Black Dawn
         (RPG for Amiga on SynTax PD 710 and 726)

                Reviewed by Bill Commons

When I loaded this game and saw the now familiar cluster of
direction arrows for movement and a corridor in front of me I was
ready to play the sort of game that I enjoy.  I was soon
disappointed in finding that the mouse was so sensitive that a
slight touch would turn me in a half circle without me knowing or
it would send me banging into the walls and losing me valuable
health points.

The game is very much in favour of the the monsters in so much as
you get a paltry average 20 cash for killing one but it costs 50
cash for a first aid kit and it may take two of these to get back
to the energy level you had before the battle.

There is a built in map for each level and plenty of shops to buy
weapons, armour and medical supplies, but lack of money is the
main problem. Money can be found in some locations, but not enough
to keep you out of trouble.

You cannot save your game but instead there is a pass code for
each completed level. Three in all. Level two code seldom worked
and when it did it restarted at the beginning of level one.

The spelling in the text sometimes made me wince, I found myself
muttering that I needed a throng knife to descend in the lift.

In level two you have to push very large balls along the corridors
to clear the way and to be careful that you do not block yourself
in. Just before the end of this floor is a double row of balls
placed in a diagonal line across the room and you have to move
these very carefully to allow you to get through. This is made
even more difficult by the dodgy mouse.

I found the final level, number three, very hard and I could not
get very far. I then decided to give myself an edge by
experimenting with the code. I soon cracked it and gave myself the
very best weapon and armour and by starting from the beginning
with these I was able to complete the game.

When you load the code in from the title screen it does not give
you back your valuable inventory but sets the money at 100 cash
and one first aid kit plus the weapon you had at the time.













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