Goblin Towers - Classic Quests RRP œ19.95
     (Text adventure for PC, runs on ST using emulator)

Rumour has it that somewhere in a huge forest is an old castle
which has existed for centuries and contains vast amounts of
treasure to be collected by any adventurer brave (or foolhardy)
enough to enter it. Many have tried and failed, now its your turn
and you start the game in a small cottage, hoping that the rumours
that the castle's treasures are guarded by a hideous beast are a
load of hogwash.

If that sounds like a very unoriginal start for a game, I'd have
to agree with you, for Goblin Towers, despite the copyright 1987
label on the disk, actually dates back to the dim and distant past
of 1985, and has been available on the Amstrad and Commodore range
(including the Commodore PET) as well as the PC.  If you've been
playing adventures since then, you'll remember as clearly as I do
that mid-80s adventures were not at all sophisticated. There were
exceptions to this rule, of course, but Goblin Towers isn't one of
them.
The game has fairly terse descriptions (also the norm for those
days) and though the parser can cope with more than just verb/noun
entry, most of the time that's all you'll need. Saving is to RAM
or disk but disk saves will often corrupt an already used disk.
The same goes for all games in this series. Essentially the game
is a treasure hunt through the castle, all treasures needing to be
dumped back at the cottage for maximum points. There are only 52
locations, including two mazes, and few problems to solve.  Most
of your time (I'd reckon 2 hours) will be spent mapping the mazes.

If I'd bought this game as PD for 3 quid or whatever, I would have
considered it a pleasant little diversion from heavy-duty
adventuring. But at the exorbitant price I paid, despite the
snazzy video case packaging complete with atmospheric picture, I
felt I wuz robbed - especially as I was charged P&P on top by the
distributors, Audiogenics.

There are four more Classic Quests and thankfully the others look
better value. Next issue - Forestland.
                                                  Sue