response: A touch slow but gives intelligent replies to most input
Special Features: On screen scoring and combat routine

KET REACHES ITS CLIMAX

Memory: 48K
Price: £5.50

Pain and nausea sweep over you as you wake. Your head feels as if a troll has been using it as a football. Your mouth is dry and, judging by the darkness, your eyes are not doing too well either.

Slowly your vision returns and you make out a dim light. The stones beneath you are damp and cold and you finally realise that you are locked in a cell. Take a look round - there is only a chair. This is Vran Verusbel's dungeon and you are in it - right up to the neck.

So begins The Final Mission, last in the Ket Trilogy from Incentive. After a blow on the head at the end of the previous adventure our reluctant hero finds himself in a tight spot and must now escape to seek out and destroy Vran the vile necromancer.

The format remains pure text. Locations are boxed at the top of the screen and the score is displayed above the description - a useful idea as you will immediately notice if you perform some significant action. As ever, the interpreter is friendly and responds with variety and occasional flashes of humour.

Edgar, the assassin bug strapped to your neck, has become quite taciturn and is very sparing with help. When his tongue is loosed he will provide the occasional clue.

Most of the time you are on your own in Vran's gloomy halls and subterranean passages. You will hear the patter of tiny feet and the crunch of giant ones behind you.

The problems are well up to standard, there is also the pull of the concluding portion of the prize winning sentence.

The Final Mission looks to be a fitting finale to the quest.

THE FINAL KET

The Mountains of Ket trilogy is completed with the arrival of The Final Mission. The game has a nice feel to it, like its predecessors. The screen is tidily arranged with the location details outlined in a box and shows the current percentage score. Watching this gradually increase is an incentive to continue, for points are awarded with a fair degree of generosity.

The Adventure starts out with the player trapped one side of a door, where he must use his wits and a chair to get him into the main part of the game. I was somewhat amused to find I could not stand on the chair while I was carrying it, but nevertheless could carry it whilst I was standing on it! However, this little quirk in no way spoils the game.

A video recorder is the prize for the first person to successfully complete the trilogy - a modest prize to be sure, in times when large piles of ready cash are being offered for some games. But this is reassuring, for the scale of the prize, coupled with my own impressions the games, suggests that it will not be too long before it is claimed, unlike a certain sundial I could mention.

The problems in Final Mission are not mind-boggling, but the game is enjoyable to play. Once the prize has gone, the trilogy will have to stand on its own merit for further sales, and I think it will succeed.

What bothers me, though, is the promised award of Britain's Best Adventurer to the winner. The title offered suggests something official which it isn't. Whilst I like the trilogy, I don't think that completing it would prove too much about one's Adventuring ability. A game like Zork is needed for that.

The Final Mission is from IUncentive Software for 48k Spectrum, priced £5.50.

THE FINAL MISSION

Tom Frost tackles the final part of the Ket Trilogy

Dateline: 19th September, 1984.

The day has arrived. After successfully solving all of the problems in Mountains of Ket and Temple of Vran the pre-paid copy of the third part of the Ket Trilogy is due today. Where is that postman? Computer, TV and tape-recorder are at the ready. A day off from work has been arranged (or perhaps it's your grannie's funeral - again!) as preparations are made to win the video recorder and title of Britain's Best Adventurer. Check letter-box again. Nothing! Re-check calendar. Yes, today is the 19th. Click, rattle. Dash to front door. Small parcel on the floor. Rip open and off we go!

Insert cassette and press REWIND! Calm down. Press PLAY. Nice title screen. Read insert and competition entry details. CRASH! Blank screen! Rewind and LOAD again. Come on, POWER 48 is supposed to load quicker! BEEP! BEEP! At last...

Once again, faced with a variation of a LOCKED DOOR and no key! But HELP is at hand - the insert made mention of STAND ON CHAIR. Try that! OK, now can see solution to problem. NOT AGAIN! Another room with no apparent exit. Eventually the light shines and you're off again. Calm, confident now - proceed carefully (thinks - not many other adventurers will have found that DAGGER!). Onscreen SCORE shows 11% - not bad and not had to re-start yet.

Suddenly another dead-end. TRAPDOOR which will not open. Retreat. Explore PILLARED HALL, find GARLIC, SOAP and a CROWBAR - hurry to TRAPDOOR - but was OOFED by a MAGIC BOOT on the way! Manage to open TRAPDOOR but break CROWBAR in the process. Will that matter? Press on for now.

What's this? Another locked DOOR! Retreat again. Eventually find key - rush back to DOOR but there is no KEYHOLE! Retreat and explore again. Find DELPHIA'S BODY in the morgue, an AEROSOL and a green slime MONSTER. Caught by the MONSTER - DEAD - PUSH KEY FOR ANOTHER GAME.

OK, off we go again. 00FED again - must be a way of avoiding that (there is, read symbols and reverse the "en" monster!). Cleaned up the green slime this time and used AEROSOL, to reduce the LOCKED DOOR problem only to be faced with ANOTHER locked DOOR. Key works this time. Fight MONK and into large CHAMBER. SCORE now 38%. Press on, explore CHAMBER, dodging arrows. Find five GATES, each with a GUARDIAN who poses a question. SCORE now 51%! Suddenly realise further progress only possible by answering questions correctly! DEAD STOP! After two and a half programmes of traditional adventure, Incentive have obviously decided enough is enough - after all £400 is at stake and it shouldn't be too easy. To illustrate this, the first GATE is blocked by the GUARDIAN OF WISDOM who asks you to complete the sequence "2, 2, 2, 3, 2,...". The first obvious thought of 22, 23, 24, 25 produces a "you are ignored" response to your entry of 425 so try again! Looks as though it could be a telephone number. Directory Enquiries - No, Incentive's number is not 22232...!! VAT number? Registered Company Number? No! No! Is it a phone number? The dialling code for Westminster is 222 - could it be the House of Commons? - perhaps not, if WISDOM is any kind of a clue!

You soon realise that the title of Britain's Best Adventurer will not be easily gained. After all, with a new video recorder you could be tempted away from your computer!

PRICE: £5.50
GAME TYPE: Adventure

The final part of the trilogy of Ket adventure programs is The Final Mission. To play it, it is not necessary to have played the other two adventures first, as you position is explained in the accompanying instructions. However, those players who wish to win the video offered as a prize to the first person to complete the trilogy, would have to play all three games.

The adventure begins with you locked in a dark cell, and your first aim is to escape from the prison complex. Early moves are easy, the puzzles then become more difficult at the very minute you feel you have finally understood the programmer's way of thinking.

The vocabulary of the adventure is large, with options to examine objects, search locations, and listen for suspicious sounds. There is also a fight option characteristic of the trilogy. Having entered into a fight, your strength and prowess are shown on screen, and your progress in the fight until it ends or you withdraw. Knowing when to fight and when to negotiate is essential in all the Ket games.

Final Mission is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Incentive Software, 54 London Street, Reading.