Dark Castle by Tony Rudzki on SynTax PD 312
              (Mouse controlled RPG for the ST)

                    Reviewed by Alan Beer

Knock knock (cue door opening effects). Hello, my old mate, what
are you doing here?  I've been on the road for many days now
looking for a safe place to rest.  Why, what's been happening in
your part of the world?  It's a long story but it all started when
the invasion by the orcian armies came, and many people were
slaughtered.  Then a group of warriors led by a man known only as
the young one, fought the evil hordes long and hard until only an
isolated band of them were left.  Unfortunately during a battle
they lost their swords of elven ancestry and they were soon
killed.  The remains of the orcian army retreated into the safety
of the Dark Castle.

It is said that the Dark Castle is protected by three magical
locks which must be opened in a certain order with three magical
keys of gold, silver and copper.  I've since heard that the king
has decreed that whoever destroys this last legion of evil will
receive half the kingdom as a reward.

And thus your adventure begins. The aim is simple enough, taking
the role of one or more of the four bands of warriors, you and a
friend or three (note: if you are playing by yourself you must
control at least one other band as there are no computer
controlled bands) must find three magical keys, enter the Dark
Castle using the keys in a certain order and destroy the
occupants.

Before starting the game each player must enter their initials and
then decide on how hard the level will be by adding and
subtracting from the default setting.  Using the mouse for control
you move your warriors (and when I say warriors I mean as a unit
not as individual warriors) about on a 2D grid type board.
Clicking the right button once will start a sort of dice rolling,
click again to stop and then use the left button to select a
square to which you are then moved to.  The board layout itself is
split into four coloured sections (one for each player) with a
fifth area in the centre for the Dark Castle.  In each area (but
not the fifth) there are woods and mountains both of which cannot
be entered, just passed though during a move.  Other places of
interest are care centres, ruins, tombs and bazaars (which is a
type of shop where you can buy a compass, more food and additional
warriors).  You will also come across enemy warriors and dragons
when you automatically go into fight mode (which you have no
control over).  To kill a dragon you will have to have found one
of the elven swords (the so-called Deathstrike) which is the only
weapon that can do the job.

There's not much more I can tell you about this one. The graphics
have an 8-bit feel to them and there's no real sound to mention.
Also the fact that you need at least two to play it properly makes
it boring sometimes when playing by yourself.  It's billed as a
RPG but they have obviously used the term loosely.  However while
I think of it there is a printable file on the disk with
background information and playing instructions.  To round it up
if you are looking for a board type game for up to four players
then this maybe worth spending a few pounds on (maybe ?).