MYSTERY OF THE DRUIDS

                   Played by Peter Clark

The game starts with you playing the part of a detective named
Brent Halligan. One of your colleagues, Detective Lowry, has been
taken off a murder case and it is being transferred to you.  Your
boss, Chief Inspector Miller, warns you that you must not make a
mess of this case and he doesn't look like a man to mess with.
Your first task is to investigate the scene of the latest crime in
Epping Forest. It is necessary here to collect some evidence
before returning to the office. A chat with the Forensics
Laboratory gets you the name of a contact at the Oxford
Anthropology Museum and so off you go.

Wouldn't you just know it, the professor is away on an expedition
and there is nobody to answer the door. Outside the gate a tramp
sits begging on the pavement and he is the key, in rather a
longwinded way, to gaining the ear of the professor's daughter,
Melanie and enlisting her help in your quest. She will also
provide the "love" interest as the game progresses. A talk with
the aforementioned lady provides the name of another contact who
tells you about a plot by druids to take over the world. He
suggests that there is a French Connection so it's away to
Portsmouth and thence to a small French harbour. Here we have to
satisfy the whims of the ferry captain and do a little petty
pilfering from a local fisherman before some exploration of the
local castle can be undertaken.  There is one part here that is so
far fetched that I could hardly believe it. It does seem that a
handful of salt is great for demolition work! I'll let you find
out the details for yourself.

Returning to England, the Amulet that you discovered in France is
stolen and, after reporting your misfortune to Mr Blake at his
cottage, it's back to the office. You need access to Police
Records and the lady in charge is most unhelpful. It seems that
you don not have the right form signed by the chief and your task
before you can proceed further is to get that signature. Having
done so, you now set off to the rather large home of the prime
suspect. It seems rather a shame that after spending quite some
time getting into the house, you are caught and made to become one
of them. Never fear, Melanie is on the way! Control now switches
to her and you manage to get inside the house and accomplish a
rescue. Maybe some more help is needed from our friend Mr Blake
so, playing as Brent again, it's off to the cottage. More clues
here but, just as things are getting interesting, the villains
catch up with you. It is at this point that poor Mr Blake ceases
to have any further part in the game! However, you have enough
information to start looking for a way back into the past.

Stonehenge would be a good place to begin. It is here that you
both manage to find a way to go back in time in order to make sure
that the present cannot happen. Melanie has an encounter with some
soldiers managing to put them to sleep and rescue you again. It's
just as well that she's around! The next part of the game takes
part in a monastery and will take quite a time to complete as
there are many involved puzzles here including the inevitable
maze. One of the monks is on your side and will give you quite a
lot of help. If you can overcome the bad guy, Serstan, you will
eventually be able to return to the present just in time to
prevent those rotten old druids getting their way. Again, Melanie
needs to play a part here but I will let you find out just how for
yourself. All done, Melanie falls into your arms and you have
finished the game.  'Aint love grand?

I liked this game although for a while at the start I didn't think
that I was going to. The graphics were good as was the soundtrack,
just enough to keep the game flowing without becoming intrusive.
My main criticism is in the number of times that questions have to
be asked in order to get the right response from the characters. I
spent quite some time with some characters trying to get the
answer to a question but going round and round the same topics
many times before getting what I needed. This seems to be more
towards the beginning of the game so I would suggest that you
persevere if you can. There is one point in the French harbour
where by saying the right thing to the fisherman, a cat will
appear for you to trap. This was the point where I nearly gave up
as, try as I might, the blasted cat refused to appear. If you can
learn to live with these problems the remainder of the game is
very enjoyable. (As I mentioned earlier, be careful you don't
spill the salt.)

I played this game on a Pentium 3 700Mhz PC and had no problems
with anything. Installation and removal were accomplished with no
bother and I suffered no crashes or lockups. I enjoyed the game
and would recommend it as maybe not the best game that I have
played but also by no means a long way from the worst.












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