Into the Mystic - River Software RRP œ2.95
                  (Text-only adventure)
                 Reviewed by Paul Brunyee

Magic was being drained from the land, and the people were scared.
Without the magic, peoples lives were empty and dull - after all,
following a hard day's work in the fields, what better way to
unwind than to sit with a jug of ale watching old Merlin conjuring
new and mysterious tricks.

A Privy Council meeting was held to decide the course of action,
and eventually Merlin was given the task of finding someone daft
enough, er... bold enough to go on the quest. The first you learn
of this is when Merlin knocks on your door and invites you to go
on a little errand for him.....

After a quick briefing by Merlin, you don a simple disguise
comprising a smock and sandals and set off into the depths of the
forest. After a short while where you find very little, you
realise that you are hopelessly lost when you nearly stumble into
the midst of an Orc encampment. Fortunately, you remain unnoticed
and are able to explore the immediate area, but soon return to
the camp where you find that the Orcs are sleeping.....but even
the slightest noise may awaken them!

The Orcs form the first of many puzzles which bear the River
Software mark - an adventure that allows you just enough clues and
hints to keep you moving from one puzzle to the next, with just a
handful of more cunning problems to overcome dotted around the
scenario. Having to explore very carefully is a must, as well as
having to think laterally for several of the problems.

It may be seen that the best types of puzzles from many of the
adventures around at the moment are combined here, but don't lose
sight of the fact that River Software have been producing
adventures for a number of years now. There's the maze with many
directions to take and identical descriptions which can be solved
by dropping items in each location to make each location unique.
There is also a further maze described as a 'twisting maze with
passages all alike' where you could run out of items if trying
to map it by dropping them, and instead should look at the overall
construction of the puzzle. Even a scene from Alice in Wonderland
appears where you can shrink or grow in order to deal with the
puzzle in hand and the adventure even takes this into account at a
later stage when trying to access an object that is way beyond your
reach if you are still shrunk!

Written with the STAC on the Atari, the usual short sentence input
will be accepted together with RAMSAVE and RAMLOAD. Actually,
these memory save commands are very useful as there are a number
of routes you can take in 'Into the Mystic' which have fatal
consequences. There are solutions to these, but that is one more
puzzle for you to fathom out!

'Into the Mystic' contains a good spread of puzzles from start to
end and should keep you occupied for several winter evenings. 
Contact River Software, 44 Hyde Place, Aylesham, Canterbury,
Kent, CT3 3AL.