Jewels of Darkness - Level 9/Rainbird  RRP œ19.95

There  have  been  many  versions  of Crowther and   Woods'  classic 
Adventure,  aka  Colossal  Cave,  which was written on  a  mainframe 
computer in the 70s.

The  most well-known  version of all must surely  be the one brought  
out by Level 9,  available for a wide range of machines in text-only 
version for some  years. Taking  the original  Adventure as a basis,  
they  not  only   wrote  a superb  conversion,  they  also  added  a 
completely new end-game, with an extra 70 locations.

Not  content  with that, they wrote two  more  adventures, Adventure  
Quest  and  Dungeon Adventure,  which carry on where  their Colossal 
Adventure  finished.  These form  the  Middle Earth Trilogy and have 
given hours  of pleasure (and frustration!)  to  countless adventure 
devotees.

In  the ST  version, all  three adventures  are  combined  onto  one 
disc, to be played  separately or  as a series,  and, thanks  to the
large  memory  of  the ST, Level 9 have  added  larger descriptions,
extra  features, and for  good measure,  graphics too! A  novella by
Peter McBride is also packed in with the disc. 

Colossal  Adventure  mainly takes  place underground  in  the famous 
(infamous?)  Colossal Cavern,  said to be rich in treasure but  also 
inhabited  by  dragons  and giant snakes,  and  fraught  with  other 
dangers.  What adventurer could resist such a challenge? Even though 
your  map is lost through an unfortunate accident,  you set  off  to 
explore, hoping to make your fortune and escape with your life!

Thus the  adventure starts by a small brick  building.  A  few items
are lying inside,  and a dark well descends into the depths. A quick
investigation  of the surrounding  forest  helps  you  to  get  your 
bearings and a short walk by a stream leads to a locked grating. You 
unlock the grate, light your lamp...and begin your search.

Soon,  you  realise that  none of  the tales has  been  exaggerated. 
There  is treasure galore,  some of it guarded,  puzzles  to  solve, 
magic  words  to experiment with,  a couple  of  fiendish  mazes,  a 
vicious dwarf who attacks at random moments (usually when it's least 
convenient  to you) and a pirate who will bound in,  steal all  your 
hard-won treasure and stash it in one of the mazes!  Add to that the 
fact that the batteries in your lamp don't last for half as long  as 
you'd like them to,  and you will have an idea of the first part  of 
the adventure. The end game is still to come!

Adventure  Quest also starts outside the  familiar   brick building,  
but  hundreds  of years in the  future.  The  Demon  Lord AGALIAREPT
is  demanding the surrender of the  Kingdom.  It's  known that he is 
living  in the  Black Tower and all that is needed is for a magician 
to go and defeat him. Guess who?

You are instructed  by the  Wizard's High Council to  find  the four
Stones-of-the-Elements  and  Amulet-of-Life  and  to  use  these  to 
destroy the Demon. 

Several  of the locations are  familiar at the  start  including the 
building and the grating. In  the forest,  a shy unicorn  will  lead 
you to some useful items once you gain his trust and a wizard  gives 
you a scroll with more advice on it. At the end of the scroll is the 
phrase "The blesssing (sic) of Typo,  god of Adventures,  goes  with 
you", a lovely touch!

North of the forest, sand dunes  stretch into  the  distance. Beware
of  a huge  worm which  may  emerge and  swallow  you,  though  with 
careful timing you can turn it's appearance (and voracious appetite) 
to your advantage.  Everything useful seems to be guarded! There's a 
Djinn  by  the oasis,  a sphinx by a pyramid and a giant  picks  the 
bones  of  an unfortunate traveller right in the middle  of  a  path 
you'd just love to use.  Avoid those and you can bet you'll run into 
some orcs! Even the priestess who offers to help you with your quest 
won't  do so until you find and return her sun-dial.  So nothing  is 
straightforward.

The final adventure,  Dungeon Adventure, takes place after the death
of  AGALIAREPT  when  you  decide  to loot  the  Black Tower of  any 
treasure the Demon Lord may have left.  Even though you set off well 
prepared for this expedition,  an unexpected spell cast against  you 
results in you losing all your possessions and finding yourself on a 
mudbank below the Tower when you awake.      

Still,  what  adventurer  would  be  put  off  by  this  change   of 
circumstances? There's plenty to explore both inside and outside the 
Tower,  many  treasures  have  magical functions as  well  as  being 
valuable and there's a convenient place nearby to store your wealth. 

If  it's  possible,  there  is even  more  atmosphere to this  third 
adventure.   The  puzzles  are  excellent  and  there  are   several 
marvellous puns in it!                 

RAM SAVE  is provided  and  the OOPS  command,  which  allows you to 
backtrack  several   moves,  has  been  a godsend  for  me  on  many 
occasions.  For the money,  you couldn't buy a better package as the 
three adventures will keep you intrigued for many hours. 
 
                                        Sue