Black Crypt - Raven Software/Electronic Arts RRP œ25.99
             (RPG for Amiga, PC version due soon)

         A quick look at a new release by Dave Barker

This is not designed to be a complete review of Black Crypt as I
have done little except stroll around the first two levels. What I
intend to do is to give some idea of how the game looks, feels and
plays. The background story is standard fare, you must guide your
party of characters, four in this case, to defeat yet another
unholy fiend.

Character creation is quicker than most because some of the
decisions are taken away from you. You are presented with four set
characters: a fighter, a cleric, a magic user and a druid. Each of
these comes with its basic stats and a pool of twenty five points
that can be freely allocated. You can also input your own
character names and each character has a pick of nine portraits.


The reason for the fixed character classes becomes obvious once
you look at how the game copes with the use of spell casting. Each
of the three magic classes, cleric, magic user and druid, has a
spellbook in their inventory, each contains four spells to start
with. Some of these spells appear as unreadable runes, indicating
that they are of a higher level than the character.  These are
accessible once the character has reached the appropriate level.
Further pages to each of the respective spellbooks can be found as
you traverse the deeper levels of the dungeon. As is usual, spells
must be memorised before use.

One novel feature is that all memorised spells can be accessed
from character spell stones that are a part of the main menu.
Three small icons enable you to quickly flip through the three
spell casting classes, enabling quick access to all memorised
spells during combat. Two of the magic user's spells are compass,
and wizard sight.  The latter is an auto-map facility, which lasts
only as long as the spell is active.

The main action screen looks as confusing as any current game of
this genre although the point and click embedded screens are quite
easy to manipulate once you get used to them. Most of the action
is carried out using the left mouse button, the right button being
used to return the action screen to its default setting or to go
to the inventory screen of the nominated leader of the party.
Whilst most actions are carried out by the mouse there are some
keyboard backups.  The cursor keys will move the party whilst the
"HELP" and "UNDO" keys will rotate the party through ninety
degrees. There is an option to define your own keys to represent
movement via the keyboard. Also the first four function keys will
give access to a character's inventory screens.

The puzzles seem to be the usual mix of doors, keys, buttons,
pressure pads, teleports and progressively meaner monsters.
However the play is not linear as in the case of Dungeon Master
where most of the time you were going through the levels, one by
one, in a straight line. It has more in common with Eye of the
Beholder where the levels are more open giving you the option of
how you traverse them. The extra twist that Black Crypt has is
that you often have to leave a level unfinished because a key,
button, switch or teleport is on a level below and return later.

An example of this can be found quite close to the start of the
game. At the beginning of level two is a spacious room which
contains a very large, and very nasty two-headed ogre who can
dispatch your fledgeling characters with a single blow.  This ogre
can only be killed by using the ogreblade which is hidden behind a
locked door on level one. The key to this door is hidden deep
within level two! Initially there are no doors out of the ogre
room, however there is a switch which will transport your party to
a point on level two just beyond this room. The first time you
enter the ogre room you must make a dash for the teleport switch
and hope that your party can avoid any contact with the room's
occupant.

Another standard followed in this game is the need for your
characters to eat and drink.  The inventory takes a somewhat
different approach to holding objects, which cannot be directly
held, rather they must be held in a container.  There are five
kinds of container: pouch, coffer, quiver, chest and backpack.
Each differs in size and the objects that can be placed in it.
The backpack has eight slots and the pouch has four slots. Both
can contain food and a waterskin but you can only put a large
weapon in the backpack. If you don't have a pouch or backpack you
can't carry any food or water. The pouch can contain throwing
daggers which will automatically be loaded into the character's
action hand during combat. As is usual fountains provide water and
food is found laying around as are weapons, armour and scrolls.

The program runs very smoothly, as it should for it was written
specifically for the Amiga. There has been an unfortunate trend
just recently for popular adventure and strategy titles to be
ported over from the PC rather than being properly converted.
This usually results in slow game play. The program allows you and
your enemy to simultaneously slug it out. I noticed that in Eye of
the Beholder the program froze you out if it was preparing your
opponent to strike. The use of "extra-half-brite" graphics makes
Black Crypt visually just about the best in its class. The
graphics show a wide range of light and shadow, armour is not dull
or matt, light is actually seen to be reflected off it.  To cap it
all the character portraits are definitely the best I've seen to
date.

The only criticisms that could be levelled against Black Crypt are
the usual ones in that it is yet another Dungeon Master clone and
that you are once again trudging through dull, and boringly grey,
underground passages. My initial reaction is that it is good
enough to stand out on its own. The only quibble I currently have
is that whilst the manual is clear and instructive I cannot
understand why they have included maps to all the levels in it.
Whilst these maps don't constitute a solution they do give some of
the fun away.

In conclusion Black Crypt gives the first impression of being very
good. But then again if you consider that four of the five man
team who wrote it are D & D enthusiasts it is really not that
surprising!