A Guide to ZX Spectrum Adventure Games - 1986 – 1987

I recently finished reading A guide to ZX Spectrum Adventure Games 1986 to 1987.Written by Shaun McClure.Having already read the first volume, I had high expectations for this one.At over 500 pages, this book is full of reviews of a large number of text ( some with graphics) adventures.This is a perfect book for me – with my recently purchased Spectrum Next, I’ve been looking for ideas in what to play on it. ( And of course, most games are easily downloaded from the World of Spectrum website, and can be played on a PC with a Spectrum emulator ( but you already knew that ).The reviews are a good balance between describing the premise of the games, followed by examples of the gameplay, and the author’s thoughts.And I’m pleased to say that he doesn’t hold back – he’s quick to point out if a game is too illogical or too surreal.He’s also happy to point out specific examples where he found a particular verb choice as too obscure. This helped me to work why a game wouldn’t work for me.This is further backed up by a screenshot for each game, and the occasional full page picture of the cover art.For example, I had been interested in the Adventuresoft game Blizzard Pass for some time, but was concerned it might be too hard.The authors review of the game, while admitting that the game is difficult, was able to also put this into perspective. He also mentions that it is easier that many of Scott Adams early games ( and I know what he means, having played many of them ), with a good complex parser to boot.With the final caveat that it has great graphics ( that can also be turned off and be replaced with longer descriptions instead ), the author recommends the game.Therefore, instead of running away from it like a coward, I will be giving this game a go very soon.So good are the reviews, that a game doesn’t entirely have to be the authors cup of tea to encourage me to give it a go.For example, I’ve long been interested in Mosaic Publishing’s multiple choice adventures.Therefore, the review on The Archers convinced me to play this 4 part Adventure – I loved the idea that you weren’t just controlling different characters from the soap, but also were acting as a producer on the radio programme, who would often get memos when things took a silly turn, or you managed to upset the moral majority and end up being discussed in parliament....Despite the author finding the game mainly of interest for people who knew the characters already, he gave enough clues that this would be a worthwhile game for me.And I was right, and I’m about to explore part three tonight.As well as games I had heard about and were already on my radar, there are so many interesting adventures described in this book that I had never heard of that I now want to tryAn example of this is Immortality Rules OK? – as soon as it was compared to favourite game of mine, Urban Upstart, I knew I need to give it a go.On top of this are the numerous developer reviews.Many of them are long and detailed, and brings an extra dimension to the book.My favourite interview was with Mark Cantrell, who wrote games such as God’s of War and Project Nova.He goes into great detail regarding how he was determined to make the most out of the off the shelf Adventure writing software such as PAWS, including implementing the ability to switch between characters.Furthermore, Mark Cantrell’s insights of his later life working as a journalist writing about England’s social housing industry provide an unexpected and interesting variety to the proceedings.Altogether, this well produced book is an absolute firecracker of enthusiasm, surely leaving few readers with any choice but to be motivated to dive it and explore at least some of these hidden gems.Highly recommended.

Another great book for the ZX Spectrum adventure game enthusiast. Brings back so many good memories of playing these games in the 80s when I was a kid and when life was far simpler and I didn’t have bills to pay :)

This is a really great compendium of ZX Spectrum games. I found a lot of gems in there that I didn't know existed before, and I'll finally be able to catch up on the real hardware. This was the premise behind my decision to buy this book, and it came true brilliantly! The book is full of content, but the information about each game is concise enough to make even a few minutes session with the book satisfying. The author has done a great job!