~2 minute readAMIGA Software
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
ARTHUR: THE QUEST FOR EXCALIBUR (⭐⭐⭐½/⭐⭐⭐) by Bob Bates for Infocom is a re-telling of the familiar classic. The player takes the role of the young Arthur at the point in his life when he learns of his previously unsuspected destiny as King of England. Freeing the legendary sword Excalibur from the stone in which it is imprisoned is the final deed which will grant Arthur his birthright, but there is much for the player to accomplish as Arthur before that is possible. And there is very little time. The evil King Lot has stolen the sword in the stone, and young Arthur has but three days to prove his worthiness before Lot steals Arthur's legacy. Within that time, eh must win back the sword in the stone by developing his wisdom, chivalry and experience. The core of the game is achieving these goals by learning to use Merlin's gift of magic. Merlin's magic, properly used, is an aid to solving the puzzles of the game. The magic allows Arthur to assume the form of many different animals, which in turn lets him do things and go places that would otherwise be impossible. Marlin's magic, in the form of a crystal ball, also gives the player access to on-screen hints. And on-screen mapping is also available, which shows where you've been plus available exits. ARTHUR: THE QUEST FOR EXCALIBUR is a typically well written work of Infocom interactive fiction which happens to be illustrated by very lovely, though mostly static, graphic paintings. It's a "Classics Illustrated" approach to fantasy role-playing rather than an actively interactive graphic adventure. Now that Infocom has added pictures to its games, we still feel a sense that something is missing because there is no sound. This will not be a serious drawback for at least some adventure gamers who will certainly enjoy the good story and its puzzles, but it bothers us sufficiently that we are very aware of the silence now that Infocom has stimulated our visual sense. (Solo play; Keyboard & mouse; Blank disk required.) Amiga version reviewed; also available for Macintosh. Planned for Apple II and MS-DOS at $39.95.
Recommended. (MSR $49.95)
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