73 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
73 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
THE KEYS OF MARAMON
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The events of THE KEYS OF MARAMON are contemporaneous with, but independent of,
|
|||
|
|
those of THE MAGIC CANDLE, Mindcraft's previous CRPG. Experience with THE MAGIC
|
|||
|
|
CANDLE is useful only in that the game system is very similar. (This review is
|
|||
|
|
based on the IBM-PC version.)
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
KEYS is primarily an arcade-style role-playing game. While there is much
|
|||
|
|
talking, puzzle-solving, and improvement of your character's abilities, the
|
|||
|
|
prime requisites for this game are fast reflexes and a quick trigger finger.
|
|||
|
|
Fighting is plentiful. As is typical of arcade-style programs, the player only
|
|||
|
|
controls one character. There are four pre-rolled characters to choose from.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The town of Maramon is invaded nightly by monsters. You must kill these
|
|||
|
|
monsters or suffer a penalty. Eventually, you must venture into the dungeons of
|
|||
|
|
Maramon and find the source of the monsters. The key to getting into the
|
|||
|
|
dungeons is to find the lost keys of Maramon. Fighting the nightly monsters will
|
|||
|
|
result in finding some of the keys.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As in THE MAGIC CANDLE, there is a fair amount of housekeeping to do. For
|
|||
|
|
example, weapons need to be periodically repaired or they will break. Magic is
|
|||
|
|
done using magical mushrooms. All of this will be very familiar to veterans of
|
|||
|
|
THE MAGIC CANDLE. The town of Maramon has the necessary stores to provide your
|
|||
|
|
character with all the basic necessities. Much of the housekeeping is done
|
|||
|
|
automatically, which is an improvement from THE MAGIC CANDLE. For example,
|
|||
|
|
weapons are automatically fixed when resting at the guest houses.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If you fail to kill all the nightly monsters, they will do some damage to the
|
|||
|
|
town. This raises the prices charged by the stores in Maramon and can close a
|
|||
|
|
store for a given time period. That is the penalty you pay for failing to sweep
|
|||
|
|
the town clear of monsters. The monsters wander around the town, so you have to
|
|||
|
|
hunt them down. However, the wandering is not completely random. There is a
|
|||
|
|
pattern to the monsters' appearances. Discovering this pattern and making use of
|
|||
|
|
it can make the game much easier to play. It is worthwhile to replay a night
|
|||
|
|
fight if any monsters escaped.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As in THE MAGIC CANDLE, time is important. You should note which day of the
|
|||
|
|
week it is, and when sunrise and sunset occur. Since time advances continuously,
|
|||
|
|
you should make liberal use of the Escape key to pause the game.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
There is no speed adjustment available, but the program appears to
|
|||
|
|
automatically adjust for machine speed. The game played the same on an 8MHz AT
|
|||
|
|
as it did on a 12MHz AT. There is also no joystick recalibration, which is
|
|||
|
|
serious, as there are situations where the joysticks on PCs will drift. The game
|
|||
|
|
was deliberately played in one such situation and quickly became unplayable as
|
|||
|
|
the joystick drifted. The workaround is to exit the program and restart it.
|
|||
|
|
Fortunately, the game can be saved at just about any point, and the whole
|
|||
|
|
process goes quickly.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The program is supplied on both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" disks. The IBM version
|
|||
|
|
supports a joystick, but not a mouse. No sound cards are supported. On a VGA
|
|||
|
|
video system, the graphics are very nice and look just like those in THE MAGIC
|
|||
|
|
CANDLE. Copy protection is manual-based.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
My review copy (version 1.0) contained several bugs. However, Mindcraft is
|
|||
|
|
quite good about upgrading their programs for registered users. The serious bugs
|
|||
|
|
don't show up until later in the game, so it is possible to play while waiting
|
|||
|
|
for an update. The documentation implies you can resume play with the new
|
|||
|
|
version. The save files are KMSAVA.MCS through KMSAVD.MCS for slots A-D.
|
|||
|
|
KMSCOR.MCS is the list of high scores.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
KEYS is a good game, but it is also an arcade game; MAGIC CANDLE fans should be
|
|||
|
|
aware of this important distinction. Except for this difference, the game has
|
|||
|
|
much the look and feel of THE MAGIC CANDLE. In one sense, THE KEYS OF MARAMON
|
|||
|
|
carries the time pressure aspect of THE MAGIC CANDLE to its logical conclusion.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
THE KEYS OF MARAMON is published by Mindcraft and distributed by Electronic
|
|||
|
|
Arts.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
|
|||
|
|
|