Yendorian Tales Vol 1 Chapter One
                 (RPG on SynTax Disk 1004)

                  Reviewed by Laura Duncan

Here we are again in one of those strange lands far away and thank
goodness it is, life here is far too dangerous for my liking, but
more of that anon.

This is a shareware title and is a top down role-playing game.
Sue has mentioned the sequel which sounds interesting as it adopts
the Dungeon Master viewpoint.

Meanwhile back on the mist shrouded island of Yendor.....

I had a little trouble getting started, no doubt due to lack of
experience in these matters.  First you have to create your
characters, fine, then you must assemble them.  This took me a
while to figure out.  The choice of classes is different with
miners taking on the role of fighters.  As usual different
attributes are useful for different classes.  Horses for courses,
I suppose.  Strength and dexterity are important for weapon and
armour use and intelligence is useful for spellcasting.

Command icons fit along the bottom of the screen allowing you to
view the group, pick up, view the inventory, drop, speak, look,
fight, use magic, mine, save and restore.

Once you get past the preliminaries you find yourself in a small
town.  I found the graphics here quite likeable, especially those
little horses that wag their tails.  There are buildings to
explore and lots of people to talk to.  Don't misbehave in the
taverns though or you could end up in jail, which is actually
quite interesting.  The gossip in the pub is all about the
monsters who are plaguing the mines and how everyone wishes that
something was done about them.  Note that equipment is needed for
mining before you set out to make your fame and fortune.  Another
necessity is Nuore required for spellcasting.

Once you have stocked up with the necessary goods and info, it is
time to venture into the big wide world and it really is wild out
there.  The party is so inexperienced that the best thing to do is
run away from all but the weakest opponents.  But by picking your
fights you can quickly build up experience and cash to allow you
to train up to stronger levels.  One glitch in the fighting is
that the mouse tends to go AWOL after you've won, probably off
celebrating somewhere.  The best thing is then not to scream with
frustration but to revert to the trusty keyboard.  Another
nuisance is only having one save position so its best to make sure
that your party is in good shape before you commit yourself to
one.

My first strategy was to nip between the original town and the
Atheneum, to the south.  The Atheneum is a sort of university,
useful for training and maps but not so good for shopping.  It was
only after the party was strong that I dared enter the mines.
Nearby creatures are tame compared with the monsters that inhabit
the far away areas, rich in Nuore.  In addition to fighting,

mining and generally having a good time there are quests to
complete.

I must admit I quite liked the atmosphere of this game and the
country and lifestyle of Yendor was quite engaging.  It is a
shareware game however and this version ends quite abruptly.  Now,
you can send off for all the rest which does sound tempting but
then this game is competing with full price games that you would
expect to be free from the annoying glitches this one has.

I can recommend this version as value for money. An enjoyable but
flawed game.







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