Going Critical - author Laurence Creighton
           Published by Adventure Probe Software
         Emulated Spectrum game on PC, ST and Amiga
         œ2 - all proceeds going to the Probe fund

                      Reviewed by Sue

I've known Laurence Creighton for a number of years and during
that time he has released a stack of adventures, Going Critical
being his 21st. But I have to admit that I've never seriously
played one of his games, so when Barbara sent a copy of his latest
game for review, I decided the time had come to find out just how
devious he can be.  Going Critical is a modern day game set in
England. You're out rambling one day when a man in a white coat
runs up to you in a frantic state. There's a nuclear power station
nearby and it's overheating. There's a danger of it going critical
and exploding if it isn't shut down and to do this, they need a
key. Yes, you've guessed it, the essential key has gone missing
from the control panel. It's up to you to find it - quickly.

As stated at the top of this review, this is a Spectrum adventure,
emulated on 16-bit machines. It is written with the Quill so it is
text only and accepts two-word input. An emulator is provided,
with full instructions, and the PC version will run through DOS or
Windows but I used my favorite WSpecEm emulator. The disk label is
very nicely printed, giving a good first impression.

You start the game in a clearing at the foot of a hillside. You
can travel in several directions, and immediately you'll find some
puzzles.  How can you get a aerosol can which is just out of
reach? What is hidden under the mound of earth? How can you stop
the shed door from springing shut? What can you give the woman to
help her to fit her contact lenses? Solving some of these will
open up the game further, or provide you with more objects. You'll
amass quite a number, and will have to work out what all of them
are used for, if you're to succeed in your task.

Because this is an emulated game, the descriptions are inevitably
abrupt but there is still a fair amount of atmosphere, especially
if you have the usual adventurer's high quota of imagination and
can visualize the setting and events. But the two word input can
be restricting. I often knew what I wanted to do, but not how to
phrase it that succinctly. Laurence has made much use of looking
under, behind and inside things and feeling under things and has
got round the two-word restriction by abbreviating these commands
as LUND, LIND, LIN and FUND. I found this quite hard to remember
at first but this work-around is a small price to pay for playing
such an entertaining game.

I haven't finished Going Critical but that's down to lack of time
rather than anything else - certainly not lack of enthusiasm. The
game is very well written, making allowances for the system used.
It isn't the hardest of Laurence's games, I gather - but though
I'm finding it generally logical, it isn't a doddle.

@~Contact Adventure Probe Software at 52 Burford Road, Liverpool
@~L16 6AQ


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