Personal Computer News


Escape From Perilous
By English
Atari 400/800

 
Published in Personal Computer News #019

Perilous Kick-up

Perilous Pick-Up

"There is nothing of importance here, and this is a good day to die," says the cassette insert. The publisher has a point, since in the process of getting to grips with this graveyard-slow game, there's a fair chance you'll expire of boredom.

Objectives

The aim is to collect a complete set of Tarot card symbols - a cup, pentacle, wand and sword - with which you are required to penetrate three levels of mazes into a chosen room. In the process, monsters attack and booby-traps hinder you.

In Play

The cassette label indicates that this is a pretty fabulous adventure. However, I suspect you would get greater thrills out of re-reading an Agatha Christie novel for the fifth time.

Escape From Perilous

You start out in the Gardens of Perilous - lots of trees and lumps of ruined masonry, with the odd sword, cup etc lying rather conspicuously about.

"You" are a little geezer of indeterminate sex in a yellow hat, who walks quite realistically but very, very slowly around in response to the joystick. You have 98 life points at kick-off, which you gradually lose as you enter new rooms, walk into a wall or tree, or get attacked by the demons - Phobos and Deimos.

Phobos, who both munches your life points and dumps you back at the start of your current maze, is a sort of flying purple square. Deimos, who's bothered only about your life points, is a rudimentary dickybird. They're exceptionally easy to avoid. Finding your way around is also easy.

Escape From Perilous

You can get killed by doing silly things such as picking up a second sword. They come in light and dark varieties and you aren't supposed to mix the top.

Barring silly errors, you will find a gate through which you trot with your four treasures to the next. A labyrinth of caves once again filled with swords, cups, etc, plus a few goodies such as a lead suit and sets of keys. Oh, and a chest that's booby-trapped, but very obligingly tells you so. There is a radioactive room that's as safe as houses once you have your leaden suit, and so on.

Verdict

A graphic maze adventure is not a bad idea. The problem is that this one just isn't exciting enough. The perils aren't anywhere near perilous enough and the treasures are much too discoverable. The graphics are good as far as they go, but a bit more variety would not come amiss. And most of all, couldn't the hero move a bit faster?

Mike GerrardShirley Fawcett

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