YS Adventures

YS Adventures

Mike Gerrard

Just call me Del-Boy Trotter this month - I could do a roaring trade in second-hand adventures if only I had any. Several readers have written in trying to get hold of various goodies, old and not-so-old, so let's see if somewhere out there in the big wide world of YS readers we can't come up with what they want.
    Take Karen Tyers, a Picture of Innocence. Not literally of course - that's the name of the ancient creaking Spectrum adventure she'd like to get hold of. If you've got a copy to give, loan or even sell then contact Karen at West Ewell, Surrey.
    Another female seeking favours is Vicki Green, Wareham, Dorset. Vicki's been trying (and failing) to track down a copy of Level 9's Red Moon. She's prepared to pay a reasonable price for an original, though she wouldn't refuse a free gift if anyone offered!
    Then there's Mark Hardisty of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Mark wants an original PAW with full instructions and will swop four arcade games for it (wise man) - Turbo OutRun, The Untouchables, Fantastic American Football and Quattro Power (whatever that is). Alternatively, he could check out this month's Coupon Corner. And ta for the Big Sleaze solution, Mark.
    Becca Stares doesn't want a game as she's already got one, The NeverEnding Story. Trouble is, when she burns the thorns at the entrance to the tunnel and tries to enter she's told YOU'LL HAVE TO GO ALONE and she can't enter, even if she is alone! Has anyone come across that problem and solved it? If so, contact Becca at Swanage, Dorset.
    A nice letter from David Rendall of Greenwich in London, who's first past the post with a solution to Zenobi's Crack City. David says it's a very tough adventure, even if you have the cryptic clues from the publishers! Just to get started, he recommends dusting the ashtray and then using it to solve the wobbly leg problem. He also says thanks to YS for the Mindfighter solution, which encouraged him to buy the game - and he got one of Activision's last four copies in stock! Now he's thoroughly enjoying it (even though it's another toughie).
    While it's winter up here, it's summer way down yonder in South Africa, home of Andy McCall of 306 Mount Curtis, Cape Town South Africa. I've put the address [Snipped – NickH] in 'cos Andy needs help on Venom, which there's a distinct lack of in my flies... I mean my files. Can anyone help him out? He's got as far as obtaining the circlet, but what does he do with it?
    Someone's trying to muscle in on the backwards writing lark, methinks. I refer to Xam Renrut of Chiswick, who says he bought the excellent Best Of The Indies compilation but is now stuck in several of the games on the tape. In Cloud 99, how to get the token out of the drain? ELTTEK MORF RETAW RUOP. That makes the token HCAER NIHTIW TAOLF. And what to do with the gold dust? REKOHC BUR. In Retarded Creatures And Caverns, what is the name of the stone-elf? ODRAN SI EMAN EHT (you can find it on the lintel).
    EF Goring of Hastings wants advice on how to get started in Inca Curse, because he's fairly new to adventures and can't see how to get into this one. Attention - this bit's going to be forwards, folks, so skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to see it! In the clearing you should get the stick, remove the leaves, then use the stick at the door to break the latch. You need a rock to break the lock, and then eventually you can use that strange command, from the old days when adventures could only understand two words and not a full sentence - GO DOOR.
    In Apache Gold, asks Paul Talbot of Newport, what use is the pipe of peace? Use it to RELLITSID EHT XIF. Chris Denton of Redhill asks if Star Wreck is useful for anything other than taping over with the Radio One Top 40? The answer is NO!
    David Nimmo from West Lothian has completed A Legacy For Alaric, but hasn't got full marks as he doesn't know how to get the seed to grow. To do that RESILITREF HTIW LLEW TI BUR. David puts in a quick plug for Zenobi, which he reckons is "surely the best company for Spectrum adventures".
    Brian A Neale asks me to print his address. Anything to oblige - Runcorn, Cheshire. He has an ulterior motive, of course, apart from boasting that he's just solved his first adventure, Tartan Software's Escape. He wants to hear from anyone (preferably female) who wants a 16-year-old adventure-playing penpal. "And is GAC worth investing a quid in?" Brian also enquires. "Yes, basically." (I do like these easy questions.)
    Tonsaprobs from Karen Rose of Warley in the West Midlands, the cheeky little monkey. In Castle Eerie, how do you pass the photo-electric beams? ELBAT NO DRAOBROOLF YAL. How to get past the guard to go upstairs? YAWA SEOG EH LLIT TIAW. In Shipwreck, how to get off the ship before it sinks, as she's found a lifeboat but can't lower it? PMUJ DNA ELOHTROP NEPO (but collect a few objects together first). In Mafia Contract I, how to open the steel doors at Vincetti's office? REHCNUAL ERIF. In Mafia Contract II, how to catch the bus without getting killed? That, he says forwardly, is just a case of getting the right bus at the right bus stop. Finally, in Fuddo And Slam, how do you get past the alien mothership? EKOP A DEEN OUY.
    Here's a message to Carlos Sisi who resides somewhere in Malaga and has been waiting for a reply from me for ages. The reason he hasn't had one is down to the foreign habit of putting your address on the outside of the envelope, and not on the actual letter itself. So what happens when you lose the envelope? You can't reply to the letter, of course. Carlos was involved in the writing of a Spanish adventure, El Ojo Del Dragon, which is being translated into English as Not So God Almighty. The Spanish version's got good reviews for its atmospheric graphics and interactive characters, so can Carlos send the English version to me for review? To be honest, he'd be better off trying one of the software houses to see if they'll publish it in England. If it's published from Spain, not only will no-one want to send money all that way, but copies may get lost in the post and you've also got the problem of paying in a foreign currency. Much easier to try to sell the rights to an English company who can market it for you.
    And finally a very quick "Hello" to Jorge Longo of Canidelo in Portugal, for his helpful comments on Mindfighter and adventuring generally. Jorge ends his letter by saying "A deus, corn os meus sinceros cumprimentos", to which I can only say, "Eh?".

YS Adventures pages on this site

1986 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1987 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 22 23 24

1988 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 34 35 36

1989 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 46 47

1990 49 50 51 52 53 54 58 60

Published in the December 1990 issue of Your Sinclair

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