GAMES

The Hobbit - ZX Spectrum 48K

Melbourne House

The Hobbit game as I recall came with a copy of the book by J. R. R. Tolkien, probably one of the few books I ever read but that's another story. I do remember being so excited Friday night knowing the next I will be buying the Hobbit game from WH Smiths oddly very few other memories are so clear.

So when I got home I unwrapped the packaging, and took out the cassette and started to load the game. Thankfully I don't recall any Tape Loading Error messages and so the game loaded and the first location was the one on the right, in the comfortable runnel like hall (it didn't look comfortable at the time I thought), though I had a black and white portable TV in my room, so didn't appreciate the colours a bit later on in my life.

I have recently (2021) played the 128K version with enhanced graphics which appear instantly.

Some opening screens of The Hobbit on the ZX Spectrum 48K

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Sherlock - ZX Spectrum 48K

Melbourne House

Sherlock was released in 1984 by Melbourne House, is an adventure game based on the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

The plot revolves around the classic detective work for which Sherlock Holmes is renowned. The game is set in Victorian London, and players must gather clues, interview suspects, and solve puzzles to unravel the mystery.

What I remember most about this was the start of the game, it was extremely descriptive and set the scene straight away. The game put me into a more familiar grounds in terms of who the main characters are and what their roles were. This for me, added extra atmosphere and from my own imagination, made the game that little bit better.

The opening scene of Sherlock, the game on the ZX Spectrum

I do also like the transport system in the game, i.e. Hansom Cab or the steam train. Both are needed to make any progress of this game. Below, you can see you "Sherlock" have exited the steam train followed by Dr Watson, and where you are introduced to Chief Constable Straker.

When you go south, so do the characters. You can even say "FOLLOW WATSON" and you then follow him around. I don't recall an actual need to do this to solve the crime but it is fun.

ZX Spectrum loading screen

DEADLINE - ZX Spectrum +3

Infocom

Released in 1986 for the 128 +3 version, so was not that successful for this platform.
This game I remember playing only for a short while but recall it being a verbose Text Adventure game. Lots of information and a fairly good parser.

One thing I remember was the font, I just didn't like it that much, so I wonder if that is why I didn't play it that much.

Just to see if this was the case I loaded it up, and I can see that on my emulator it is not too bad, below. I guess the TV I use using was not that great back then.

I think there are 5 main characters in the game, which you can ask questions as you go along through the game. There are a few not so significant characters just passing through.

You have 12 hours to complete the game and it starts at 08:00 so you have until 20:00 to solve the murder.

I do wish that back in the 80s Text Adventure games had shorten words for Examine e.g. X as you have to type the first 6 characters of the word, e.g. examin but that's me being lazy.

The library is where things start getting interesting, it is here where the dead body of Mr Robner was found.

Some of the description implies that some objects are there but when you try to examine them, it says it isn't in your vocabulary. Very odd as it is there. Just a quirk perhaps?

Some of the description implies that some objects are there but when you try to examine them, it says it isn't in your vocabulary. Very odd as it is there. Just a quirk perhaps?

I came across a pad and pencil and tried to write something with them.

It said I was nuts trying to do that! Ha ha ha.

I have started to get into the game again! So lets see how I get on.