Previous Next

Cover blurb is never a good guide by which to judge a game, but Atlantis, by describing this as 'an amusing, outrageous graphic adventure' are taking liberties. To be brutally frank, this isn't terribly amusing, hardly outrageous, not very graphic and barely passable as an adventure at all.

What it is is a primitive, text input stroll through all the usual pseudo-Tolkeinesque locations, illustrated with a handful of childlike pictures. The plot is as you would expect from such as this, except programmer Robinson has added a few unmistakable (i.e. bleeding obvious) double entendres, puns and Carry On style gags to spice things up a bit. Unfortunately, the format is hardly conducive to booming fits of laughter, and it will be surprising indeed if this raises anything more than a few pained groans. Try this: "You are standing on a Sandy Shaw". Not exactly Tommy Cooper material, is it?

The existence of some dreadful lingering on large erect stalagmites seems to have been the justification for a '16' rating, but let's be honest here, this is nothing more than a cheap trick to lure those people who are rather younger than the so-called age threshold. If you're going to be outrageous, for God's sake be outrageous. Otherwise the effect is akin to that of your Gran coyly trying to tell a blue joke that you heard at the age of eight.

For the dwindling number of text adventure fans there's nothing new here whatsoever, and those people who buy this in the hope of some titilation deserve all they get - which actually adds up to very little indeed.

Billed as a humorous adventure, but it's really nothing of the sort. Appalling in just about every way.