*** Preview ***
             Phantom Zone  -  A Prime Time Production
                  (STAC text/graphics adventure)

                    Previewed by Neil Shipman

On loading this short demo adventure I was immediately impressed 
with the quality of the graphics of the first screen of credits. 
The following title screen showing grass growing through the eye 
socket of a skull which lay on the ground beneath a full moon was 
similarly well drawn, and the accompanying music by Shapeshifters 
gave this an added professional touch.

In Phantom Zone you play the part of Dan Yell Flint, adventurer 
and collector of rare artifacts. Your ageing grandmother shares 
your interest in antiquities and, on returning from her travels, 
she brings you an old mirror which she bought in a curio shop in 
Forshibad. Hanging this ornate relic on the wall in your drawing 
room you feel strangely attracted to it and, on closer inspection, 


you notice an odd inscription. As you run your fingers over it 
things suddenly change and where, moments before, you were outside 
the mirror, now you're trapped INSIDE it looking out onto your 
drawing room.

This introductory text is accompanied by a half-screen fractured 
graphic which I found particularly effective and which shows (I 
think) a tortured soul peering out from within the mirror. Sound 
effects add to the feeling of doom too.

Inside the mirror I made my way down the long tunnel which 
stretched into the distance and came across an old man who, with 
his last breath, mumbled, "Seek out Future World, the oracle." Was 
it he who had somehow attracted my attention to the mirror? His 
tunic emblazoned with a strange design looked interesting so I 
took it and put it on although I was, at first, reluctant to 
remove my 'cheque' patterned dressing gown - probably because of 
my mercenary nature! (Thoughts here of cashing it. Well, if bank 

managers in real life will accept cheques written on cows and 
cricket bats, why not ones on a dressing gown?!)

As the old man's body crumbled to dust in front of me I picked up 
a couple of items and made my way down the tunnels to an electro 
faze gate. Although this looked and sounded menacing I dived 
through to find myself, after a moment's blackness, in a barren 
red landscape. Hearing a cry to the west I headed in that 
direction past some geysers spurting steam - good animation here - 
and suddenly found that I was sinking into a swamp.

I managed to get out before the mud closed over my head and was 
able to make my way past a ragged beggar to a castle. Animated 
graphics showed the door opening as I approached, but then it 
crashed down as I tried to enter. When I did get through I found a 
strange obelisk dominating the room. It looked as if this was a 
dead end but, by making use of something I'd found earlier, I was 
magically transported in a colourful starburst and explosion 
of sound to Transportation Level 1 of Future World.


One move later I had reached the end of this short demo. In fact 
there were only 14 locations and I was able to complete it in 
under 20 moves, but I had had the chance of seeing what the 
writers and artists are capable of.

The most impressive parts of Phantom Zone are the half-screen 
graphics, many of which are animated and accompany every adventure 
location, and the use of sound effects. The text descriptions are 
adequate although the vocabulary is rather limited, progress is 
very linear and, at the moment, there is little puzzle content. 
Some actions - like Jump - have no use as yet and it is not
possible to interact with other characters.

Quite a bit of work has been put into producing this demo version 
and a lot more will undoubtedly be done as more locations and 
puzzles are added and the storyline unfolds. I was pleased to have 
had the opportunity of playing it and shall be interested to see 
what the finished adventure is like when it is released next year.

The Prime Time production team is made up of a prison officer and 
a number of inmates at HMP Risley, Cheshire together with some 
outside help from Colin Campbell of Creative Insanity. They intend 
to donate all the profits from Phantom Zone to a local hospital 
for mentally handicapped children.