Evocative PawnCPC and PCW versions, Computing with the Amstrad, issue Vol. 3 No. 4 (April 1987), p.17 - reviewed by Gandalf
I HAVE to admit that, after all the attention this graphic adventure has received, I couldn't wait to load it and find out if it was as good as they said. Believe me it is. The game is set in the land of Kerovnia at a time of great social unrest. For many years there has been dissatisfaction with the rule of King Erik. The Roobikyoub dwarves, under the leadership of Gringo Baconburger, are agitating for the abolition of the monarchy. The situation reached a head when Queen Jendah II was assassinated: In the heat of the moment the dwarves were blamed and banished from the land. They maintain that the likely perpetrator of the evil deed is the court magician Kronos. After all, his sister Zita is known to have had an unwholesome influence over the recently vanished Princess Lacey. The populace also feels that some sort of investigation should be made and the longer the king ignores the situation, the more unpopular he becomes. It is into this situation that you arrive. You awake on a path after being rendered unconscious by an unknown assailant. Your main task is to get out of the country before it explodes into violence, but don't expect to do so without getting involved with the inhabitants. You type in your commands from the keyboard, but unlike other adventures, the parser seems to handle virtually any input you give it, and the degree of interaction with the other characters is very impressive. I still have a fair way to go in the adventure, but the problems I have solved have been logical, if only in retrospect. The Pawn comes with a 44-page novella which sets the background and includes a very useful Help section. A small booklet gives advice on tackling adventures in general and the Pawn in particular. Overall, the atmosphere is beautifully evocative and the gameplay excellent. Gandalf
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