BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES (An Adventure in Terror)
              Published by Legend - Mindscape

               Played by Peter Clark on P.C.

This game is based on a book written by John Saul. I must admit to
never having read the book, which apparently started out as a six
instalment serial novel. These instalments were later collected
together into one trade paperback volume. In his letter, which
forms the introduction to the game manual, he admits to being a
fan of the original Zork games, so he must have something going
for him. The game revolves around the old Asylum at Blackstone.
This has been closed down as a mental hospital and is in the
process of being turned into a Museum of Psychiatric History by
the Blackstone Historical Society. It seems that something very
sinister and evil took place while the building was in use as an
asylum and the attempts at restoration have re-awakened some of
the evil spirits within its walls. You are Oliver Metcalf, son of
Malcolm Metcalf, the previous owner of the asylum and now
deceased.  Your father really wanted you to follow in his
footsteps but you chose an alternative path. Now you are happily
married with a small son. In order to persuade you to return to
the asylum and continue with his evil work, the spirit of Malcolm
has somehow kidnapped your son Josh and hidden him in a secret
room somewhere within the old building. You have been given until
dawn to find his whereabouts; otherwise your evil father will keep
Josh in the asylum to take your place.

The game is mouse controlled and is viewed from the first person
perspective allowing you to turn through 360 degrees. I found that
the game handled very well and the character movement was smooth
and accurate. You begin in the main hall at the foot of a large
staircase. At the top is a large oil painting of your father,
Malcolm. Going up the stairs and clicking on the portrait
initiates the opening sequence where Malcolm will set out the plot
of the game. This I found very useful as some games that I have
played leave you wondering what exactly your task is. The asylum
is set out on several levels that are accessed by a lift.
Unfortunately, on entering the lift, you discover that the control
lever is missing. Your first task is therefore to find said lever.
Luckily this is not difficult and you soon have access to all
floors but not all of the rooms. You should find a set of keys for
the entire building quite early on in the game but on examining
them you are told that there are so many that you haven't a chance
of knowing which key fits which lock.

As you explore the building, you will be able to speak to many of
the spirits of past occupants. Each one will have some information
that will enable you to explore further into the game. Most of
these characters will have to be interrogated several times. They
will often be able to give you information where to use some of
the keys. There is, therefore, much travelling to be done
retracing your steps through the floors of the asylum many times.
Towards the end of the game, Malcolm decides to throw a spanner in
the works and remove the lift control handle again. This time
there is no way of retrieving it. Luckily, there are other secret
ways and passages to be found.

At several places during your explorations you will encounter
"Timed Sequences". These are places where something nasty happens
and you are given a set number of moves to escape.  The first is
when you retrieve a cigarette lighter from a fire.  Having taken
the lighter, you suddenly find yourself transported to the
Hydrotherapy Room and imprisoned in the Heat Box. Remain in there
too long and you're dead meat. On another occasion, picking up a
locket will get you straight into to an electric chair. If you
fail to solve any of these timed sequence puzzles you will die but
will then be offered several ways to continue. You can either
return to the point immediately before the puzzle, given a clue to
its solution or given the complete solution. I thought that this
was quite a good way of allowing you more than one chance to
getting out of trouble without having to go back to a saved game.

In the final sequence, assuming that you get this far, you will
find the secret room and corner the spirit of Malcolm. This is the
last timed sequence and you will have to work out just where his
spirit is hiding and use the appropriate object to destroy its
hiding place. Unfortunately, as fast as you destroy one hiding
place he will go to another until you trap him in his final lair
in the........and send his spirit back to wherever computer game
ghosts go to. You can then sit back and watch the closing scenes
as everything ends happily for ever after.Maybe!

I found the game very enjoyable with little to complain about.
The atmosphere generated by the graphics and sound gave a spooky
feel to the game as you progressed through it. Perhaps the puzzles
were a little obvious in places but there were enough head
scratching teasers to make the game interesting.  Those people who
like mathematical puzzles have not been forgotten, as there are
several of these to occupy your time.  One such problem involves a
rather nasty iron maiden in the laboratory. All in all, I found
this to be an enjoyable game and one that I wished could have gone
on for a bit longer.

Blackstone Chronicles is available in the shops now and I have
seen it in Electronics Boutique for œ9.99.
Minimum Specifications: - Pentium 166 - 32 MB RAM - Windows 95 or
higher - 8 x CD Drive - 3D video card not needed - 200 MB hard
drive space for installation - Direct X 6 compatible sound card.
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