Conquests of the Longbow - Sierra RRP œ39.99
    (Icon-driven graphic adventure for PC, Amiga soon)

There can't be anyone who doesn't know the story of Robin Hood
inside out and back to front, especially with all the recent
publicity due to the Kevin Costner film.  There have been several
computer games based round the legend too, the latest two being
Millenium's Robin Hood, reviewed in Issue 17 of SynTax and
Conquests of the Longbow, the second Sierra game from Christy
Marx.

The adventure takes place in and around Sherwood Forest and the
town of Nottingham over 13 game days.  The game, like the other
recent Sierra games, is very linear. There are certain tasks to be
performed each day and only when these are completed will night
fall and Robin return to camp. A short cut-scene later (oh yes,
there are a number of these to push the plot along) and the next
day will begin.

The basic story revolves around Robin's efforts to raise the
ransom required to free good King Richard from the clutches of the
dastardly King Leopold who captured him on his way back from the
Crusades. There is, of course, also a subsidiary tale interwoved
with the main plot in which Robin tries to win the hand of the
fair Maid Marian - who in this game has been strangely transformed
into a Green Priestess of the forest.  Oh well, I guess it makes
for a more interesting story and it also allows the game designers
to introduce features connected with the Druids and legends such
as the Green Man.

The game, like Sierra's other more recent releases, such as King's
Quest V, uses icons which can be accessed using the mouse. There
are the usual icons such as walk, talk, look at and so forth plus
a few customised ones for this game, bow and arrow and map. The
map icon allows you to travel quickly between major locations such
as Robin's camp and Nottingham. The forest itself is tough to map
as there are so many locations that are only subtly different from
each other so the map icon is a real boon. Just to make things
tricky on occasions there are certain times when you are not
permitted to use the map icon - those times you'll have to figure
out the best route yourself.

As with King's Quest V, the icon system makes the game very
linear. It's linear anyway because of the day-by-day play but the
icons, being so few in number, restrict the gameplay dreadfully as
you have so few choices available to you. The other disadvantage
of icons is that the results you get can be way, way beyond what
you'd expected. Merely try to talk to a character and Robin will
hold long conversations, sometimes making up all sorts of tales to
hurry the plot along. I found it impossible to feel involved with
the game as I would with a text adventure - or an RPG.

The game is quite easy, partly because there isn't that much to it
once you strip away the graphics (which are impressive, better
than King's Quest V) and partly because there are so many hints
given. At the start of each day, when Robin leaves his cave, one
or more Merry Men will talk to him and drop hints for what he
should be doing that day. At the end of the day, when Robin
returns to camp, there will again be a meeting with his men and
information will be given for future use. If Robin is killed, his
men will say where he went wrong and what might have prevented it.
Robin himself will refuse to carry out certain actions if they are
dangerous eg entering Nottingham without a disguise. Why not give
you the chance to try it?

There are a few arcade sequences such as archery and fighting with
the quarterstaff. As with Manhunter San Francisco, you can reduce
the difficulty level to give easier arcade sequences. Put the
level low enough and you automatically win. There is one sequence
this doesn't work with, however - catching a pixie in the forest.
This was the point at which I almost gave up and packed the game
in.  There is also the opportunity to play a board game called
Nine Men Morris. I could have kicked myself when I won it on my
first try and forgot to save my game. It was a long time before I
managed to win it again, but it was a pleasant diversion during
the game.

In conclusion, therefore, Conquests of the Longbow is a game which
is lovely to look at but not immense fun to play. It seems as
though the further Sierra go down the road of snazzy graphics, the
worse the gameplay gets. Others may disagree - if you do, write in
and let us know! Though they may have come on fewer disks and had
simpler graphics, I preferred the early Sierra games such as
Police Quests 1 and 2, Larry 1 to 3 and King's Quest 1 to 3 which
I found far more enjoyable. Use this game to impress your friends
with the power of your machine but don't expect it to tax your
grey cells too much.
                                                  Sue