IFReviewed by
Tom Zuchowski on 2006-05-13 10:03
MAIN PGM Version: 6.2 (with 7.0 search routine)
Extra Commands: SHOW, BUY, USE, XTINGUISH, WEAR, RESUME
Deleted Commands: BLAST, SPEED, HEAL, POWER, TAKE, SMILE, WAVE, OPEN, FREE
Special Features: 3-disks; author's notes; hints program; 3 simultaneous saves permitted
Playing Time: 5-10 hours
Reviewer's Rating: 9
Description: You had finally reached your home continent. You went up the coast, looking for a sea port, but for 3 days you found none. On the morning of the fourth day, you awoke to find something else. A tremendous storm had set in, the likes of which you had never seen. The clouds were black and threaded with crackling energy. Huge waves and strange currents tossed your ship about. Finally, a port was sighted, and with great hardship, you made it in safely. The captain says that sailing is impossible under these unnatural conditions and that the best thing to do is to wait it out. You agree, and as the crew secures the ship, you step out onto the docks. - - - - - - - - - - Centuries of sleep ended. He awoke. Gradually his awareness returned...and he remembered. Then he looked outside...a city surrounded him - it had been built around his tower! But by whom? They were men, and for a moment he feared that his enemies of long ago had survived...but no, these that surrounded him were weak; unlike the others, these could be controlled. He felt power surging through him, recharged after a millenium of rest. Aye, he would rule them, and they would worship them, for was he not a god?
Comment: This huge Eamon has 195 rooms and 125 effects. Much of the action takes place within the city, but you must make several forays into the countryside for a variety of reasons. The puzzles are many and difficult, interlocking and evolving as the plot progresses. Usually the danger is not too high as you can FLEE to safety; the emphasis here is puzzles, not combat. The SOLUTIONS program offers hints for each puzzle that progress to outright solutions, and chats about what is happening around you just in case you are not sure. Sam offers his usual author's notes to clarify command modifications.
The above description is the introduction. Several things happen right off that leave you stranded without gold or weapons in a city that is undergoing a grave supernatural pounding. It is up to you to figure out what to do about it. Things are confusing at first as you wander about a large city with dozens of shops, but gradually you hit upon clues that put you on the right track. There IS a detailed, complex story here, but you must discover it a piece at a time while playing. Besides the above-mentioned god and sundry citizens, there are giants, dwarves, undead, evil cultists, dangerous animals, and even a dragon to overcome, and it all fits together within the framework of the story that Sam has wrought here.
This adventure is a sequel to #149 'Elemental Apocalypse', but the two stories stand alone and you do not need to have played #149 first. The difficulty rating will range between 5 and 10, depending on how much you use the SOLUTIONS program. If you require 'Hack & Slash' combat, you won't find much here, but it is highly recommended to puzzle fans.
