SPIELRAUM - Syntax P.D. Disk No 517 By Peter Ward / Keysoft. A 3D Construction Kit Adventure Reviewed by JAMES JILLIANS on an Atari ST. Fortunately for all of us games-players who aren't whizzo in foreign languages, Spielraum isn't written in German. Another one of those 3D Construction Kit games! This means that it is set in a landscape with scenery of polygons and polyhedrons. The pyramids, prisms and cuboids have been put together to form recognisable objects. You can move around within the 3D environment and view the place from many different angles and perspectives. Your objective for this game, as stated in the "READ_ME" file, is to "have fun". (By no means an easy task, as you shall find out!) There is also the added chore of trying to complete the darned thing - a much easier task! The "Spielraum" is a maze with many passageways and rooms that can be explored. There are hidden doors that can only be opened by pressing different buttons in the central control room. It can be quite a challenge figuring out what each button does, but it doesn't take a genius to work out that you can open most of the doors by pressing all the buttons indiscriminately! On your quest to escape from the maze, you'll come across many a trap, puzzle or monster. You will find yourself doing all sorts of things a la Indiana Jones like edging across extremely thin platforms above deep pits, avoiding Daleks, running underneath deadly crushers and frantically trying to find and push the shape that opens a door. Sounds challenging? Well, I'm afraid it isn't! Unfortunately, all of the puzzles are ridiculously easy to solve. It's blatantly obvious what you are meant to do for most of them. What would you do with a key? Eat it? Eccentrico, James Judge probably would but would the rest of us? (Mega-lo-maniac - huh!) Some of the puzzles are quite illogical, and so, to avoid confusion, the programmer has left give-away clues, which make solving the problems a complete farce. A lack of imagination on the part of the author has let the potential of the game down. Some of the ideas within Spielraum have been copied directly from other sources, for instance, the Dalek. The puzzles are totally unoriginal too, for instance, the lock-and-key problem. How many times have you come across that poser? New ideas are completely absent. It's too easy, it's too deja vu. Spielraum's graphics are reasonably good, considering the limitations of the Construction Kit with which it was made. The game certainly does not exploit the full capabilities of the Atari ST, using only 5 or 6 colours on the average screen. On the other hand, Peter Ward has put his shapes together well to form life-like and interesting scenery. To show off his talent for drawing, he has put into the game a small museum displaying some of his works of art. It is a shame that Mr Ward has not included many of the cartoony non-player characters which enlivened Hysula, his previous game. On a more positive note however, the game is extremely well presented and user-friendly. The maze and the objects in it were well designed, with no annoying "gaps" that sometimes can be found in a 3D game. It is completely free of bugs and spelling errors (as far as I can tell!). The programmer has thoughtfully provided keyboard short-cuts for all of the directional movements. There is also a manual on the disk which tells you everything you need to know. The sound, as always with a 3DCK game, is abysmal. Perhaps, for his next game, the programmer would do well to use the new 3D Construction Kit II which is said to have excellent audio capabilities. J.J. ROUND-UP Spielraum is a game that I would not recommend. Unless you are a real beginner in adventure gaming (or a key-eater!) you should complete this game with minimum difficulty. Many of the puzzles are ludicrously easy, and they are all unoriginal. The "maze" aspect of the game should amuse some players for a while, but even that is easily mastered. Graphically the game is nothing special and the sound... well, what do you expect? Technically, the game is very good indeed (I wish I could use 3D Construction Kit to such a high level of competence!), but this does not make it any more playable. If you want to try out a game of this genre, get Hysula: it's more fun to play, it's slightly more challenging and has plenty of humour. The game needs a mouse but not a joystick. The possession of 3DCK is not necessary. J.J. RATINGS GRAPHICS : 7 out of 10 SOUND : naff EASE OF USE : 8 out of 10 VALUE : 2 out of 10 DIFFICULTY : 2 out of 10 FUN FACTOR : 3 out of 10 JAMES JUDGE'S VERDICT - I agree with my hero, James. Loved the keys, though. - Author of "Keys I Have Enjoyed", "Keys, Keys, Keys" and the best-selling, "Key est-ce?"