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that,
by virtue of its screen display and rather slow operation,
betrays Quill origins. As we all know, the Quill isn't
exactly renowned for producing complex games with huge
vocabularies and multiword input, but Terrormolinos
is the perfect example of a game where limited facilities
have been totally overcome by excellent design.
[This
screenshot was not in the original review]
In
this game you can take photos, join in bull fights,
hire taxis and go to the airport, speak Spanish (with
a little help from the cassette cover), and shepherd
your wife Beryl and twin kids Doreen and Ken from beach
to bar -- all with two word inputs. That's quite an
achievement in the Wiz's opinion, and only goes to show
that complex inputs and huge vocabularies aren't absolutely
necessary for a great game.
The
idea behind Terrormolinos is that you should
not only go to Spain, but that you (and your family)
should return in one piece. This is not very easy, dear
friends. Not only must you go there -- you must PROVE
you've gone there! And the only way to do that is to
snap off some pretty piccies of . . . well, whatever
you think will go down well on film. Believe me, there's
no shortage of photogenic situations, bin you've only
got 12 exposures and must return with ten good pics,
so any more than two boobs will lose you the game. I
reckon even David Bailey would find this almost impossible,
and the only thing I took a picture of was SO unbearably
humiliating that I refuse to discuss it further.
If
the pics are tricky -- try keeping track of your family!
If our Ken isn't dawdling behind somewhere, then Beryl's
fainting, or Little Doreen is wandering off on her ownsome.
Despite the fact that you can't really interact with
these characters (apart from CALLING them, which you
have to do constantly to keep them together) they really
come to life. The moment little Doreen comes running
when you call her is enough to make you feel downright
proud and parental -- until you discover that you've
missed the plane, or the taxi, or your footing on the
ladder and ooops! That WAS a naughty word daddy said,
wasn't it?
In
fact the program doesn't understand mach in the way
of naughty words, but whatever the limitations of the
vocabulary, or the occasional slowness of the responses,
this is a game well worth looking out for. You can sit
back and load up a holiday in your bedroom -- the White
Wizard reckons you'll need one when you've finished
it.
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