ZX Computing


Con-Quest

Publisher: Mastertronic Added Dimension
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in ZX Computing #29

Con-Quest

You discover that your newly bought castle is teeming with Demon Grell and his terrible minions. As Oscar, you must evict them all in this arcade-adventure hybrid.

The screen presentation is a curious mixture of 3D for the rooms but 2D for the moving characters. Both the creatures and Oscar are adequately drawn and animated, but dull by today's standards, and a bit flickery too. When simply moving around avoiding the minions (which is a little too difficult), the game strongly resembles Atic Atac. The new twist is the addition of oh-so-trendy icons. By swinging a pointer you can select TAKE, DROP, EXAMINE or USE; then using another pointer you can select which object carried you want to act on. Appropriate short text messages appear on examination and sometimes after other actions.

The trouble with this system is that you have to move the pointers whilst in the midst of the action and often under attack, so things become very frantic. Spellbound had a much more effective system.

The problems you face seem fairly simple: find the right coloured key for the correct door or chest (sorry, black and white TV owners cannot play this one), read a book then use a wand to shoot the nasties (when the fun starts) and so on. Mapping is vital and initially confusing as Oscar starts in a number of different locations.

This is a passable game, but better suited to Mastertronic's two pound range, and a disappointment from programmer Derek Brewster who's written better.