The Mysterious Realm - Peter D. Ward
      (Shareware ST text/graphic adventure on PD 463)

              Reviewed by John R. Barnsley

This previously commercial STAC'd text/graphic adventure from
Keysoft has now been released as Shareware by the author. The
documentation assures us that the game has been fully playtested -
unfortunately, this is not absolutely correct and if the player is
not careful then frustration and abandonment will be the end
result! Having said that, however, at the new low price it is
still a huge playable adventure with some interesting (if not
inspiring!) graphics with very few spelling mistakes. Being an
avid 'mapper' I am obviously delighted with the prospect of
exploring over 170 locations of mountains, desert, rolling
landscapes and a strange castle; there are even a couple of
initially confusing mazes for good measure. The big drawback of
this adventure is the less-than-weak storyline - well, in fact,
there isn't one! You are thrown into this fantasy land with no
clue as to how you got there or what your ultimate goal is.

Not all the objects that you will come across will be of any use
to you but collecting them all will prove profitable as, with the
exception of any keys, they can be sold to gain gold allowing the
purchase of necessities.  It is useful to realise that anything
you sell at the 'Changer' shop can be repurchased at the
'Secondhand' shop later, although you will have to pay twice the
amount you received for it. Do not attempt to steal anything or
the unseen Game Co-ordinator will deal with you. When you purchase
an item ensure that you have sufficient room for it in your
Inventory, otherwise you will pay for it yet not receive it, thus,
when you then attempt to pick it up, you will be accused of
stealing! Also, do not drop or try to 'put' any object whilst
inside the Secondhand shop - that too will result in a lost item.

Character interaction is restricted to giving certain items in
exchange for others or, in some cases, gaining information and
clues. However, not all the possible permutations are necessary
and many potentially impossible situations can be bypassed with
careful forethought. Combat is always a waste of effort and time
with the exception of the Dragon in the castle (he must be
defeated in order to obtain the black key). To engage in combat
you must KILL (TARGET) press [RETURN] SWORD/SHIELD/DAGGER, etc, in
fact almost any object will do provided you are holding it in your
hand! It goes without saying that your health/strength should be
topped up prior to engaging in combat.

The scoring system is extremely erratic and should be disregarded
as an accurate guide of your progress.  'REST' must be taken
frequently to maintain a lower health/strength limit of about 65
to a maximum of 75 - there is also a useful (?) potion to increase
this level to 170. Another aspect is hunger and food is available
from two sources - one you pay for up to a maximum of four visits,
the other you get for free as many times as you like due to a
useful bug. Bear in mind also that your health/strength will
rapidly diminish if you are not wearing the proper attire in
adverse conditions.

Light is a further factor to contend with as there are many 'dark'
locations and this is available via two sources - torch (which
must be re-pitched either by one of the other characters on
receipt of the necessary payment, or by the player if you are
smart enough to locate a free pitch supply in time), and by
lantern (which must be filled with oil every now and then from
various strategic free sources).

The two mazes are easily mapped provided you note the individual
location descriptions VERY CAREFULLY. The 'dark' maze obviously
needs light whilst the other is set in a raging blizzard which
requires you to wear the proper protective clothing.  It is also
possible to 'teleport' from the centre of one maze to the centre
of the other but I'll leave that for you to discover for
yourself!!

Finally, the end of the game is a bit of an anti-climax. Without
spoiling things I can say that the final message will not tell you
anything that you didn't realise from the outset - unless, of
course, you have never played an adventure before!


In conclusion this game is an interesting exploration exercise
with plenty of puzzles to keep you occupied, though none to cause
any serious problems.  The game is marred in one or two respects
by the presence of the odd bug or two that annoyingly throws you
into confusion and despair. However, the game is finishable and I
have provided Sue with ONE possible solution and a
'near-as-dammit' full set of maps to help those experiencing any
problems.