[{"TitleName":"Times of Lore","Publisher":"Origin Systems Inc","Author":"Martin Hooley, Mick Hanrahan, Denis R. Loubet, Chris Roberts","YearOfRelease":"1989","ZxDbId":"0005289","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 66, Jul 1989","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1989-06-29","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nEditorial Assistants: Viv Vickress, Caroline Blake\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Nick Roberts, Mike 'Skippy' Dunn, Robin Hogg, Mark Caswell\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION DEPARTMENT\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nReprographics Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Robert (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\n\r\nDESIGN\r\nRoger Kean, Mark Kendrick, Melvin Fisher\r\n\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nGroup Advertisement Director: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Lee Watkins, Wynne Morgan\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Viv Vickress a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1989 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Microprose/Origin\r\n£9.99/£14.99\r\n\r\nPicture the scene: it is the dim and distant past, an age when the land was ruled by High Kings and Sir Clive was still dreaming up the ZX81. The present High King has disappeared, and the deputy appointed to look after his kingdom in his absence has the nation on the brink of collapse. The only way out of this depression is for some suitably heroic person (like yourself) to get three ancient wizardly artifacts (the Foretelling Stones, the Tablet of Truth and the Medallion of Power) together, and dig up (hopefully not literally) the old King from wherever he's hiding. Starting in the Frothing Slosh Tavern, in Eralan, you receive a task from a helpful prior. He tells you that you must retrieve the Foretelling Stones from the thieving raiders of the north. Once you've reclaimed the artifacts you must return them to the prior. And the rest you'll have to find out for yourself!\r\n\r\nTimes of Lore is icon driven. You can converse with other characters (assuming they're willing to talk to you!); examine items; get an inventory; pick up/drop things; use an item; load/save games; and offer items to characters. Pressing SPACE brings up an icon selector - unless someone is trying to strike up a conversation with you, in which case you talk automatically. To get on in the game you need to converse with loads of people - some of them have very interesting things to say. And there's an awful lot of walking around to be done, too, so a pair of magic boots wouldn't be a bad idea.\r\n\r\nThere is one more thing which is of paramount importance: DON'T HIT ANY VILLAGERS!! Smash away at orcs and archers to your heart's content, but be very careful of hacking up members of civilised society. Should you let the ol'sword 'accidentally' slip into someone's stomach, then everyone in the game ignores you for tries to kill you), and it becomes very difficult to make any progress at all.\r\n\r\nTo save a game, you have to spend the night at an inn, which has the useful side-effect of replenishing your energy (represented by a candle). Times of Lore is probably the best arcade adventure I've played. The documentation and packaging are excellent. Graphically, it's brilliant, and there is a wide variety of music in the introductory sequence. I have no hesitation in recommending it to all but the most dedicated arcade player. Well 'ard!\r\n\r\nMIKE","ReviewerComments":["There is only one word to describe Times of Lore: enchanting. You get so involved in the game, thanks to the strong atmosphere and the excitement of achievement, that you really feel as if you've gone back in time. The all round presentation (both on screen and in the literature) is excellent, with a super, illustrated title sequence telling the story of the High King of Aralan. The game itself is set out in Gauntlet-style with ample colour in the towns, forest and bridges that make up the landscape. However, due to the control method, it's all too easy to pop off some kind of serf with whom you were conversing. That aside, Times Of Lore is simply brilliant, buy it to believe it.\r\nNick Roberts"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A long time since we saw such an enchanting, atmospheric challenge.","Page":"24,25","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Mike Dunn","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"94%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 43, Jul 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-06-16","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Duncan MacDonald\r\nEditorial Assistant: David Wilson\r\nDesigner: Thor Goodall\r\nTechnical Consultant: David McCandless\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Richard Blaine, Jonathan Davies, Phoebe Evans, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Phil South, Wag\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Stephen Bloy\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nCirculation Manager: June Smith\r\nAssociate Producer: Teresa Maughan\r\nPublisher: Terry Grimwood\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1989 Felden Productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Sinclair is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"Origin (Microprose)\r\n£9.95 cass/£14.95 disk\r\nReviewer: Matt Bielby\r\n\r\nThey don't get much bigger than this (fnar). Or harder (phwooargh). But enough of this innuendo, 'cos this is perhaps one of the longest, most absorbing games you can get for your Speccy. If you like your game playing in short, sweet bursts (like me) it mightn't be quite your cup of tea, but otherwise read on.\r\n\r\nThe story - and this is a very sawn-down version because it takes up many, many screens to explain - involves you as a lone warrior trying to whip your decadent kingdom back into shape. It's a bit of a problem 'cos barbarians are attacking from one side, various dangerous monsters on the other and there's plenty of internal feuding going on between the local nobles. You play one of three characters (a valiant Knight, powerful Barbarian or nimble Valkyrie) though it seemed to make precious little difference which one you chose.\r\n\r\nThe games takes place on a huge four way scrolling map, of around 5,000 screens by 8,000. So it's big. But amazingly enough it all works on a single load - no drive access needed even on the cassette versions!\r\n\r\nSo, off you go. You begin in the bedroom of an inn and must run around (with your feet making a nice little slapping sound on the flagstone floor and the four way scrolling working very smoothly) until you find the stairs, at which point you descend into a sort of bar. Here you'll find a few characters spread around eating and drinking, and can begin a conversation (or a fight) with any one of them. Depending upon who you talk to, you will end up with one of a few possible sub-quests which make up the game, such as recovering an important lost artifact or defeating a powerful villain. A candle on the right of the screen shows your power slowly dying down, but it can be replenished with a good night's sleep.\r\n\r\nGraphically the game is very nice with its massive play area, tiny (but clearly defined) sprites, smooth scrolling, and nice little touches (like the roofs of buildings disappearing as you enter them). It would take weeks - perhaps longer - of pretty intensive playing to complete it, which puts me in the rather weird position of having to review a game when I've only really scratched the surface.\r\n\r\nWhat I can say is that what I've seen has been fascinating, and lacks much of the aimlessness that I've felt about some similar games. It's still possible to walk off into nowhere, get lost and simply run out of energy, but if you keep whatever subquest you're involved in at the front of your mind you shouldn't go too far wrong. Not a cheap game, but if you've the time and the inclination, I doubt you'll be disappointed.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Gigantic fantasy role playing extravaganza with a neat control system and sound graphics. Brill.","Page":"82","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Matt Bielby","Score":"91","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"COMBAT\r\n\r\nSome people you talk to react pretty badly (yup, they attack you) which means you'll have to fight back - a simple but effective process that involves facing them and jabbing the fire button until their energy runs out, at which point a nice little graphic of a skeleton and then a gravestone appears before they fade away.\r\n\r\nOutside the buildings you'll find a whole host of monsters, lurking around, some of which are rather tough. These include cloaked archers (the only ones who can damage you at a distance) and brutishly strong orcs, both of which will drop things when killed, like gold (useful for buying things), food or magic potions (usually safe to try though they may have odd effects). Neither sort of monster is recognised by the computer as 'existing' in so much as it claims there is no-one near if you try to talk with them. Which brings us to..."},{"Text":"CONVERSATION\r\n\r\nThis fighting lark is all well and good, but what if one of the punters wants to embark upon a little more sophisticated interaction (that's talk to you)?\r\n\r\nTo do this - which you should do at every opportunity - you must use the icon menu at the bottom of the screen. The space bar accesses this, and you get the option to examine your surroundings, pick up or drop objects, use them, give them away or talk. Choose one and a window opens up offering you any of the possible options. For instance, should you choose to talk, you go to the mouth icon, and chose between 'chit-chat' and 'asking a question'.\r\n\r\nThe computer gives you options on what you can discuss, and what your appropriate response might be. For instance, you may start a 'chit-chat', in which case the computer will choose a suitably vague opening gambit and a serf may respond by saying \"it's not like the old days\". You can then ask about 'the old days' at which point he may reply \"In the old days we were ruled by King Whatsisface, but he died\". You can then ask about King Whatsisface and so on.\r\n\r\nA gong goes off when an important item of info is given (in case you missed it). Keywords go on a menu and you can ask anyone you subsequently meet to tell you what they know about any one of them."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"91%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"91%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 88, Jul 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-06-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Meet the Team\r\n\r\nJIM \"Invisible Man\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nWrapped (warped?) from head to fool in bandages to disguise his horrible secret, Jim is forced to wander the world trapped in a crepe tomb. While lie likes to put about the rumour that he concocted a potion so strong that it turned him invisible, the actual truth is that the rest of the SU Team were so fed up with him being \"away on business\" they endowed him with the name and handed out a right good punching into the bargain, hence the bandages.\r\n\r\nALISON \"Wunder Woman\" SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nFaster than a speeding thing, able to correct pages in a single bound. Skeat wreaks terrible havoc upon poor copy with her special Red Pen in her quest to rid Sinclair User of any spelling mistekes. She can deflect bad grammar with her super steel ear-rings and head butts away repetition every single time, and head-butts away repetition every single time.\r\n\r\nTIM NOONAN (Art Editor)\r\nIs it a plane? Is it a bus? Is it a Bond Bug? No, you bloody idiot, it's Timothy Noonan. An Editor extraordinaire, cutting a swathe through the barren wasteland of computer magazine layout, producing colour pages to STUN, SHOCK and DELIGHT every single month. Unfortunately, Tim has only one leg. Well, it's more unfortunate for Tim than anyone else, since he can never stay upright once he stops moving.\r\n\r\nTONY \"Ice Man\" DILLON (Contributor)\r\nTony knows no fear. He doesn't know many people, but he certainly knows even less fear. His super-cool demeanour and ability to fit nearly all his bottom into a medium sized refrigerator have made him legendary through the games industry. If a job wants doing, tell Tone to dry his trousers and get going.\r\n\r\nSpecial thanks this month: John 'Er, tomorrow?' Cook, Gareth 'Grandad' Jones, Clive '43' Pembridge, Graham 'Still here' Taylor.\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nDirty Tricks: Jon Riglar\r\nTechnical: Andrew Hewson, Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Katherine 'Ooh my sore throat' Lee\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Martha 'A diddly diddly' Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma 'Wonderful' Ward\r\nPublisher's Assistant: Debbie \"Have you seen this photo?\" Pearson\r\nPublisher: Terry 'Well...' Pratt\r\nMarketing: Clive 'Knuckle Sandwich' Pembridge\r\n\r\nDrop us a line at: [redacted] or Fax us on: [redacted]\r\n\r\nThis Month's Cover: Silkworm from Virgin Mastertronic\r\nCover Artist: Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nTypeset by Professional Reprographics Services [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Frontline.\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n24 Hour Order Line: [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Back Issues Department (SU), [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1989 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be copied, translated, transcribed, read aloud in the pub or used to swat flies without the written permission from the Publishers, EMAP B&C, which - we'll tell you now - is pretty hard to get."},"MainText":"Label: Origin\r\nAuthor: Imagitec\r\nPrice: £9.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Tony Dillon\r\n\r\nAnybody will tell you that, when Times of Lore was released ion the C*mm*d*r* 64, just before Christmas, it leaped instantly into my top ten fave games of all time, and I couldn't wait to see how it would come out on the Spectrum. To me, it had all the makings of a perfect game, and indeed, it still does.\r\n\r\nOne thing Origin have done incredibly well, especially when you consider this is their first Spectrum game, is capture all the best elements from three genre of computer game, and put them together to create a game that requires a bit of thought to play, but still has enough widespread appeal to make it an instant hit.\r\n\r\nTimes of Lore casts you an an adventurer (you choose which: Knight, barbarian of valkyrie), who, at the start of the game, as with so many of Origins earlier products, has no aim. This is soon rectified as, when you stagger out of bed and walk down to the first floor of the tavern where you have slept the night, you bump into a local priest, who gives you your first job. Rescue a treasure from a band of orcs, who are camped north of the city. You accept this task, and set of instantly.\r\n\r\nThere are really two ways to play TOL. Firstly, you can play it as a straight arcade game, just running around the 13,000 (yes, you read correctly) locations, killing everyone in sight. Fun though this may be, it can get boring. Alternatively, you can start taking advantage of the real game.\r\n\r\nPart arcade, part RPG, part adventure, TOL is full of puzzles, but never confusing or illogical. Most of the game has you following orders, completing tasks and not getting killed. This may sound a little dull, but there's a bit more to it than that.\r\n\r\nConversation is the key to gaining information, and words are the key to winning the game. You can chat with everybody you meet, via the icon system at the bottom of the screen. Click on the icon of the mouth, and a menu will appeal with a number of options. Select 'Ask Question' and another menu will appear. This contains all the things you can currently ask people about. Select one, and if you are talking to the right person they will tell you something of interest. The original topic now dealt with, it disappears from the menu to be replaced by a new keyword.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are fine. Large, well drawn sprites walk around realistic looking scenery that scrolls quite well in four directions. Colour has been used to excellent effect, and it basically looks a lot better than I ever expected.\r\n\r\nAn incredibly competent conversion. Still, more or less a perfect game. Wonderful graphic, sound and playability and enough game hidden away in there to keep anyone going for weeks. Looks like Origin are going to have a good time in the Spectrum market.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"A perfect blend of Arcade, Adventure and RPG. Super!","Page":"56","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tony Dillon","Score":"90","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"96%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"The Games Machine Issue 20, Jul 1989","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1989-06-22","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL OFFICE\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Roger Kean\r\nFeatures Editor: Dominic Handy\r\nStaff Writers: Robin Hogg, Warren Lapworth, Robin Candy, Mark Caswell\r\nEditorial Assistants: Vivien Vickress, Caroline Blake\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Mel Croucher, Jeffrey Davy, Don Hughes, Paul Rigby, Marshal M Rosenthal (USA), John Woods\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION DEPARTMENT\r\n[redacted]\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nSenior Designer: Wayne Allen\r\nReprographics: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Rob (The Rev) Hamilton, Tim Morris, Jenny Reddard\r\n\r\nDESIGN\r\nRoger Kean, Mark Kendrick, Melvyn Fisher\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nGroup Advertisement Director: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Lee Watkins, Wynne Morgan\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by the Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow and on our Apple Macintosh II computers running Quark Xpress, Adobe Illustrator 88 and PhotoMac, output at MBI, [redacted] with systems support from Digital Print Reprographics, [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset [redacted] - a member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution effected by COMAG, [redacted].\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of TGM. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop Viv Vickress a line at the PO Box 10 address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into TGM - including written and photographic material, hardware or software - unless it's accompanied by a suitably stamped, addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photographic material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in TGM are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\n©TGM Magazines Ltd, 1989\r\nA Newsfield Publication ISSN 0954-8092\r\n\r\nCover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £9.95, Diskette: £14.95\r\nAmstrad CPC Cassette: £9.95, Diskette: £14.95\r\n\r\nThe search for Albareth's lost king continues with these two nicely done conversions. Well-drawn Spectrum introductory screens lead into neatly designed in-game graphics with colour carefully (if unimaginatively) used to avoid attribute clash. Initial static screens are weak on the Amstrad but on the whole the graphics are up to the colourful, lively standard of the C64 original - though blocky in places. The soothing Amstrad title music is the only notable audio. Both suffer with the same jerky scrolling problem as the earlier versions - distracting at first, but after a few plays the game becomes absorbing enough for this not to matter.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"35","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"AMSTRAD CPC\r\n\r\nOverall: 71%"},{"Text":"COMMODORE 64 Overall: 73% TGM014\r\nATARI ST Overall: 59% TGM019\r\nPC Overall: 76% TGM019"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"73%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]