Volcano Isle - a TADS adventure
                    On this issue's disk

                      Reviewed by Sue

Now this is what I call an adventure! Volcano Isle is a
traditional TADS text adventure which has got everything an
adventure should have - an evil guy to defeat, treasure to
collect, good scenery, a tree to climb, a maze, and a great
ending. There are a few nods to other games which you'll recognise
... I just loved it.

You start the game on a sandy beach by your boat.  There's no
explanation for why you're there.  But as soon as you pick up a
coin that you can see in the sand, you start to think about how
rich you'll soon be.  Yes, you're a treasure hunter. You start to
explore, sand gives way to jungle and a path leads up the volcano
- there's plenty to see. In the jungle is an abandoned temple but
there seems to be no way in.  But wait? Who's this? You're
being followed about by a suspicious looking individual. Could he
be - gasp! - a thief? You'd better be careful with your
valuables.

The game opens out gradually as you explore. One feature I liked
was that the background colour of the game changes according to
where you are. A bright yellow for the beach, a startling green
for the jungle, grey for the mountains ... I won't list any more
as it will give the game away. This adds to the atmosphere of the
game. The location descriptions, while brief, are also pretty
good.  I certainly got a fair impression of the size of the island
and the different regions it contained.

I mentioned that it had a maze. Don't let this put you off, even
when I say that the locations are arranged randomly each time you
play and the exits vary too. The exits are logical (if you go
north, you return by going south etc), they are listed in the
location description and there are no added complications. I
didn't bother to drop objects as each location, though described
as a 'maze of twisty rooms all alike' also has a location number
(eg maze room 1) to identify it.  Most important items with which
you can interact are also marked clearly in the text - another
user-friendly feature.

I only found one major bug. At one point there was a branch
hanging over a hole in the temple roof and I picked up the branch
and walked off with it. Nothing I could do with it afterwards
would let me tie my rope to the branch and climb into the hole. I
thought I'd found another bug when I seemed to end up with two
copies of the same item, but that turned out to be part of the
plot. A minor moan would be on two occasions I was told,
illogically, that some doors were locked but all you had to do was
type UNLOCK DOOR to open them (not carrying any key).

There's nothing terribly original about the game, either the
storyline or the puzzles. But that doesn't detract from the fact
that all in all this is a lovely game. It would be ideal for a
beginner as it has so many good points as well as introducing
logical mapping. A great example of a simple, traditional
adventure game.
                              - o -