SPELLCASTING 101: SORCERERS GET ALL THE GIRLS

 Once upon a time, there was a company called Infocom, and Infocom ruled the
roost when it came to text adventure games. These "novel-length" games were
challenging and addictive, sometimes funny and sometimes scary. But text
adventure games fell out of favor, and graphic adventures (complete with sound
effects and animation) became king. So what happened to all those talented
Infocom authors? Well, one, anyway, has surfaced once again: Steve Meretzky
(author or co-author of PLANETFALL, HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, LEATHER
GODDESSES OF PHOBOS, and many others) is back with what looks to be a surefire,
across-the-board hit, SPELLCASTING 101: SORCERERS GET ALL THE GIRLS. (This
review is based on the IBM-PC version of the game.)

 SPELLCASTING 101 is written with all the inventiveness and off-beat humor that
Meretzky put into his work for Infocom. Here, you're Ernie Eaglebeak. Ernie's
dream is to become a sorcerer, and he's been accepted at Sorcerer University.
Ernie's dad has other ideas, so your first task will be to run away from home
and get to school.

 There's enough at S.U. for an entire game in itself. You can attend classes,
but better yet, you can attend frat parties. Explore the school, meet your
professors and fellow students, watch sporting events. Drink beer, eat pizza,
meet women. Just like any other college -- except here, you get boxes with
spells (some are in class, others are just "lying around," waiting to be
discovered), and you can hang out in the simulation lab, where you're seemingly
whisked away to other worlds and times.

 Yes, student life is all pretty tranquil, until one day your mother shows up.
No, she's not going to make you clean up your room. She's going to deliver some
dire news about the outside world and hand you a special talisman, at which
point you're knocked out. When you awaken, you find that your mom has been
kidnapped and good ole S.U. has been destroyed. Now you've got to travel from
island to island, looking for your mom, your girlfriend, your friends, your
professors, and trying to stop an evil fiend from destroying the world. (I said
this game was big, didn't I?)

 You'll visit, among others, the Island of the Amazons, the Island Where Time
Runs Backwards, and of course, the Restaurant at the End of the Ocean (remember,
Meretzky co-wrote the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE game with Douglas Adams). The twists
and turns are devilishly hilarious -- even the identity of the evil mastermind
should produce some chuckles, at the very least. I really don't want to tell you
more about the plot because I don't want to spoil any of the jokes and
surprises, or give out too many crucial hints. (But I will give away the fact
that you get to travel from island to island by magic surfboard). In large part,
the game consists of finding spells and figuring out which one to use in a given
circumstance, although there are mazes and puzzles galore along the way.

 There are a few different ways to play SPELLCASTING 101. For one thing, you can
play this as a pure text adventure -- no graphics, no audio. If you're a fan of
the classic Infocom games, you might consider this route. But if you do, you'll
miss some wonderful graphics, easily the equal of the storyline. If you choose
to play the game with all of the options activated, the screen will be divided
into four quadrants: The upper-right section has the pictures; the upper-left
area has a compass and some of the more common adventure game words ("in,"
"out," "look," etc.); the lower-right corner is where you type in the text and
read descriptions; and the lower-left quarter contains two lists of keywords.

 Perhaps you're a bit puzzled by my description of what's going on in the left
side of the screen. The reason for the compass and keyword list is that this is
one adventure game you can play with a mouse. Beginning adventurers will love
the fact that all the possible words (and combinations of words) are right on
screen, ready to be tagged from a pick-list. Even experienced adventurers whose
fingers have become sore from typing will appreciate the ability to point and
click on "East."

 Finally, the bit you've all been waiting for: SPELLCASTING 101 can be played in
one of two text modes: naughty or nice. If you pick "nice," you might be able to
hold hands with a girl, or maybe even get a kiss. If you pick "naughty" (and who
won't?), it gets about as close to R-rated as this sort of game can be. No, I'm
not going to tell you any more than that -- use your imagination!

 SPELLCASTING 101 comes on nine 5-1/4" floppies (3-1/2" are available
separately). It includes a program for installing the game on your hard drive.
SPELLCASTING uses a variation on the manual form of copy protection: You're not
asked to input the pertinent data until "Chapter 2" of the game. (I suppose this
means that if you have a pirated copy, you can play enough to find out whether
you want to spring for the legit version -- and by all means, you should.)
Naturally, games can be saved in progress, and you can store an unlimited number
of saves.

 Supplied documentation includes your Sorcerers University Orientation Guide,
your all-important class registration form, and a map of the Fizzbuttle Ocean.

 CGA, EGA, VGA, MCGA, and compatible video cards are all supported. The back of
the box accurately represents the game in EGA mode. Audio support is provided
for RealSound, AdLib, and Roland MT-32 boards. And, as previously mentioned, the
game can be played almost entirely via mouse, or from the keyboard.

 What's really thrilling about SPELLCASTING 101 is the fact that, while Legend
may have gussied it up with all the state-of-the-art effects that '90s gamers
have come to expect, this is a game that is every bit as superb to play in pure
text mode as it is in graphics mode.

 Steve Meretzky has a helluva reputation to live up to, and SPELLCASTING 101 is
clearly cut from the same cloth as his previous classics. This is a game that
will keep you (ahem) under its spell for hours, days, even weeks. It rates a
full and unqualified rave.

 SPELLCASTING 101: SORCERERS GET ALL THE GIRLS is published by Legend
Entertainment and distributed by MicroProse.

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