[{"TitleName":"The Damned Forest","Publisher":"Cult Games","Author":"John de Salis, Shaun G. McClure, Tony Huggard","YearOfRelease":"1988","ZxDbId":"0006138","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 55, Aug 1988","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1988-07-28","Editor":"Dominic Handy","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Dominic Handy\r\nAssistant Editor: Katharina Hamza\r\nProduction Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Philip King, Lloyd Mangram, Nick Roberts\r\nEditorial Assistants: Frances Mable, Glenys Powell\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, Raffaele Cecco, Paul Evans, Simon N Goodwin, Ian Philipson, Philippa Irving, Brendon Kavanagh, Paul Sumner, Stuart Wynne\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nAssistant Art Director: Wayne Allen\r\nProduction Team: Ian Chubb, Melvin Fisher, Robert Millichamp, Yvonne Priest, Matthew Uffindell\r\n\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nSales Executives: Andrew Smales, Sarah Chapman\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group. Distribution 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 Frances Mable 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. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\nTotal: 96,590\r\nUK/EIRE: 90,822\r\n\r\n©CRASH Ltd, 1988\r\n\r\nCover Design & Illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"THE DAMNED FOREST\r\n\r\nCult\r\n£1.99\r\n\r\nFour precious diamonds have been stolen from the Black King's crown. The loss has turned him black in character as well as name; any visitor to his castle is imprisoned unless he bears the jewels. The kingdom's fourteen nobles have gathered together to hire a mercenary. Unless he manages to locate and unlock the four chests in which the gems are hidden, the land is doomed.\r\n\r\nAs the game quest begins you can choose to play one of four characters: wizard, elf, man or dwarf. The attributes peculiar to each are depicted onscreen in the form of luck, strength and stamina points. A menu to the right shows the number and type or spells available.\r\n\r\nWhat ensues is a cross between a role-playing game and an adventure. As you move through the rugged landscape of forbidding forests, windswept plains, marshes, lakes and seemingly impassable seas, your actions are limited to a number of options constantly depicted to the right of the screen. By pressing the appropriate key. you can examine, pick up and drop objects, travel, look in the direction of adjacent locations, cast spells or rest. Up to four objects, listed on a separate menu, can be carried at any one time.\r\n\r\nInevitably, the emphasis is on exploration and combat rather than solving puzzles. Mapmaking is essential. As you find yourself in a different location at the start of every game, you're forced to re-map till you become totally familiar with the potentially treacherous terrain.\r\n\r\nThe kingdom is crawling with dangerously bloodthirsty creatures. Giants, trolls, bears, ogres and orcs engage in battle the moment they sec your tasty flesh. Depending on your ability and equipment you can attempt to counter using weapons or magic. Stamina and strength points are quickly diminished by direct enemy hits, though you can replenish energy and stores in villages and at life-giving springs. It's important to watch your step, as getting caught by a powerful nasty when you don't have much ammunition, leads to almost instant death. Frustratingly you can't escape; the program only asks which weapon you want to use, not whether you actually want to fight. Pacifists are definitely out.\r\n\r\nIf the responses to frenzied key pressing weren't so slow, the process of exploration, fighting, and making limited use of objects, would become quite engrossing. As it is, you have to wait ages for the screen to catch up with your fingers. Worse still, every time you die the game crashes and you're forced to reload from scratch. As it's quite easy to get caught in a no-win situation, especially at first, hours of miserable loading are ahead for anyone who really wants to get into the game. There is a SAVE option which allows you to record your character or your current position. I tried twice to save a game without success and was forced, bored and frustrated. to reload right from the beginning again.\r\n\r\nAll these drawbacks combined make The Damned Forest extremely frustrating to play. The Black King's plight pales into insignificance as you wage war against the keyboard, battle with the loading system and attempt to make sense of the SAVE options. Role-players and adventurers alike are well-advised to steer clear of this exhausting experience.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"59","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Kati Hamza","Score":"41","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"A more exciting moment from The Damned Forest."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"41%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]