Wraith

                   Review by Graham Raven

Despite a number of short comings, I really like this game a lot.
The idea of having a ghostly companion who helps you out in times
of trouble - and there's plenty of those - is quite appealing. I
have to admit that I dived straight into the game taking very
little notice of the manual beforehand so it's not surprising that
I encountered a few problems along the way. Later on I was driven
to read the game notes and discovered that there are really very
few of them - you have to learn about this game by playing it!
Hmmm, I like that idea!

A few minor niggles. It takes too long to save the game. You start
thinking to yourself has the game crashed? Nope, it's just slow!
I'm also not enamoured by the inclusion of mouse control in games.
It has it's uses sure, but when movement on screen is required it's
not precise enough. Thank goodness you could use your cursor keys
with num.lock on. Fighting still had to be directed with the mouse,
which is a pain when the monsters keep moving and you're trying to
hit them.

Like most games it takes you a while to learn how to survive.
Thankfully, you can be resurrected if you find yourself dead. The
inclusion of an active companion in the game upped its score
considerably for me. It's a smashing idea and adds realism to any
magical world. True, the wraith's involvement with you is pretty
limited, but I enjoyed it very much all the same.

This is one of those rare games which has managed to get a grip on
me, and months later I'm still playing it and bemoaning the fact
that I'll need to get it registered, if the author can still be
found(!) in order to complete it.

Rating: Hey - Earl Grey!



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