Time and Magik: The Trilogy

The Good
Level 9 was a British company that focused on the text adventure, and over the years, we have seen the likes of Lords of Time, Red Moon, and The Price of Magik. All three were developed for the common 8-bit computers at the time. They were later published by Mandarin Software and made them into a trilogy dubbed “Time and Magik”, and contain features that were not found in the original versions, such as the addition of graphics and longer textual descriptions. Now, 16-bit computers, including the Amiga, don't miss out on some of the nice adventures that the company has to offer.

Each of the adventures have their own story. Lords of Time deals with nine timelords that are attempting to manipulate time, while the latter two are interconnected with each other in which they involve something called the Red Moon. As a Doctor Who fan, I like how LoT contains references to adversaries such as the Cybermen.

The descriptions are excellent and long. They are more than five lines, and they are so detailed, I could picture what each scene looks like. They are often accompanied with nice sets of graphics. The graphics themselves are colorful, and I like how one graphic is transitioned to the next (in a checkerboard style). They are surrounded by another graphic of cogs and wheels slapped behind it. There is often a five-second wait while the disk loads and displays the new graphic.

There is no sound in the game, but I don't see why sound is essential in a text adventure like this. Commands can be abbreviated. Instead of typing “north” and “south” for example, you can just input “n” and “s” respectively. “Examine” is a recognized command in the game, but typing “exam” will do.


The Bad
There are not enough graphics in any of the tree games, and whatever graphics they are get recycled from the previous games. One of the descriptions from Lords of Time mentions a toxic wasteland, for instance, but this wasteland is not shown. Also, having recycled graphics mean that some of the descriptions doesn't match what is shown. For instance, there is a certain graphics that show a blue river, yet the description refers to it as a yellow river.

The Bottom Line
Time and Magik consists of three well-crafted adventures that have lengthy descriptions and good and colorful graphics. Although there are not enough graphics to accompany each description in the games, anyone who has a creative mind can picture what each graphic would look like. Each game has an interesting storyline, especially Lords of Time, and commands can be abbreviated. These three games are enjoyable for anyone who is a die-hard adventurer.