THE NAMELESS ONE
                    By Dennis Francombe

    Reviewed by Peter Clark on an Atari under emulation

This is the first game that I have played by this author so when I
loaded it up I was not quite sure what to expect.  However, the
game started with a long and descriptive opening screen so I knew
straight away what the task was to be. I was to return the Blonde
Esmereee to her home.

I found myself sitting on a horse on the High Road with nowhere to
go but down.  The descriptions are quite detailed and there is
much to examine and search. I did find it a bit of a bind having
to dismount from my horse every time that I wished to search
anything and then mount it again to move on.  The logic behind
this is quite sound but it did seem to use up quite a bit of time
and presumably an equal amount of programming space.  Anyway, I
progressed down through several locations to Dragons Ford and from
there into a small village that has been decimated by a dragon.
There was plenty to find on this route but you should remember to
search and examine everything as the responses are not always the
same.  Characters must be talked to and there are several in and
around the village.  Initially I found myself trying to sort out
the meal times of a peasant and his son, the swineherd.  Having
done this I received more information from the peasant and also
found myself agreeing to kill a dragon.

A thorough search of the village was the next task and several
useful items are to be found.  The carry limit on the game is less
than I needed to carry everything so I found that it was wise to
make a cache of objects in the village square so that I knew where
to find them.

The inn proved to be the next sticking point as I found a hidden
exit that I couldn't open at first. I also found the Wise Woman
and she was able to supply some more advice.  The next piece of
exploration took me to Watchers Point where there is a useful
looking rock.  A little further back down the path it is possible
to discover yet another hidden exit which leads to a cliff face.
After a lot of experimentation I eventually reached the top and
found a cave.  It was dark inside so I had to retrace my steps to
the village and find some way of lighting it.  After doing this
and entering the cave, the next problem was to satisfy the cave's
occupant.  When this had been done the way was clear to rid the
village of the dragon. I then returned to the Wise Woman as she
had requested on our first meeting and received some more help.

I set off again and, now being able to get past the dragon's cave,
I found myself in the Northern Pastures.  The next problem was how
to cross a lake but a small coracle is at hand.  Here I paddled
into a mass of problems as not only did I succeed in finding a way
of sinking the coracle myself, but there are also creatures in the
lake that can cause you to come to sticky end.  Having visited an
island and reached the far side of the lake I found myself in the
company of Rhiannon who is a main character in the plot.  Just as
I thought that I was going to learn something from her she took
off with a strange Black Knight.  As the coracle had been eaten by
a lake monster, I had to try and get the ferryman to take me to a
chateau where he told me that Elaine had been imprisoned.
Reaching the chateau and finding Elaine I thought my task was
complete but oh no!  At the worst possible moment the Black Knight
appeared again and I had to find a way of despatching him before I
could finish Part One of the game.

Part Two is much shorter but is just as challenging.  A dying
knight donated his goods to me and off I went on his horse.  While
I was giving a thorough search to a shrine and an altar, a thunder
storm ruined everything but having solved that problem I managed
to find a group of women singing around a crystal coffin.  This is
another point in the game where talking to the characters is
really important.  From here I travelled on to the Cambrian Peaks
where I found yet another cave that was dark inside and the way of
providing illumination in this case was very original.  My next
problem was to get across a wall into the city.  This caused me a
lot of hassle but having solved it I found myself in a City
Street.  Exploration of the city and its surroundings gave me
enough help to operate some machinery and get below the city.
Ramsave proved to be essential at this point.  Under the city, the
guards had to be dealt with before I could progress to an island.
There is but one building on the island and this is a Temple.
Exploration got me into secret places here until I came across a
very venomous creature that had the urge to kill me.  After many
deaths I found a way of surviving and finding a clue to the final
quest and completing the game.

I found this game to be very absorbing and one that I did not want
to put down once I had started it.  Although the game is very
linear, there is plenty to do before reaching a dead end.  The
game seemed to go from being quite easy in places to very hard and
just as I thought that I had it cracked, another problem reared
its head. I found no bugs and can thoroughly recommend this game
to all players whether they be beginners or more seasoned players.
I would also like to thank Barbara for her help as her telephone
help line was kept quite busy while I was playing the game.

@~The game is available through Adventure Probe at 52 Burford
@~Road, Liverpool LI6 6AQ for the Spectrum (tape only) and Atari,
@~Amiga or PC under emulation. It costs just œ2.
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