This is one of several adventures written by Dian Crayne. Dian's games were originally published by Norell Data Systems. Her article, on writing adventure games, appeared in PC magazine, Volume 2 Number 4, September 1983, pp.266-276.
Very similar to other games from the same author. Even if it's a formulaic treasure hunt with some annoying (mis)features, this one has a certain interest, as it is heavily inspired on the novel by Gaston Leroux, and it has some thematic consistency as a narrative. It still keeps the same structure as Colossal Cave, which actually helps with some of the puzzles.
This game is earlier than the author's Castle Elsinore and not a patch on it. The parser is fairly primitive and annoying in places. No examine command, no verbose command so full room descriptions are only given on first visit. The attempt to "sit on chair" turns the lamp on. "I" and "Inv" are not recognised so you have to type "Invent" at the very least to check what you are carrying. One of those annoying games where, for instance, you are in a keg room, surrounded by kegs and neither "keg" nor "kegs" is recognised. The "push" command appears to parse but just returns a blank response. All in all probably best avoided.
I do so love games with unmentioned exits. There is nothing better than having to type N, S, E, W, NE, SE, SW, NW, U and D in every location because the author neglected to check. I have just found an unmentioned southern exit from a room after three days - and 145 locations.
On the whole I enjoyed this game; I like Dian's games in general but this one ratchets up the story and the atmosphere as you progress while containing some very devious puzzles. It has a much better back story than Dian's Castle Elsinore. There is a steep augmentation in puzzle difficulty towards the end and you have to pay particular attention to character motivation and the back history of your (and others) erstwhile existence to logically solve the last section. Dian's skills as an author stand her in good stead here over the 170 odd locations in the game; it is not easy melding a treasure hunt with a Phantom Of The Opera style story but this is one of the better hybrids that I have played.
On the down side there are a few bugs including my bug bear of a non-described ordinal exit and a creature that can be slain but upon returning to the scene of the battle is dead yet still alive (no, not like Leonard Cohen). The knife wielding maniacs becomes tiresome adfter their third of fifth appearance as well. There are a number of magic words and transportation locations to save on lamp time which is generously dished out at 1000 moves. And in keeping with its reverential nods to Crowther and Woods there is a last lousy point which makes more sense than in the original.
The inventory limit is predicated on weight not number of objects which is of course more realistic but the short cuts to the more far flung reaches of the game mean that it is never too onerous a task to pick up an object dropped earlier through overload. There is the game's equivalent of the thieving pirate but you have to let him steal from you at least once to glean all the treasures.
Very similar to other games from the same author. Even if it's a formulaic treasure hunt with some annoying (mis)features, this one has a certain interest, as it is heavily inspired on the novel by Gaston Leroux, and it has some thematic consistency as a narrative. It still keeps the same structure as Colossal Cave, which actually helps with some of the puzzles.
This game is earlier than the author's Castle Elsinore and not a patch on it. The parser is fairly primitive and annoying in places. No examine command, no verbose command so full room descriptions are only given on first visit. The attempt to "sit on chair" turns the lamp on. "I" and "Inv" are not recognised so you have to type "Invent" at the very least to check what you are carrying. One of those annoying games where, for instance, you are in a keg room, surrounded by kegs and neither "keg" nor "kegs" is recognised. The "push" command appears to parse but just returns a blank response. All in all probably best avoided.
I do so love games with unmentioned exits. There is nothing better than having to type N, S, E, W, NE, SE, SW, NW, U and D in every location because the author neglected to check. I have just found an unmentioned southern exit from a room after three days - and 145 locations.
On the whole I enjoyed this game; I like Dian's games in general but this one ratchets up the story and the atmosphere as you progress while containing some very devious puzzles. It has a much better back story than Dian's Castle Elsinore. There is a steep augmentation in puzzle difficulty towards the end and you have to pay particular attention to character motivation and the back history of your (and others) erstwhile existence to logically solve the last section. Dian's skills as an author stand her in good stead here over the 170 odd locations in the game; it is not easy melding a treasure hunt with a Phantom Of The Opera style story but this is one of the better hybrids that I have played.
On the down side there are a few bugs including my bug bear of a non-described ordinal exit and a creature that can be slain but upon returning to the scene of the battle is dead yet still alive (no, not like Leonard Cohen). The knife wielding maniacs becomes tiresome adfter their third of fifth appearance as well. There are a number of magic words and transportation locations to save on lamp time which is generously dished out at 1000 moves. And in keeping with its reverential nods to Crowther and Woods there is a last lousy point which makes more sense than in the original.
The inventory limit is predicated on weight not number of objects which is of course more realistic but the short cuts to the more far flung reaches of the game mean that it is never too onerous a task to pick up an object dropped earlier through overload. There is the game's equivalent of the thieving pirate but you have to let him steal from you at least once to glean all the treasures.