The Oracle's Cave

"The Oracle's Cave isn't an epic quite on the scale of Valhalla, but then It's almost half the price, and for what you pay you also get animated graphics.

This is a dragons and dungeons adventure, but it is much more oriented towards the graphics than to the text, which makes a refreshing change from most of its kin.

The story outline is a familiar one; you have ventured into a dark and mysterious cave complex and are trapped near the entrance. The only exit is four levels down through the dreaded Oracle' s Cave. The game provides four quests. In each you must collect forty units of treasure; these take the form of gold bars, coins and silver, each type giving you a number of treasure units.

You must also collect the treasure guarded specially by the four monsters after whom each quest is named. For this sterling effort you are rewarded with no treasure points - it's simply your duty!

At the start of the game you are asked to select a quest. They are to gain treasure guarded by The Mummy, The Centaur, The Fiery Dragon or The Black Knight. Each time you play the game the layout of the caves is altered.

The way in which Oracle's Cave differs from so many other adventures is the way in which commands are typed in. The top half of the screen shows the cave, with an animated figure of 'you', plus any objects or monsters. The lower half shows you your energy level, wounds, weapons, combat strength, treasures and articles carried. Below that is a description of the location, then an input line, and below that a line telling you what your options are. The options are abbreviated to m = move, r = rest, e = explore. u = use (any article carried). If you elect to move, the cursor line asks, 'Which way?', while the option line tells you: u = up, d = down, l = left, r = right.

There are also s = secret passageway if there is one there, and h = help. Both seem to return you automatically to the entrance cave.

Inputting a direction results in an animated sequence as 'you' walk through a passageway into the next cave. On arriving any monster present will appear and so will the treasure it's guarding. You are then presented with a limited option of f = fight or move. It is not possible to move past a monster until it's been defeated. Each quest has a '5 days' time limit, and a section on the right of the screen lets you know - morning of the second day, and so on. Below that is a simple diagram of the cave showing only the locations of the four quest beasts and your position." - Crash Published by Dorcas Software