A JOLIE GODE GAYME

MAKER: Runesoft
FORMAT: cassette
PRICE: £9.95

Runesoft stalwarts Slack and Stevenson have made great efforts to keep Robyn Mode as authentic as possible. All the locations (in this mammoth text adventure) actually existed back in the 13th century, and background info has been culled from such literary sources as Nottingham City Library, Nottingham Castle, the Robin Hood Society and The Doomsday Book. The upshot of all this research appears to be an abundance of extremely odd spellings. These adde considerablie to the mediaeval atmosphere and so compensate for the lacke of an evocative narrative.

I've been giving it a good old thrashing the past couple of weeks but as yet the Sheffyffe of Notyingham has little to fear from this particular Hooded Man. I'm still looking for a way out of the forest! Still things will doubtless improve. One day a crib-sheet will arrive in the post and thus inspired I'll stagger into the city of Notyingham, find the secret caves which lead to the castle and (gasp) go on to rescue Maid Marion. Mead and venison will then duly flow.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
PRICE: £9.95

VICTIMISED

By some strange coincidence, Maid Marion crops up in another adventure this month for the Spectrum. Once again the poor woman is down on her luck and being victimised by the brutal male aristocracy. This time she's been locked up in Nottingham Castle and as valiant Robin Hood you must sally forth and rescue her.

The first thing you notice about Runesoft's Robyn Hyde is that all the names have been given archaic English spelling. Sherwood Forest becomes Scherwode Forest and the town of Worksop makes an appearance as Werchesope. Strange at first, this olde-Englishe approach does succeed in adding slightly to the atmosphere of this text-only game.

When you first start playing Robyn Hode seems rather an uninspiring game. The location descriptions simply tell you where you are, but don't do much to set the scene. However - and here's the crunch - there are over 400 of them. This isn't a game you can expect to finish in an afternoon and as you get into it you find yourself becoming more and more absorbed.

Locations in Robyn Hode include small villages, the usual caves and crags, medieval towns, and even the odd 'shambles'. The White Wizard has to admit that he didn't know what a 'shambles' was until he found one inside an oak tree, and very useful it was too.

MISLEADING

In play the game has some very annoying features. The program doesn't check the inputs properly, so if for example you enter 'Examine pghtly' it will reply 'You can't do that' rather than 'I don't understand'. This can be very misleading, since if you enter, for example, 'Examine cave' and it replies 'You can't do that' you don't know whether you really can't examine the cave, or whether the program simply expects you to refer to the cave by another name.

There are one or two nonsenses in the game as well. To escape from a dungeon, you simply call the guard and then enter 'Leave Dungeon' - far too easy, I would have thought. A rope down a hole is liable to disappear without explanation, and spraining your ankle doesn't seem to stop you climbing up a cliff a couple of moves later. Ah well, this Robyn's a tough character.

The game comes in two parts, each part recorded on a different side of the tape. Completing the first half gets you a code word that will enable you to enter the City of Nottyngham in the second part.

This isn't a very complex game, with a limited vocabulary and simple two word input, but the number of locations and some original puzzles makes up for a lot of shortcomings. At £9.95, however, it is perhaps a bit on the pricey side.

48K Spectrum
£9.95
Runesoft

Note the Olde Englishe spelling - the adventure is set in the 13th century, all the place names and spelling are based on original ballads Of Robin and his Merrie Men. In fact, in order to make this adventure as authentic as possible, a great deal of research has been conducted, including reference to such historical documents as the Domesday Book and early maps.

The adventure is massive, providing over 400 locations for you to heigh-nonncy-no around. Because it is so large, the adventure comes in two parts on the single cassette, each part using all 48K of the Spectrum's memory. To get to play part two, you'll need to finish part one first - this will give you a two-part code as your password lo the second half.

The vocabulary is similarly impressive - over 120 words in all - yet response is immediate. The entire program being in machine code, generated with the aid of The Quill.

The plotte: Maid Marion has been captured by the Sheryffe and held in Notyingham Castle on a charge of treason. Although it may well be a trap, Robyn decides to rescue her without the aid of his men. Can you, as the outlaw of Scherwoode Forest, outwit the Sheryffe and so save fair Marion?

If you fall, mortally wounded, Lyttle Johnne carries you to Kirklees Priory where, on your deathbed and bow in hand, you fire off a perfect final arrow through the open window before expiring. Beat that for a poetic demise! Odds Bodkins and by my troth, this is indeed a smashing adventure, highly original and beautifully put together.