THE EXTRICATOR                         
                Published by GI GAMES at `1.99p                 
       (Spectrum 48k game on 512k Sam using SC_SPECLONE)        
                                                                
This is one of the first games to be published on the GI GAMES  
label, and is a re-released PRECISION adventure.                
                                                                
The plot is nice and straightforward: You have to rescue (or    
extricate) Professor Roberts from a planet with the wonderful   
name of ARG, where he is being held in a scientific underground 
complex.                                                        
                                                                
You need to solve the problems met in various sectors of the    
complex before you can complete your task. First of all, you    
must find the complex! When you start the game, you fnd you can 
only visit about four locations in a North/South line, but if   
you look at the first picture seen, you should have a clue. Most
adventure graphics in other games can be ignored during play,   
but you must pay attention to some of these pictures, so don't  
be tempted to turn them off, as you'll miss vital clues.        
                                                                
The screen is white with black lettering, and the standard      
Spectrum character set is used, which makes the game appear     
dated. Despite this, you can use RAMSAVE and RAMLOAD, and the   
usual QUILL commands. Problems are easy to understand and the   
game plays very well. Most puzzles seem to be good and logical, 
and I achieved a decent score within half an hour or so of      
starting to play the game.                                      
                                                                
Despite the old-style look of THE EXTRICATOR, game play is good 
and the game is most enjoyable. For `1.99, it's good value and  
shows that a simple-looking game can be very entertaining when  
it's well-written.