News

A few adventures were released just too late to be reviewed in
this issue. These include Hound of Shadows, Maniac Mansion, and
Mystery of the Mummy. But stay tuned - all of them will be 
covered in Issue 5.

Interactive Technology, who wrote "Dead End" for the ST, have two
more adventures scheduled for release during the early part of
the year. "A Dark Sky Over Paradise" is an ecological-political-
science fiction story and is due for release in January. March
will see the appearance of "Doom 1", the first in a series of
fantasy RPG stories.

A gruesome quest awaits you in "Grimblood" from Mastertronic. As
the new Earl who has just inherited Castle Grimblood, you must
expose the evil murderer who has been bumping off your ancestors
in some strange ritual that has been carried on in the Castle for
generations.

Lucasfilm's "Loom" will be a graphic adventure in the same style
as Maniac Mansion, Zak and Indy. The thing about it that
fascinates me is that it is designed by Brian Moriarty
(ex-Infocom). As an apprentice weaver and wizard called Bobbin
(what else?), you must solve the mysterious disappearance of the
elders of your village, armed with a weaver's magic wand and
loom. Evidently there will be a tape of a play connected with the
game packaged with it to explain the customs and lores of the
world and the game is due out some time early this year.

News came through recently that Magnetic Scrolls have signed a
deal with Virgin Mastertronic for their forthcoming adventures.
I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing the results!

Another adventure due out soon is Melbourne House's "Demon's 
Tomb". An archaeologist is discovered dead in a Devon tomb and,
as his son, you must find out who (or will it be what??) killed
him.


Mike Singleton has been pretty quiet since he created "Lords of
Midnight" and the follow-up games on the 8-bit machines. The game
he has been working on, "Midwinter", will be released early this
year by Rainbird. It's a well-researched strategy game set on
an island revealed after the sea level drops during a second ice
age. As Captain Stark, leader of the island's Peace Force, you
must recruit some of the other inhabitants to deal with the
resident baddie, General Masters. The rumour is that Mike may
some day produce a 16-bit version of "Lords of Midnight"!

Finally, "Time" from Empire, which should retail at just under
œ30, will be an icon-based game featuring 60 characters and over
100 detailed locations as you travel through time, to both the 
past and the future, in a time machine (once you've worked out
how to use it). One of the characters you'll meet will be 
Merlin! Your quest? To create the perfect android.

                                                   Sue