Ratings and Reviews by Denk

Edit: Since a serious bug in this game has been identified, the bug can easily be avoided, which is why I have revised my review completely. The bug is triggered if you type "SCRIPT ON", so don't do that. Further more, version 4.0 of the game has been released, which is the version I am reviewing. In the time of writing, version 3 is on the Spring Thing site, whereas version 4.0 can be found on www.textadventures.co.uk (there is a link to the newest version from this IFDB page)
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This IF fantasy RPG made with quest is fun for a while, though it could use some more polish, which makes it a bit frustrating at times.

The game is a sequel to the movie "Hawk the Slayer" and most of the text is well written. Once in a while, I was in doubt if I had missed something or the game simply was referring to something which happened in the movie. I think it would be good to provide a bit more backstory for those who haven't seen the movie.

I also think that the player should be told from the beginning that they should type HELP since the HELP contains some information the player couldn't know, e.g. type INCREASE STRENGTH to increase you strength etc.

The game has stats and a combat system which is for the most part well implemented. However, if you killed a character (let's call him John), the game simply says "You can see John". It would be better if the game told us somehow that John was dead, e.g. "you see the body of John" or something like that.

Other examples of lack of polish:
1. You might not be able to pick up an object because you are carrying some other object. But if you drop the object you are carrying and pick up the objects in the right order, you can carry them anyway.

2. An NPC has an object you want and encourages you to trade, e.g. rare weapons. I tried to type several weapons I had, I tried typing GIVE <object> TO <npc>, and I tried to type SAY <object> and I tried to type a meaningless command. No matter what I type, I am given the same answer: "Just move along then. Got work to do!" As a consequence, you do not know if you are writing the command incorrectly or if it is the object he doesn't like. Since he is asking for weapons, there should at least be some explanation why he does not like the weapon you want to trade.

3. At some point I enter a certain location and are attacked by a very strong enemy. An error-message occurs:
"You are dead!
Error running script: Only one wait can be in progress at a time."

I enjoyed playing for a while but I did not manage to get many points on my own (30 points out of 360). There are some hints on textadventures.co.uk which may bring you further. In the long run the game couldn't hold my interest, since I quickly got stuck. For instance, I never found a torch so I couldn't really visit all the dark locations.

Difficulty level is of course a matter of taste. I regard myself as a medium IF player and I think I should not get stuck so early in a game. If I get the feeling that I will have to rely on a walkthrough for most of the game, I usually quit.

To sum up, this is a decent game, which could use some more polish. It is a bit too difficult for my taste but some of you might like the challenge. But be prepared to save and restore often.

Probably inspired by the game Sugarlawn(?), Arthur DiBianca has made a fun treasure Hunt set in a house. Similar to Sugarlawn, you must find as many valuables as you can within a time limit. The story is different but not so important to the game. Still, it is nice to have a story: You are a member of the local Thieves' Society and you are given your first real assignment. You're to enter the home of the wealthy Prongleman and steal ten valuables...

So already here, the game begins to deviate from Sugarlawn since we know there are ten valuables and that it should be possible to get them all. Well, I haven't collected them all, only (Spoiler - click to show)eight and I'm pretty sure where the two missing ones are but I don't know how to get them so I cannot be 100% sure since no walkthrough has been released.

Another significant difference is that the game is verbless. To examine and/or interact with an object you should simply type the object of interest. The only other commands you can type are N, W, E, S, Look(L), Inventory(I) and Leave. You can choose to leave the house before Prongleman gets home if you think you are not going to find any more valuables. Alternatively, you could just pass the time until Prongleman gets back, then you will flee out of a window. In any case, you are given a rank, e.g. Slight Thief if you only got one valuable.

The game is certainly smaller and less complicated than Sugarlawn but for as long as it lasts, it is just as enjoyable with its own original feel. It is a nice contribution to the list of IF optimization games like Sugarlawn and Captain Verdeterre's Plunder.

I have been looking forward to this game since I played the IntroComp version in 2018. I wasn't disappointed, except that I was hoping for a longer game since I was having such a good time! But I guess no matter how long a game is, you would like it to be longer if it is great.

This game is both short and easy but what there is, is well written and I was constantly excited to see the next scene. There were no ingenious puzzles, but they fit well into the story. The ending was a bit tame, but otherwise, it was a great game. And I cannot guarantee that there isn't a better ending and that I just didn't find it.

Anyway, I am glad I played it.

This game contains:
* 304 locations
* randomized combat
* hunger timer
* thirst timer
* tiredness timer
* a light source with limited fuel
* a maze-like area
* Eamon parser (limited verb-set but how to use commands is explained)
* NB: Online version cannot SAVE and RESTORE. Download the game instead.

If you can cope with all this, this is a very fun and rewarding game with some fun puzzles too.

In this fantasy game, you are leading a party who is to find and defeat the powerful wizard Zorag. However, not everything is as it seems...

You quickly learn how to handle hunger and thirst so that is not a big challenge.

Tiredness is not critical but reduces your abilities in combat. Thus it is a good thing to CAMP once you get tired. While you camp, you and your friends take turns looking out for enemies. You and your team might get assaulted while you are camping, which starts a combat scene.

The light source is quite limited, so make sure you save the game before venturing into a dark area since there is not enough fuel to map and examine everything in one try.

The swamp is slightly maze-like, so you might want to save your game before going there, and then you can distinguish the locations by dropping your objects in the locations temporarily.

The parser is similar to other Eamon games: If you type a verb the game doesn't understand, you are given a list of verbs understood by the game. Thus you rarely have to guess verbs. If you are to use an object you should normally apply the verb USE, e.g. USE SHOVEL rather than DIG, USE BUTTON rather than PUSH BUTTON etc. The TALK command is a bit strange though: It requires the syntax "TALK <character> ABOUT <topic>". It would have been more appropriate if the command was named ASK instead of TALK.

The HINTS command gives only general hints on how the Eamon parser behaves, e.g. if you are to take an object from a container you must REMOVE the object. Stuff like that.

The difficulty of the randomized combat is medium. I think it will be possible to complete with a brand new character. However, Eamon Deluxe contains some predefined characters in case you don't want to build up a character from scratch, but just want to play this one game.

It is highly recommended to play the download-version since the online version cannot SAVE and RESTORE. Furthermore, the online version runs slower and you cannot bring your own character into the online version.

I can only say that I enjoyed this game a lot. It is the biggest Eamon game available and among the best. The random elements might not suit everyone's taste. But if you like Eamon games I think you will enjoy this too.