Loom - Lucasfilm RRP œ29.99-34.99
         (Animated graphic adventure for ST, PC, Amiga)

             ST version reviewed by Matthew Pegg

"Loom" is an animated adventure in the style pioneered by Sierra.
It is written by Brian Moriarty who used to work for Infocom and
was responsible for "Wishbringer" and "Beyond Zork". The game has
the same, slightly  whimsical style as his earlier work and looks 
similar to Lucasfilm's other games such as "Indiana Jones and the 
Last Crusade" and "Maniac Mansion".

In the age of the great guilds the guild of weavers has withdrawn 
to  a remote island and refined their skills to the extent that 
they no longer weave cloth but weave the pattern of reality itself.
They are gradually dying out, however, and the few children that
are born are monsters.

One woman has the courage to defy the elders and tamper with  the 
pattern to produce a perfect child. For this transgression she is 
banished, transformed into a swan. The child is brought up by an 
elderly weaver who secretly teaches him the magic of the  weavers, 
but he has no knowledge of the secret of his birth and the 
identity of his true mother. 

This is the point at which the game starts. You play the child, 
Bobbin Threadbare and you must travel far beyond the Island of 
Loom to discover what has become of the rest of your guild and 
thwart the plans of the guild of Clerics.

Control of the game is by mouse alone. You can click on a point on 
the  screen to make Bobbin walk there. Clicking on an object 
examines it and on a person will initiate conversation. Sometimes 
when you click on something you hear four notes. These are the 
magical 'drafts' which you must learn to complete your quest. They 
can do anything from opening locked doors, to changing your 
appearance.

You  can cast any drafts you know on any object on the screen by 
clicking on a stave below the main animation window.

Loom is very polished in its presentation, the backgrounds are 
very attractively drawn with some nice animated  detail. It is 
reminiscent  of a movie which is what I suppose you could expect 
from Lucasfilm. Sometimes the game 'pans' across the landscape and 
you get close ups of characters during conversations. When Bobbin 
moves into the distance the sprite gets smaller which gives a nice 
sense of depth and perspective.
 
Sometimes your actions give rise to an animated sequence that you 
can just sit back and enjoy, although it is possible to skip it if 
you've seen it before.

The game is liberally spiced with humour, much of it arising from 
Bobbin's reactions. At the beach you can cast a draft of  opening 
on a clam and a seagull flies over and starts eating it. "Yuck!" 
says Bobbin. (Well it made me laugh...)

On the other hand there are a couple of moments that are actually 
quite chilling. At one point a dragon you have annoyed comes 
across someone it mistakes for you....  At another point the 
power-crazed Bishop steals your staff and tries to cast the draft 
of opening...on a graveyard!

The packaging includes a cassette with a half hour drama which 
sets the scene, and some music to listen to (or turn off!) on the 
other side.

All in all Loom is a very enjoyable and original game.

The down side is that it is far too short and rather easy to 
complete. You are left feeling that there is a lot more of 
Bobbin's world that you would have liked to see. You will probably 
complete it in a few days and considering at full price it costs 
nearly thirty pounds you might feel that you are not getting 
enough for your money.

The opportunity for interaction is very limited. In effect you can 
cast  spells, examine  things  and talk  to  people. In a text 

adventure  you  have the illusion at least of being able to try 
anything. Here you might feel that you are a bit restricted.

Having said that, you can find "Loom" on mail order now for under 
œ10. At that price it would be a shame to miss it: a few days fun, 
but very good while it lasts.