Your Spectrum
Issue 17, August 1985 - Adventures
Home Contents KwikPik
S P E C T R U M
A D V E N T U R E S
How do you stop Inspector Lestrade arresting Ffoulkes at one o'clock? Indeed how do you get inside Basil's London house? And how d'you prove to Lestrade who did it? Well, we don't know at YS, so we're not much use to Andrew Freeman of Staunton. But plenty of YS readers have got Sherlock sussed. Take Simon Marshall, for example, who recommends stopping Lestrade from wrapping up the case by challenging his ideas and giving him the letters from Basil's safe. But make sure you only open it after midnight. Colin Stone of Fareham also claims to be the number one on Sherlock. He suggests that you compare Basil's alibi when you go to his bedroom. I should think Basil would want to examine your credentials for being in his bedroom anyway! Colin also suggests that you closely examine Sandstone Bridge and any bookcases you come across - there may be secrets behind them. If you're stuck in Sherlock, get in touch with Colin or Simon.
And now for a few more clues from some ace adventurers. J Abley of Houghton Conquest has solved the problem of getting run over by those pesky Gremlins. Well, if it keeps happening to you, Weld Controls on the snow plough, with the gas bottles and welding torches from the petrol station.
Valkyrie 17 has stretched a few minds, but Erik Gaspard of Belgium has got the measure of it. He suggests that when you're leaving Schloss Drakenfeld SPRAY the security camera with shaving foam. A few more words that could come in useful are SHAKE for the pedestal if you can't reach the Valkyrie diamond, and if you need a gun, EXAMINE the CORNERS in the cellar. If you still haven't cracked the code word for the room with the diamond, try Drakenfeld.
Now how can you resist this plea from J Slings of Belgium. I give up, he writes, The Hobbit's got me. So, I must be the world's number 1 dipstick. I get stuck when the goblin captures me and throws me in his dungeon. The clue -
a window should be no obstacle to a thief with friends - is probably telling me that Thorin's no friend of mine! I found the trap door and tried to tie the rope to almost anything, including Thorin's neck. (And you wonder why he's not that pally! Ed). Please help me before I use the rope to string myself up! You can get in touch with J Slings at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx nn, nnnn x, xxxxx, xxxxxxx, and the rest of your fellow YS readers by sending us your details to Give Us A Clue, Your Spectrum, 14 Rathbone Place, London W1P 1DE. Go on, give us a clue.

CHAMPION ADVENTURERS

Sherlock. Simon Marshall, nn xxxxxx xxxx, xxx xxxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxxxxx xxn nxx.

Sherlock. Colin Stone, n xxx xxxxx, xxxx xxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxx xxnn nxx.

Gremlins. J. Abley, xxxxx xxx, xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxx xxnn nxx.

Valkyrie 17. Erik Gaspard, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx nn, nnnn xxxx-xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx.

Adventureland. Alex Marsh, nn xxx xxxx, xxxxxxxxxx, xxxxx xxnn nxx.

Legend. Tom Salinksy, nn xxxxxxxxx xxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxx xxn nxx.

Tower of Despair. Andrew Fraser, nn xxxxxxx xxx, xxxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx.

The Hobbit, Sherlock, The Golden Apple, Eye of Bain, Temple of Vran, Planet of Death, Ship of Doom, Urban Upstart, The Castle, Mountains of Ket. Mark Thomas, nn xxxxxx xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx, xxxxx xxn nxx.


THE LOST ONES ...

Gremlins. How do I use the camera against the Gremlins in the YMCA?
Frederik Niksson, xxx xxxx n, xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx, xxxxx xxxx xxxx, xxxxxxxxx, xxxx nnnn.

Twin Kingdom Valley. I can't get to any decent locations like castles! Where is the treasure that the mystical voice wants?
Andrew Hooper, n xxxx xxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxxxx xxnn nxx.

Sherlock. How do you stop Lestrade arresting Ffoulkes at 1 o'clock?
Andrew Freeman, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx xxxxx, xxxxx, xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxxx xxnn nxx.

Pyjamarama. How do you get onto the moon and how do you break glass in the room that has numbers in it?
Stephen Hill, nn xxxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxx xxxx, xxxxx-xx-xxxxx, xxxxxx xxn nxx.

Everyone's A Wally. I can get into the sewer and get the letter R, but I get killed by the shark on the way out. Please help!
Trevor Mathwin, xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx, xx. xxxxxx xxnn nxx.

The Hobbit.
J.H.A. Slings, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx nn, nnnn x, xxxxx, xxxxxxx.
C E L T I C
R A N G E R


Begob and Begorrah. Prepare for a blast of the blarney from your man in Ireland, Chris Cockayne, as he casts an emerald eye over Dun Darach, the new wan from Gargoyle Games.
From the coves of County Cork to the hills of Connemarra comes a strange tale that's shrouded in mist and mystery. Can it be true that Gargoyle Games has come up with a game that's identical to their previous hit, Tir Na Nog? Well, the hero, Cuchulainn the Great is the same, the graphics are the same but there are many more characters and the story has moved from the country to the town.
We start with our hero stalking the streets of Dun Darach seeking his faithful friend, Loeg, who's been abducted by the sorceress Skar and imprisoned somewhere in the town. While doing the rounds Cuchulainn comes across the inhabitants of the place, most of whom seem intent on ripping him off, visits innumerable shops and almost certainly ends up with a bad case of sore feet. Excluding your friend Loeg there are ten independent characters to meet but don't expect to find them all that easily. Some of them are out'n'out thieves like Kara and her sister Keli, but others will do you a good turn if you find what they're looking for. When you meet Bren, for example, he'll offer you a map for a fur - if only I could find a fur! Similarly, the courtesan Pita is obviously open to bribery but whenever I offer her money, she takes it saying "Oh, how generous" then turns tail and trots off. It certainly is pretty generous of me, so how about something in exchange? Now my big problem is with the names - I don't know if they're Celtic originals but they sure as hell are difficult to remember. Every time someone approaches I have to
go scuttling back to the booklet to see if they are a goody or a baddy. Why couldn't the hero have been given a good Irish name like Kevin? (Cor, what a crawler I am!).
You can bone up on the background history of Dun Darach with the aid of the introductory booklet. There you'll find an extract from Dinn Nemeton, 'an anonymous, ancient and secret writing which may not be published in full' - doubtless because it's so silly! But do read it, along with the rest of the intro as there are a few clues to be gleaned and you're gonna need all the help you can get.
The animation of the characters is once again excellent as they walk in a very realistic though somewhat round-shouldered way - but then you'd be pretty round- shouldered after all that pavement pounding. There are also some nice touches that you can't see in the pictures like the bouncing locks of hair and the flickering torches on the walls. The character set is also kept in line with the general Celtic theme and is doubtless copied direct from the Book of Kells. I can't make head or tail of that either and it certainly becomes tricky trying to make out the Celtic script on the Speccy. What is it this shopkeeper wants to sell me? A sting? A sling? Or is it a string?
The game can be played as a sort of medieval Minder. Buying goods at one price and flogging them off at a profit. And of course, a nice little earner is to knock stuff off ('fell off the back of a horse and cart guvnor'), though you'll still have trouble holding on to the

goods even without Sgt. Chisholm's presence. Only by building up a good deal of cash through stealing, selling, gambling or working (though don't ask me where yet), can you hope to get anywhere in the game. And if you take my advice it's an idea to duck into the nearest bank at the start and deposit your ready cash while you're finding your way around. The interest's not bad and you really can't trust anyone on the streets these days. The game does lack a certain degree of excitement. There are no duels to the death and there are times when you long for the hero to break into a run - just this once. But no - plod, plod, plod. It's brain not brawn that's needed to conduct all the bartering, bribery and thieving necessary to complete the game. If you like Tir Na Nog and were left wanting more or you're prepared to put in a good few hours cracking this, then you could do worse than give it a go.
Here's where your quest begins. But where exactly is it? Read Square? Mead Square? Or is that Nerd Square? Ah, well! The flickering red flames of the torch is a neat touch and it helps you monitor the passage of time as they are lit and put out again as the days pass. Here goes trouble! If you bump into Kara - and you just have - you can wave goodbye to your cash 'cos she's a practised pickpocket. And the bad news is that, yes, there are more just like her at home - a twin sister called Keli, equally as bad. All of the shops are laid out on a similar plan with the shopkeeper behind the counter. You can either pay him for the goods you want or rush past with the hot property. Fortunately, he can't follow.
Here the torch is out, signifying that it's now evening - a bit cock-eyed that, as you usually light lamps as it gets darker. 'Tis Ireland begob! This is Ryde. He's friendly enough when you're 'clean', but if you're carrying around nicked goods, he'll have them off you as quick as a flash. So watch out. You've just made a deposit inside the bank. A wise move at the beginning of the game as you start with 2000 iridi (the unit of currency) that you can easily lose to the first person you meet. And the rate's not bad - 1 per cent per day. Now why don't Barclays pay that? Each of the doors is numbered to help you identify it again. There's a certain logic to the numbering with similar numbers clustered together down the same street but some numbers appear to be repeated, so be warned.
You were warned - this is Keli so start legging it out of here. All the characters are represented by one female and one male type, but to help you identify them their names appear on screen with them. The nature of each shop's business is displayed on a sign outside. The whole city of Dun Darach is populated by artisans from armourers to wine merchants so there's plenty to explore. You can leave anything you're carrying on these shelves inside buildings and then return later to pick them up. There are also safe deposits dotted around town just for this purpose. This is the art gallery. Presumably, there's some significance behind these paintings but we can't say we've sussed it yet!
Welcome to the gambling den - the easiest way to make a fast buck or lose the lot! Place your bet (min. stake 200) on the counter for 2-1 odds on the following numbers: 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12. Will you take the risk? You'll get evens here but only if the numbers 5, 6, 8, 9 come up. And what's happened to 7? Perhaps there's a clue there. Here are the dice built into the wall. They spin automatically whether or not you place your bet. This is a portal that'll carry you quickly from one side of the city to the other. Usually the portation fee is 200 iridi but there's also a free one.
Home Contents KwikPik