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The Clone Age is over!
During the last couple of months,
software houses have left no
clone unturned in their pursuit
of one game - Gauntlet. The
gloves were on for a real humdinger of a
fight this Christmas. First came Dandy
and Druid and Avenger... and none of
them could be called exactly prehistoric.
But now US Gold has brought out its
licensed conversion of the arcade game
from Atari. And a new age has dawned!
US Gold's Gauntlet reproduces the original in just about every detail. The only major difference is that it's a two player not a four player game. Four of you battling it out at Gauntlet on a Speccy would be a bit like playing Rugby in a cupboard - chances are you'd end up with funny shaped balls. However, there are still four warriors, each with slightly different characteristics, to choose from. Thor and Thyra are a bit nifty when it comes to slogging it out hand-to-hand; Merlin the Wizard and Questor the Elf are magic with the spells. If you're playing with a friend, it's an idea to pick a strong combination of a good slayer and a good speller. Once you're into the game, you'll hardly notice you're not in the arcades. All the mazes are reproduced faithfully, so if you've spent a small fortune on the original you'll have a head start. But with 512 different levels that won't last long. Oh, and if you were wondering how the programmers fitted that much data into a bog-standard Speccy, they haven't - it's a multi-load. Only 128 and +2 owners have the whole lot stored on the Ramdisk. And next year you'll be able to buy a further tape with hundreds of new levels. Each of the dungeon levels covers a smoothly scrolling area three screens by two. Not that you'll notice how big they are. You'll be too busy racing round looking for the exits, collecting food and treasure and fighting off the hideous hordes. And this lot really are hideous. The ghosts usually only require a quick kick in the ghoulies but some of the other monsters take up to three shots before they stay down. You'll meet grunts who come up and clobber you, demons breathing fireballs, lobbers tossing boulders and sorcerors who keep vanishing and reappearing where you least expect them. And they all keep coming back until you destroy their generators. Worst of a bad bunch though is Death - he just won't pop his clogs unless you use a potion. If you haven't collected one, he attaches himself to you until he's sapped 200 points of your strength. And if you were thinking of outrunning him, you've got a tough job on - death always catches up with you in the end! He travels at three-quarters your speed, unlike the others who only go at half your speed, so you'll really have to leg it. And it's speed that makes this game. With so much going on, you may have expected a bit of a pedestrian plod. Not a chance. You'll need a pacemaker fitted to play it more like. And as the game loads the levels at random you never know what to expect next. In a quick run-through like this, it's impossible to convey the wealth of detail in the game. You'll be none the wiser after reading this of what the invisibility amulet does, you won't have a clue how to recognise the poisoned food (with great difficulty!), and it'll remain a complete mystery what the special potions do and when and where you come across the treasure levels. Fortunately though, there's a way of finding out. It may cost you weeks of sleepless nights and when you do nod off you'll dream of nothing but endless mazes filled with magic and terror. But it's the only way... Play the game!
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