Zenobi Reviews

@~All games in this section are supplied by Zenobi Software and
@~are PC, ST or Amiga emulated Spectrum text adventures. In all
@~cases, the unregistered version of the emulator is supplied with
@~the game.  For more details, or to order, contact Zenobi
@~Software, 26 Spotland Tops, Cutgate, Rochdale, Lancs., OL12 7NX.
@~Prices are œ2.99/disk inclusive.

@~Just one emulated game this issue.

               *    THE END IS NIGH    *
                    ---------------
   Authors:  Jonathan Scott and Stephen Boyd / Zenobi Software
         Reviewed on the Amiga by:  Philip Richmond

This is a Spectrum text adventure written using Gilsoft's
Professional Adventure Writer (PAW) and works on all Amigas via
the Spectrum Emulator, which is supplied on the disk. The game is
a sequel to the authors' previous adventure "The Beginning of the
End" in which it was necessary to collect four components for
construction of The Machine Of Total Universal Control (!) needed
to defeat the villain Sir Basil Hodgkins PhD and stop him taking
over the world. In "The End is Nigh" 3 more components must be
found to assemble the Machine and thus prevent Basil from wreaking
havoc.

The game has been split into three parts:-
1) The Victorian Zone
2) The Interstellar Zone
3) The Subterranean Zone

In order to enter the second and third parts it is necessary to
save data at the end of the first and second respectively. This is
to ensure that the player cannot enter the next zone until he/she
has finished or completed playing the current zone. It also allows
any objects owned by the player to be saved too - as some objects
found may be useful in the next part(s)!


The game has the familiar PAW look and feel. One difference is
that the Location Exits and Score are clearly printed at the top
of the screen - quite handy. Game positions can be saved/loaded
and there is the usual RAMSAVE facility to help matters. The
standard adventure commands are understood as is: TAKE ALL, DROP
ALL, EXAMINE ALL.  Abbreviations exist for many of the verbs to
save your typing finger eg: A (AGAIN) repeats the last command
typed. The Location descriptions are fairly short and to the
point.

It is advisable to EXAMINE, SEARCH, LOOK UNDER and LOOK BEHIND
everything in order not to miss 'hidden' objects which are vital
to solving the game. There are a few Characters you can interact
with using the SAY TO command eg: SAY TO ROBOT "FOLLOW ME", and
help from one or two of these will be required to make progress.

The authors have made good use of colour and brightness attributes
to highlight bits of the text, which is nice, and included a few
comical 'quips' in descriptions - which shows off their zany sense
of humour.

In Part 1, set in Victorian London, you must, amongst other
things, escape from prison, stop the spirit of Guy Fawkes blowing
up the Houses of Parliament, contend with a judo-kicking security
officer, and get past the evil Rook on a giant chessboard. In Part
2, set on a large spaceship, you will need to save the ship from a
collision, repair a robot, create a clone, find some energy
crystals, and navigate a space-pod. In Part 3, set in a strange
undersea world, you will meet the sea-god Neptune, an infuriating
starfish who wears headphones, a grumpy wet-suit clad historian,
and an octopus who works as a 'bouncer' at a nightclub!

Some puzzles are fairly straightforward and experienced
adventurers will have no problem with these, whereas there are the
odd one or two which are really quite challenging and will require
some concerted thought. It is wise to keep all objects and SAVE
regularly to be on the safe side. I found the game fun to play,
and am well on the way to solving it (I'm about half way through
Part 3). No spelling mistakes as far as I could see! The authors
have done a good job in coming up with an imaginative plot and
storyline. They have taken care to make it a light-hearted romp
through time and space, pitched at about the right difficulty
level for most.

Having said that, there is a certain "oddness" factor in the game.
For instance, having successfully crossed the river Thames in Part
1, I suddenly found myself standing in the Houses of Parliament
alongside Black Rod who was attempting to gain entrance to an
inner chamber. Weird!  Also, there were lots of strange
inhabitants in basement rooms of the Parliament building itself,
such as a giant and a shop assistant. What would they be doing
there?? I get the feeling that this was done to intentionally
surprise the player, and, gripes aside, it works fairly well -
with the writers' taking good advantage of the authoring package
and demonstrating their PAW know-how.

A worthwhile addition to the Zenobi range.


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