A Quick Look At ... Compiled by Sue The Sword of Shannara - Legend Based on Terry Brooks' series of novels, Shannara is Legend's latest offering using their usual interface but adding a combat system at certain points in the game and an overhead map for travelling. In it, you play Jak Ohmsford, son of Shea, the hero of the first novel. The Sword of the title was used in the first book to defeat baddie Brona using its special power which is to let people see themselves as they really are. 20 years have passed, and Brona has obviously recovered from the shock, because he's back and look for trouble. It's up to you to reforge the Sword, travelling through the four lands of Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes, collecting a magical item, and a person from that race who can use it, in each, persuading them to join your party and head for the final showdown with Brona. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Druid:Daemons of the Mind - SirTech In this RPG from the authors of the Wizardry series, you play an un-named hero, summoned by three druids to search for their brother who has gone missing. Each druid rules an island and you will have to visit each to gain clues about the disappearance. The game is designed in linear fashion with each island being visited in turn and only when all puzzles have been solved will the hero gain the Ogham keystones which he needs to continue his quest. Conversation is carried out by means of keywords which are highlighted on the screen. The rest of the gameplay consists of fighting for experience and spellcasting. There are only 3 save game slots, but there are several different endings to the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I Have No Mouth and I Must Screen - Cyberdreams Based on Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story, the bad 'guy' in this game is actually a massive computer, AM, which covers the whole of Earth. It has captured five humans and has been holding them for its own experimentation and 'amusement' for over 100 years. Each human has his (or her) own personal horror which AM exploits by putting each of them into his own nightmare world, where his fear or guilt has become real. You have to guide these characters through their worlds, not falling into any of AM's subtle traps. The puzzles will force you to make moral decisions in order to succeed and Harlan Ellison provides the voice for AM. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The 11th Hour - Virgin / Trilobyte Following their success with 7th Guest, Trilobyte - finally - provide more of the same in a return visit to Stauf's house of horror. Brutal murders have taken place in the nearby town. You play a TV anchorman, searching the house for his missing ex-lover, and must also discover any links between the murders and the house. The graphics are 3D, first person perspective again and the layout of the house almost the same as in the first game. The specs recommended by the game are high ... a Pentium with 8 meg RAM .. and anything less than a 486DX2-66 with 8 meg RAM and a double speed CD is likely to struggle. The puzzles revolve around objects in the mansion, solving a riddle and touching the correct item will reward you with a FMV clip and a bit more of the storyline. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Torin's Passage - Sierra From the keyboard of Al Lowe, but bearing no resemblance to his previous games starring Larry Laffer, Torin's Passage is a Disneyesque cartoon style adventure featuring animated, talking plants and animals with relatively simple puzzles, making it suitable for all the family. It also contains jokes which poke fun at computer games in general to stop it becoming too cute. Torin is the son of the King and Queen, who were murdered by an evil advisor. Raised by foster parents, he is shocked when they are kidnapped by an evil sorceress. It is up to Torin to find them and bring them safely home, but to do this he must travel through four worlds which are layered inside the planet. - o -