MYTH by Barry Volain (c) 1997 (A text adventure, part of SynTax disk PC 1175) Review by Bev Truter Myth (no relation to the Magnetic Scrolls' Myth) is another large-ish and enjoyable text adventure, written with TADS. The characters and situations in Myth are based largely on bits of Greek and Roman mythology, and you play the part of a mythological hero, probably male. (A nice touch in the .TXT file was an apology by the author to all female players for the usual obligatory male characteristics). You'll need your wits and a fair dollop of luck to overcome all the obstacles you'll encounter along the way, and it may not be apparent until the end of the game exactly what the ultimate point of it all is - but there is a definite end. The accompanying .TXT file contains instructions for playing Myth and interacting with other characters in the game, and gives some general hints on how to proceed. The author requests US$10 if you enjoy playing Myth, or if you need any help in solving it. Registered users will receive a deluxe map plus a hintsheet. A book on mythology would probably give you a few ideas on how to tackle some of the characters and problems, particularly if you are unfamiliar with Greek and Roman mythology. The author mentions the large reference books by Bulfinch available from most libraries, but any book on Greek and Roman mythology would do the job as well. Most of the gods/characters you come across are fairly well-known, if only from many other text adventures of yesteryear - eg, if you don't know how to (theoretically) deal with Medusa, then there's absolutely no hope for you in this game . Having said that, Medusa proved most unobliging for a while. Although I found the necessary equipment to sort her out, she still unfailingly turned me to stone at every opportunity...dratted woman. However, once past her the game opened out in many other directions, so all was forgiven. Myth begins in the middle of a beautiful field, where you feel a sense of great contentment. However, you sense that the gods have plans for you, so you'd better not dally around too long. Exploring to the east you'll find Saturn/Cronos, blocking the path. He's the god of agriculture, and he looks hungry...A large forest and swamp lie to the west, and a path runs northwards through wildflowers to the temple of Venus. Picking your way through fields of boulders to the south you stumble across a stone with an inscription at its base, and a sword firmly embedded in it. (A slight intrusion of Arthurian legend here, but never mind). There's also a group of kiddies playing in a field to the southwest, and they won't let you touch a paper crown lying nearby. Oh well, you can always trot back to the swamp, and see what it contains; or perhaps shin up a tree or two in the forest. Once past Saturn the game opens up in several directions, and you are faced with more problems as you meet a succession of famous and infamous immortals - Apollo, Mercury, Arachne, Medusa and Minerva are just a few that you will discover in the initial areas of the game. There are various ways to obtain help from them or overcome the problems they present if you've got the necessary goodies or have an inkling of what they want from you, but although the solutions to some problems are fairly obvious, how to acquire the essential items is not always apparent. You can progress fairly rapidly through the game up to 130/300 points; but then you reach a stage where nothing seems to work. After solving this temporary hiccup in progress the rest of the game will probably take a few weeks to complete. Myth is just over 100 locations in length, so it's well up there in the large and sprawling category; and there are about 30 gods and creatures and other assorted characters to interact with...sorry, `with whom to interact' if you're picky about grammar. Back to the subject of a book on mythology - one which contains a short version of the Aeneid, particularly Book 6, would be useful. Reading up on the travels, trials and tribulations of Aeneas and his jolly band of Trojans gives an indication of what looms ahead further into the game, and what you'll need to cope with some of the difficulties that lurk around the corner, or rather, beyond THAT gate. Oh yes, and it definitely pays to know about some of Saturn's dietary peculiarities. Solving some of the puzzles in Myth requires a bit of pondering over the items and tools you find, and how to change some items into something else by using the appropriate tool. Useful objects don't just lie about waiting to be picked up; instead you have to use your ingenuity and intuition to create a particular item from some of the pretty ordinary stuff you might find in the game. This proved more of a challenge than just finding things and guessing how to use them - this way you first have to figure out what you need, then try to create it. TADS games, as always, are a delight to play from a purely mechanical point of view. Saving and restoring is a breeze with the menu system which displays all your saved games so you can highlight the particular one you want to restore. Dying in the game presents no problems either, as you are given the option to undo, restore, restart or quit - no getting tossed out of the game here, which often makes you so miffed you don't feel like going to all that bother of restarting and restoring from scratch. Myth is a well-written saga set in the ancient times of legend when the old gods ruled the world. I found it a longish, entertaining and challenging game, very satisfying to play and (almost) finish. There were no grammatical or spelling errors to spoil the flow of the story, and I discovered only two or three very minor programming bugs - nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of this game. Myth has a fair number of interesting puzzles which I haven't come across in any other text adventures, and this gave the game a refreshing appeal. Characters in the game are suitably impressive, the locations are believable and atmospheric, and Myth has that extra something which makes you feel part of the mythological world it portrays. Now, where DID I leave my shield and sword?? Got to get back to rescue... ENJOYMENT 7/10 ATMOSPHERE 6/10 DIFFICULTY 6.5/10 FINAL COMMENT YES! Another good game to try, and buy. - o -