Avon - Review

Avon, the penultimate game from the Phoenix stable which released seventeen very challenging pieces of old school adventuredom between 1978 and 1989, is often considered to be one of the less difficult from that group of talented mathematical boffins. Having just completed it after many a long hour of brain torture, I would have to disagree with those who consider it so. In fact, the game has "strict statutes and most biting laws" if I may borrow some Shakespearean verse to mine own ends.

The first problem you will literally stumble across is how to find some light, and the solution to this is pretty unfair I think. To those of you who remember the horrible puzzle in the shop at the start of Philosopher's Quest it should come as no surprise. Choosing the wrong object from four will immediately leave you in the dark and you will have to start again.

The game itself is written by the most prolific of the Phoenix adventure authors, Dr. Jonathan Partington and his love for all things Shakespearean really shines forth. Sir John Falstaff, the Lady Portia, Banquo's Ghost and a whole host of others tumble across the screen in a marvellously evocative creation.

Avon is studded with quotations and situations from Shakespeare's plays and here is where I need to take issue with previous reviewers of the game; it is claimed that no prior knowledge of the Bard's work is needed to complete it. In fact there are two scenarios where the solution depends on knowing famous quotes from his works. So prior knowledge is needed, and not just of the Swan of Avon but also that of a certain musical composer.

In common with many games in the Phoenix stable it is very easy to put the game into an unwinnable state and to lose or miss a vital object. As the game plays out over three days using the same set of locations (that is Twelfth Night, The Ides Of March and Midsummer's Day) I sometimes found it difficult to work out which puzzles could be solved on the date I was currently in and which needed solving at a later date. There is also one recurring problem which must be visited on all three dates.

The puzzles themselves are, as usual from Dr. Partington, extremely clever and humorous, and more than one relies on committing an outrageous pun. The solution to escaping the gaol and one inside the Boar's Head Inn would be amongst the funniest I have ever come across.

Be careful where you Save (avoid saving the game just after you have received one of the many secret words you will learn during the game as it can render the whole experience unwinnable). Save after applying the word or phrase in the appropriate place. Some items have more than one use as well so avoid discarding them after their first use.

The inventory limit is seven items which is standard practice with the T/SAL coding used for these games; it is not too difficult however to store your amassed collection somewhere central.

The triptych of the game (if so it may be called) is unevenly proportioned. The third section is probably the longest, followed by the first and then the second. There are several pseudo mazes and the solutions to them all are very imaginative as none rely on the tried and trusted "drop one item per location" rule.

The game weighs in at just under ninety locations which is somewhat smaller than most Phoenix offerings, however the three days' setting made it seem bigger to me than it actually is.

If you like puzzles and puns and don't mind learning through death and taking notes on a piece of paper, you'll love Avon.

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Parser/Vocabulary (Rating: 9/10)

Marvellously evocative descriptions and responses; neither prolix nor too short. The two word parser eschews EXAMINE and OOPS but does cater for TAKE ALL and VERBOSE. The parser was never a problem for me.

Atmosphere (Rating: 10/10)

A perfect exercise in mimetic immersion. I really was in Shakespearean England when I played this. Think Tommy Cooper with a chainsaw.

Cruelty (Rating: Cruel)

This is easy to make unwinnable. Do not save a game immediately after discovering a password and before using it. There are several mazes but all are solvable without dropping your hard won inventory. No lamp/thirst/hunger daemons.

Puzzles (Rating: 9/10)

Nearly all of the puzzle solutions are very clever / very funny with two notable exceptions.

Overall (Rating: 9/10)

If you are literate, love puns and enjoy paper and pencil puzzle solving you will love Avon. If you love Twine and hypertext, twere well it were not done at all.