Producer: Atlantis
Retail Price: £1.99
Author: Robert Burgess

Budget software is here to stay, and here Atlantis offer a cheap way of enjoying adventuring. The game is basic and straightforward, but eminently playable and would be especially interesting to a novice adventurer.

Archie the explorer is trying to save his daughter, whose life is in danger from an incurable disease. She has been given a month to live, but there is a glimmer of hope. One day he reads of a newly found temple where a legendary elixir of healing is said to lie. Two previous explorers who tried to uncover the secrets of the tomb were never seen again, and Archie soon discovers their fate as he sets out on his quest in the temple.

The layout and feel of this adventure are very traditional. Objects are scattered about in sensible places, and the solutions to the problems are logical and go down nicely as play proceeds. Some of the problems are clichéd, like how to get rid of the vampire (yes, that one again!), but most are novel or at least fun. The vocabulary is notable for its insistence on full word entry, though T for TAKE is useful. The effort of the verbose entry system is compensated by its intelligence when EXAM CANDLE gives a different response to EXAMINE CANDLESTICK. Perhaps the system is a touch pernickety when EXAM MURAL elicits 'You see the mural', while EXAM MURALS gives 'You see a picture of the fabled elixir in its special room'! Although EXAMINE is not error checked (EXAM NONESENSE gives 'You see the nonesense') it is very powerful and atmosphere enhancing, with every important item or place in the adventure eliciting some response to the command.

It's not just the EXAMINE command which gives intelligent responses. CLIMB TREE near the start elicits 'The trees start swaying in the breeze so you decide not to', and even the SAVE option very kindly guides with a reminder that the game saves in three parts very polite. LIGHT CANDLE in an inappropriate location and you get Why do you want to light a candle in a lighted room?', which is helpful; the response 'I'm sorry I don't understand' when you try to illuminate a dark room because you don't have the matches is less helpful. The problems are often solved by having the appropriate object to get through the corresponding difficulty, in the simplest case for example - key for a door - passage is automatic on possession of the correct item.

Although the game only uses the Spectrum capitals for its print it is neatly presented, with occasional inverse printing and colours to pick out reports and the inventory. There are no mid-compass directions like NE, SW and so on.

Temple Terror is as straightforward and as traditional an adventure as you can get. To a novice the game has much to offer, and at its low price many will no doubt discover the secrets of the temple without too much loss of sleep.

COMMENTS

Difficulty: easy to moderate
Graphics: none
Presentation: neat
Input facility: verb/noun
Response: fast enough

BUNGLE IN THE JUNGLE

Cutting his way through the dense, dark adventure forests Richard Price finds that the terror of the temple is only a cheap thrill.

Publisher: Atlantis
Price: £1.99
Memory: 48K

In the steaming depths of some remote tropical rain-forest, Archie the Adventurer is on a desperate mission.

Daughter Jane, it seems, is at death's door, suffering from an unnamed incurable disease. Standard medicine offers no hope of a recovery.

This depressing news has persuaded Archie to don his backpack and shorts and brave the jungles in search of a newly-discovered temple. Rumour has it that a fabled elixir of health is secreted in the temple's innermost depths. Others have already tried to unravel the mystery of the temple but, ominously, have never been heard of again.

So off goes our Archie and, at the beginning of Temple Terror from Atlantis, finds himself sweltering in the blazing sun at the entrance to the rearing bulk of the crumbling edifice. The heart-rending plot conceals a game which is really a straightforward exploration of the temple.

There are only three locations outside the temple and you will quickly discover that the sacred spot has already suffered at the barbarian hands of football supporters - some enigmatic graffiti produce the unlikely message 'Northampton for the Cup'.

The temple is entered easily enough by way of a moveable rock and you will soon find a light source and the mouldering remains of the other unfortunate explorers. Amongst their effects are handy items, like matches. There's a scroll with a useful message and, to and behold, the only room with a carpet has a trapdoor beneath it to take you further into the building. There's a fire that blocks your way and a vampire to chill your bones.

After you've overcome your excitement you can then solve a monstrously simple code to enter the Elixir Room, indulge in a bit more jiggery-pokery to beat a forcefield and find a way out before the temple collapses.

Input is standard verb/noun and the action is text-only. There are the usual Save/Load facilities, a couple of abbreviations like T for Take and a reasonable response rate. There isn't really any need for much sophistication in the machinery as the game is so simple and direct. The descriptions are mainly two-liners.

The game is written entirely in Basic, and the action is very linear with one problem succeeding another in quick succession. The puzzles are not at all original and seem to own much to early Artic games - what would you do with a blanket when a fire blocks your way?

There are also not many locations, about 40 on my count. This does not make for a mind-bogglingly complex adventure if you're an experienced traveller through mysterious temples. On the other hand, if you're new to adventures and want to break yourself in gently and cheaply, the game is pleasant enough. Definitely for the novice, but the price bumps up the rating.