[{"TitleName":"Souls of Darkon","Publisher":"Taskset Ltd","Author":"Andy Walker","YearOfRelease":"1985","ZxDbId":"0007014","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 24, Jan 1986","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-12-12","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishing Executive: Roger Kean\r\nEditor: Graeme Kidd\r\nTechnical Editor: Franco Frey\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nProduction Assistants: Gordon Druce, Matthew Uffindell\r\nSoftware Editor: Jeremy Spencer\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nSub Editor: Sean Masterson\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Chris Passey, Robin Candy, Ben Stone, John Minson, Mark Hamer, Gary Liddon, Julian Rignall, Gary Penn\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\n©1985 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Magazine is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]; Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £14.50 post included (UK Mainland); Europe: 12 issues £21.50 post included. Outside Europe by arrangement in writing.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced whole or in part without written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return any written material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material which may be used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. The opinions and views of correspondents are their own and not necessarily in accord with those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nMICRONET:\r\nYou can talk to CRASH via Micronet. Our MBX is 105845851\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"SOULS OF DARKON\r\n\r\nProducer: Taskset\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: The Taskset Team\r\n\r\nBeyond the sun of Crenal lies the planet Megron. Its people were of genius 10; they practised both the art of sorcery and that of science. However their quest for knowledge became a dangerous obsession and they ventured into a realm of evil where they released the devastating power of Darkon. The people live in terror. Will they be the next to suffer the curse of Darkon? Only you and your faithful robotic friend, Komputa can free the people from this tyranny. But can you succeed where so many have failed?\r\n\r\nSouls of Darkon is already in the shops on the Amstrad as I write, so whether or not you'll be able to buy the game in the high street is probably academic. The reasons for this game's acceptance by the shops is quite obvious as soon as you load up. Taskset have successfully met their task of taking the adventure and tidying it up. Gone are the messy lists of endlessly scrolling text and graphics. In their place we have here a neatly boxed-off picture set on the lower left hand side of the screen. Above this is the location description which does not budge an inch throughout quite an advantage over other adventures where you are constantly wondering where you are. Framed by the static picture and location description is a scrolling area carrying your input and the programs responses. The text has been clearly and atmospherically designed, in fact, what with the stylised, cartoon-like graphics, the whole program reveals a novel appearance.\r\n\r\nOne minor irritation is Task set's inability to get to grips with the Spectrum's input routine (the Amstrad version works just fine). Even when you are carefully typing the auto-repeat effect can catch you out with words like L O O O O K ending up on your scrolling list of past inputs (rather embarrassingly, the input recorded is the exact word you entered and not the word from the program's own word store).\r\n\r\nAnother gripe is an error which is common to many adventure instructions (Sorderon's Shadow did the very same thing last month). The error I refer to is the habit of listing a so-called example of the vocabulary going beyond the simple verb/noun couplings only to find that the program's input routine can't handle such a long sentence, for example, in this case, ATTACK THE WOODMAN WITH THE LUNAR AXE is too long to be accepted& Ac rious side effect of allowing the location description to remain on screen is the need for a LOOK command which tells you what you can see, eg a bottle, a mushroom, along with the exits. The reason for this, presumably, is the restriction of space on the location description. It may have been better to have made the adventurer work for his/her information with a more intelligent LOOK/EXAMINE command.\r\n\r\nProgramming the DELETE key to act without the need of the CAPS SHIFT is a nice touch as is the list of words in the vocabulary which comes up onto the screen and stays there while you try and match up some of the words from it.\r\n\r\nSouls of Darkon is a very well presented adventure and a welcome change at a time when just about every mainstream adventure is Quilled. The cartoon-style graphics are very effective and suit the game well.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nDifficulty: easy to start, then the usual brick wall\r\nGraphics: one colour - green-but attractive\r\nInput facility: a little beyond verb/noun\r\nResponse: fast","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Some good features.","Page":"166,168","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Derek Brewster","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Atmosphere","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Vocabulary","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Logic","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Quality","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 12, Dec 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-13","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":122,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editors: Martin Dixon, Caroline Clayton\r\nDeputy Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nStaff Writer: Phil South\r\nTechnical Consultant: Peter Shaw\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, Steve Marsden, Tommy Nash, Chris Palmer, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Julian Harriott\r\nProduction Managers: Sonia Hunt, Judith Middleton\r\nPublishing Manager: Roger Munford\r\nPublishing Director: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinters: Chase Web Offset [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1986 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":"Title: Souls Of Darkon\nPublisher: Bug-Byte\nPrice: £2.99\nReviewer: Mike Gerrard\n\nAnother re-release from the new budget Bug-Byte stable, Souls Of Darkon will already have been seen by lots of you so I'll keep the comments short. Darkon is the baddy in the land of Megron, where you've just landed with the faithful robotic friend Komputa, who hovers around you wherever you go. Destroying Darkon is obviously the mission, and while the adventure is not likely to be the hardest you'll ever come across, it's beautifully presented with plenty of simple but good graphics screens and a very friendly vocabulary. In fact typing in VOCAB prints out a list of the verbs that the program recognises, saving those occasional frustrations, while there's plenty around to EXAMINE.\n\nWith coins, swords, crystal fountains and blacksmiths, there's nothing very original in the early stages of the game, but that doesn't matter as the whole thing is well presented. I just hope no hardline adventurers allow themselves to be put off by a program which includes ZAP in its word list!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"84","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Mike Gerrard","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Text","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Personal Rating","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 47, Feb 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-01-18","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":130,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nStaff Writers: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Gareth Jones\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nAdventure Writers: Richard Price, Gordo Greatbelly\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nHardware Correspondent: John Lambert\r\nBusiness Correspondent: Mike Wright\r\nContributors: Nicole Segre, Jerry Muir, Megan Jones, Marcus Jeffrey\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Shahid Nizam\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Paul Barnes for Digital Integration\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles to:\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nOriginal programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. Please write 'Program Printout' on the envelopes of all cassettes submitted. We pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1986 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nABC 102,023 Jan-June 1985"},"MainText":"Publisher: Taskset\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nMemory: 48K\r\n\r\nHeading back into the realms of text adventure we now come to the planet Megron - not a headache cure. Here you find the decaying remains of a high-tech culture apparently destroyed at its apogee.\r\n\r\nThese Megronians were just too clever and managed to loose Darkon onto their unsuspecting world. He, or it, is the manifestation of all evil and hate and, within a short time after his freeing, has become the absolute ruler of Megron. The land is now returning to nature but over all broods the shadow of sorcery and terror.\r\n\r\nYou, a bionic warrior accompanied by a faithful droid Komputa, have been transported to this none too pleasant place to remove the problem of Darkon. You aren't the first and will come across the remains of your predecessor along with his mangled droid.\r\n\r\nYou will immediately find several knotty problems to solve. The opening section involves the gathering of objects such as the helmet of your predecessor, foodstuffs and equipment such as a hover belt, a ring and, somehow, a crystal which falls from a surveillance robot which you must zap before it sneaks on you. There is also a standing stone and an altar concealing unnamed treasure. The major task is to discover enough gold to bribe a guide to take you past Darkon's monolith and into his realm.\r\n\r\nThe presentation is slick and the interpreter reacts quickly. My only real moan about the input buffer is that keys will repeat too quickly and even a light tap will result in a long string of the same letter which then has to be erased.\r\n\r\nThe descriptions are concise and deliberately intended to make you 'look' a lot and examine articles. Don't assume that things aren't there because the description doesn't mention them - there is a lot of hidden detail. That applies particularly to houses. They have doors but you won't see that stated in the location text.\r\n\r\nThe problems are not all simple and you will need some ingenuity to progress very far. I did feel that this was tied up with a relatively limited vocabulary, the main verbs of which are displayed if you type 'vocab'.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are very fast and are displayed on the left of the screen. They will react to some of your actions - the surveillance robot, for instance, is shown both before and after zapping.\r\n\r\nThe presentation is attractive, despite the key repeat problem, and there is sufficient interest in the early section to get you involved and keen to solve the riddle of the altar and the monolith. There is also action and the problems of dealing with other creatures who are not ultra-communicative unless you find their particular need or interest. Not bad.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"84","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Richard Price","Score":"3","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"3/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 52, Feb 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-01-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nSub-Editor: Seamus St. John\r\nDesign: Craig Kennedy\r\nAdventure Writers: Keith Campbell, Paul Coppins, Steve Donoghue, Jim Douglas\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Mike Core\r\nProduction Assistant: Melanie Paulo\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: John Higgins\r\n\r\n...and the Bug Hunters!\r\n© Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE\r\nBy using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES can be mailed direct from our offices each month to any address throughout the world. All subscription applications should be sent for processing to COMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES. Annual subscription rates (12 issues): UK and Eire: £15. Additional service information, including individual overseas airmail rates available upon request. Circulation Department: EMAP National Publications. Published and distributed by EMAP National Publications Ltd. Printed by Severn Valley Press. Typeset by In-Step Ltd."},"MainText":"SUPPLIER: Taskset\r\nMACHINE: Amstrad, Commodore 64, Spectrum 48k\r\nPRICE: £7.95, cassette\r\n\r\nThe brief background story to this game is rather ludicrous, for you are cast as a bionic warrior on the planet Megron, laid waste by the evil Darkon. With nothing but a faithful robot watching over you, you are presumably (for it doesn't say as much) sent to find and overthrow Darkon.\r\n\r\nThe environment in which you find yourself will pass for good old mother Earth anyday, with trees and mushrooms, not to mention a log hut complete with woodman, the remains of a brewery, a blacksmiths, and the odd fountain and monument here and there.\r\n\r\nThe game takes a bit of getting used to, as the text is so horribly gothic that it is almost indecipherable at first.\r\n\r\nThe screen has an unusual layout, the top half describing the location in a narrative sort of way, with a picture below it to the left. The computer's replies are shown to the right of the picture, whilst the player's commands are entered at the bottom of the screen.\r\n\r\nSince the descriptions are narrative, it is necessary to type LOOK for a list of exits and objects. There are three facilities for HELP. One is to simply type the word, but more often than not you will be referred to the other two methods: LEGEND and VOCAB. The latter is simply a list of the valid words, whilst LEGEND may tell you a bit about the background of the location.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are a let-down, consisting of blue line-drawings on a green background, but they are fast, and they do serve to identify where you are without the necessity of having to struggle through the location text.\r\n\r\nThere are a couple of characters to be found early in the game - a toiling woodman, and a guide. Both seem rather wooden, for I have not found a way to make them listen yet, let along engage in a useful conversation, despite paying the guide for a service - he just accepts the money and then continues to ignore me! Perhaps I am using the rather limited vocab in the wrong way.\r\n\r\nThere seems to be a glitch or two with the replies, as when having typed GO OUT to leave the hut, the 'narrative location' text told me I was hovering over a swamp, yet the picture showed I had remained in the hut, a fact confirmed by the subsequent reply to typing LOOK. One or two other strange messages appeared from time to time, as well.\r\n\r\nFor all that, the game is quite a good one when you get used to it.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Keith Campbell","Score":"6","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Vocabulary","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Atmosphere","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Personal","Score":"6/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 29, Sep 1986","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1986-08-21","Editor":"Bryan Ralph","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bryan Ralph\r\nAssistant Editor: Cliff Joseph\r\nConsultant Editor: Ray Elder\r\nAdvertising Manager: John McGarry\r\nDesign: Argus Design\r\nA.S.P. Advertising and Editorial [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Alabaster Passmore and Sons Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Copy Controller: Lynn Collis\r\n\r\nDistributed by: Argus Press Sales and Distribution Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing Monthly is published on the fourth Friday of each month. Subscription rates can be obtained from ZX Subscriptions, [redacted]\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication, including all articles, designs plans, drawings and other intellectual property rights herein belong to Argus Specialist Publications Limited. All rights conferred by the law of Copyright and other intellectual property rights and by virtue of international copyright conventions are specifically reserved to Argus Specialist Publications Limited and any reproduction requires the prior written consent of the company.\r\n\r\nArgus Specialist Publications Limited. ©1986"},"MainText":"Bug-Byte\r\n£2.95\r\n\r\nThis game was released at Christmas by Taskset, and would have cost you eight pounds if you bought it then. Now, just seven months later, Taskset have disappeared and it's re-released for three pounds, a far more suitable price.\r\n\r\nYou land on the planet Megron. With only Komputa, your robot, to help, you must destroy Darkon, The Evil One, who is using the awesome power of combined sorcery and science to enslave the people.\r\n\r\nOn loading you immediately notice the superb presentation. At the screens top is the location description, which is usually well written if not particularly informative, and remains static; as does the picture on the left. Your commands are entered at the bottom, and are scrolled up with appropriate responses and messages in the remaining screen space. Colour is perfectly used to emphasize the text, and there's an attractive character set. The good effect is spoilt somewhat when you start to type. The input routine repeats letters too fast, even when you tap the keys lightly, so commands like 'ZZAPP ROOBOT\" are common.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are.. .different. They are green and black, and appear rather wishy wash and easily disregarded. Still, they are instant and hi-resolution, generally well drawn, and often respond to your actions which is a pleasant surprise.\r\n\r\nScience fiction is such a hackneyed adventure theme that to hold my interest the game must be special. This one stands out because the technological mumbo-jumbo is blended effectively into the fallen civilisation of Megron, which has reverted to a simple, medieval style life yet still retains futurist sculptures and surveillance robots.\r\n\r\nAn atmosphere of bleak oppressiveness is created by the endless rain, the ancient ruins and strange relics. EXAMINE and LOOK must be used frequently to reveal important information, although the responses aren't always helpful. A command I liked was LEGEND, which, when used in certain places, describes their often sinister history and purpose.\r\n\r\nThat command is not mentioned in the instructions however, which are appalling. They're incredibly brief, don't explain unusual commands like ZAP, and are mostly nonsensical. To quote: \"ENTER the commands. You will need to enter specific commands... SAVE saves your current position\". The scenario is incoherent, and doesn't explain your powers enough or Komputa's function.\r\n\r\nAs with all the adventures reviewed this month, vocabulary is too limited at under 50 verbs. The parser is finicky about what it will accept and in particular character interaction is too difficult. Finding the right noun to examine is also tricky, and to enter buildings you must open a door which isn't mentioned in the text.\r\n\r\nThere are problems aplenty, some challenging, some obvious, and some a little too obscure. The vocabulary makes them harder, and the pedantic parser provides no indication of whether you have the right idea.\r\n\r\nThese faults are sadly common to a many recent adventures. Despite them, Darkon is an entertaining game which is sufficiently cheap for me to recommend to more experienced adventurers. Certainly one of the best budget adventures.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"41","Denied":false,"Award":"Globella","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"Great","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]