ZX Spectrum

Acheton

For an older than average game Acheton has an efficient parser which responds to complex commands, including ALL and EXCEPT. There's no EXAMINE command (you see everything you need to in one go) and no RAMSAVE option so it's advisable to keep saving to disk. All those who fell in love with the Jewels of Darkness trilogy and adventures of that ilk probably won't be able to resist it. It's definitely one of the best versions of that veteran genre on offer.

The parser's not up to the standard of Level 9 or Magnetic Scrolls. It can cope with multiple inputs, but really it's your basic VERB-NOUN type, and one disappointment is the lack of an EXAMINE command, which can not only add fun to a game but gives clues to the puzzles too. To its credit is the game's size, which at about 140K means a hell of a lot of game-play - as your map will soon show. So if you don't insist on the latest state-of-the-art fancy adventure, then Acheton is good value-for-money.