GECKO'S ADVENTURES 1
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      3 Amiga text adventures on SynTax Disk 904

                 Reviewed by: Phil Richmond

There are 3 text adventures on this autobooting disk.  2 are
cut-down, limited play, shareware games by a German author using
his 'MIPRIC' (seriously!) Story System.  Documentation is supplied
on disk and can be easily viewed.

"ICE PRINCESS" is a fairytale adventure and starts on a bright and
cold Christmas Eve morning in a snow covered landscape in some
faraway village.  You play an unhappy, runaway orphan boy who
stands near a frozen lake glumly watching the local children who
are having fun skating, laughing and playing on the ice.
Suddenly, amidst the cheerful gathering, the most beautiful young
girl you have ever seen appears, and you immediately fall head
over heels in love!  First job is to reach the girl. As the ice is
quite slippery it's imperative that you secure the correct
footwear before venturing across the lake to meet her.  When you
manage to approach her, she skates to the north and climbs up a
small hill, leaving you to follow.  That's when the game really
starts. You now have to find this "princess" who has stolen your
heart and thus solve the yarn.

There are quite a few locations to explore in this wintry
wonderland. An icy forest, a castle, the snowy woods, a chapel,
crystal caves and a winter garden are just some.  They are all
nicely described and help to build up a 'picture' of the scenery
in your minds-eye.  There are a few puzzles which can be solved
which give you an idea as to the sort of thing to expect in the
full version. An axe would be a useful tool for hacking the closed
door in the small hut. Visiting the aged woodcutter and offering
to assist him is a great idea, but this is where you find that you
are unable to progress further, as he promptly declines your aid
until the Shareware fee is paid.  This looks a good game and I'm
pleased to say I enjoyed playing it right up to the cut-off point.
If this demo is anything to go by, then I imagine the whole game
would be definitely worth obtaining.

"TIMELESS EMPIRE" is a fantasy adventure which puts you in the
role of a weary traveller who has just completed a long quest to
obtain a time-worn, blackened sword.  Entering the town of
Shelter, you climb the steps to the Inn of the Setting Sun to meet
your companions:
Marmion Xarxos - a frail but talented mage.
Rygar Hammersmith - a dwarf
Coron Stormkeeper - a strong fighter.
After being welcomed by your pals in the jovial inn, the
celebrations are interrupted by a loud screaming outside.  Rushing
to the door, you see two knights dragging a chained-up girl to be
torched at the stake!  Once rescued, the girl and your party camp
on a small hill outside town under the starry sky.  Talk to the
girl and she introduces herself as Vyvien Silvermoon, whose sworn
mission is to bring belief in the True Gods back into the world
and so counteract the evil lies that are being spread by a certain
Zecna.  After sleeping, you awake refreshed and are ready to
accompany the girl on her fantastic journey.  Travelling through
the 'Plains of Death', the rocky hills and mountainous passes you
arrive in the town of Silmiar, where there lies the Town Hall and
the Inn of the Falling Leaves. And slowly the game starts to
unfold...

The text is lengthy, well written and succeeds admirably in
conjuring up a dark and magical world.  One of the features is the
ability to swap roles by playing the different characters in your
party and so take advantage of their particular skills and
attributes.  For example, in order to explore the low tunnel in
the mountain you would need to input 'play rygar'. (the dwarf) The
full version is apparently quite large and took some time to
write.  This, again, seems to be a game worthy of the requested
registration fee.

"ADVENTURE" is a faithful conversion of the original Crowther and
Woods legendary game.  It is presented in its original form
without alteration or modification. This appears to be the full
game. I shall not comment on it, other than to say it is
interesting from a historical point of view.  There are some

'ADVENTURE' maps included with it too, but it seems you need a
special utility to view them.

Summary:
A good disk with excellent examples of the author's work plus a
bonus of the classic 'Adventure' to boot.  Worth seeing.













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