Mystery Island


NAME: Mystery Island
AUTHOR: Mountain Valley Software
EMAIL: ???
DATE: I would guess circa 1985?
PARSER: Scott Adams Standard
SUPPORTS: C64 and C64 Emulators (many platforms)
AVAILABILITY: IF archive
URL: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/c64/

Aaaaah another classic C64 game I remember from my youth. This game, reaaally harks back to the Scott Adams days. Its a treasure hunt, which for a large percentage of IF players means you should hit page down to get to the next review.

As with Bastow Manor, this game is by one of two "companies" that produced IF on the C64 using the text textgraphic format for a good result. Graphics in this game are good and if not in some places, above anything you would expect. Unlike Bastow Manor and other Softgold adventures, Mountain Valley Software uses the half screen height, half screen width for pictures. The top right quarter of the screen is used for the room graphic, the top left quarter is used to display your exits, visable items, etc whilst the bottom half is your text input area.

Like Bastow Manor, there is not lead-in text or "what do I have to do to complete the game" type introduction. I have completed it so I can give you a rough synopsis. You are the lone occupant of this island you find yourself on and the aim is to collect the ten treasures scattered and hidden throughout the island.

This is a treasure hunting game, the puzzles and items you will come across are not logical. The puzzles you do come across are of the push button, say magic word, store magic item variety. It plays a lot easier than Bastow Manor. There is nothing unique or outstanding in this game that comes to mind. What is obvious when you play the game is that it WAS designed. It's evident that the author did not just plonk items willy nilly around the landscape. Some of the items you must retrieve are give-me items and some you must work for. Where the games planning does fall down is that only one treasure you pick up is actually used! The rest of the treasures are just scoring fodder.

Sudden death does not lurk around every corner but every second one. There are about 10 or so ways you can die in this game and some of them are only if you really do stupid things, other killing methods are the standard "do something normal and get killed" type things. Fortunatly those types of problems are here in a lesser presence than in Bastow Manor, and if you're good you won't actually die in this game before you finish it.

Mystery Island does suffer from the same affliction as Bastow Manor in that you must look at things mutliple times in order not to miss items and clues. The puzzles in the game are very easy to overcome and if you've been taking notes whilst playing, the final "tough" puzzle is not very tough. This game is a lot easier than Bastow Manor, it's also not as bugged (i.e. I completed it without having to make any fixes to the code).

The island itself is tiny with only about 15 to 20 locations and a few red herring items. The game is winnable inside 20 minutes depending on your typing speed, once you know what's what in the game, otherwise I'd say it would most likely take an hour or so to complete on your first go.

A good beginners game.

I will score this game 6/10, some harder puzzles would have pushed the score up to 7. Recommended for the nostalgia freaks and people of limited adventuring knowledge.

Hopefully I will have finished Lost City Adventure and Castle of Mydor (which I think is Mountain Valley's version of Bastow Manor) by next issue!