CORYA - THE WARRIOR SAGE By Anthony Collins 48k Spectrum game, reviewed by Gareth on Spectrum +3 (and will run on Sam, using an emulator) ________________________________________________________________ In the land of Tannan there is a legend. A legend of a warrior sage, a mighty magician who was once a member of the Temple of Wisdom but chose to venture into the world of man. The legend tells of Corya, and how he is seldom seen unless the need is so great that only he can help. This is the story of one of those times. A time when the small village of Erhmahal was attacked by a dragon. A time when many died and much devestation occured. A time when the remaining villagers prayed and Corya appeared..... So starts the tale which unfolds in Tony Collins' two part adventure CORYA - THE WARRIOR SAGE. You, as Corya, stand atop the hill over looking the village. A quick inventory reveals several things, That you are clad in typical adventuring gear and that you carry a spell book. MORE >>>> Once you've made your way down to the village you come across the villagers. In their terrified state they are frightened to see a stranger in their midst, but peace and harmony can soon be restored with a bit of spell casting. With that done, Entur, The head of the village council, asks for your help to dispose of the dragon whose lair lies in the mystical mountains of Caithen-La-Ethin. You say yes, and the villagers promise to help you in any way they can. One of your first tasks involves mending your sword, but where is the blacksmith?. He hasn't been seen since the dragon's attack. Being a warrior sage , Corya has several spells at his disposal - FIRE, HEAL, CHERISH and SHIELD. It proves vital that you take notice of their properties as you'll have to make full use of them to get past several problems. The game has a carefully planned, very linear, book-like nature and the action takes place in groups of locations. These locations and their respective problems form chapters of the MORE >>>> story, which are linked by pages of text (which help to keep the action moving and maintain the atmosphere). The atmosphere is really boosted further by the lengthy location text. It's a real treat to read and makes Tony Collins' mythical world seem totally real and believable. 'CORYA' is an easy game to get hooked on and you'll be up against tough problems up to and beyond your conflict with the dragon at the end. If I had any 'moan' about the game at all, it would be that it's all over a bit too soon, but I've no doubt that the next game in the series will arrive soon as I look foward to another outing as Corya. Overall, Corya is one adventure you must get, especially if you like your games to be of the deep, atmospheric kind. Highly recommended. ________________________________________________________________ MORE >>>> Available from: The Guild, 760 Tyburn Rd, Erdington, Birmingham, WEST MIDLANDS, B24 9NX. Price: `2.50(48K tape), `4.50(+3 disk), also available as part of a 'Pic'n'mix' tape. CHEQUES AND POs PAYABLE TO GLENDA COLLINS PLEASE ________________________________________________________________ SOFTOGRAPHY:- Tony Collins..... first started out programming for the Amstrad. His previous Spectrum games METHYHEL, TEACHER TROUBLE and THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR are available from Zenobi. His best known Spectrum title, though, is THE HERMITAGE a classic gothic tale which is well worth owning. Tony now runs his own software house, The Guild, and has a huge list of titles on his list, but Corya is the first game he's written himself for it. MORE >>>> At the moment Tony's kept busy transferring games between different formats, though he's working on follow ups to both THE HERMITAGE and CORYA. Note from Phil: I'll be trying to convert this game, along with one or two other GUILD titles, to run on Sam using disk drive storage, using Dave Whitmore's routine, and I hope that a decent version will result. If you may be about to order this game, check with me first, in case you can avoid cassette loading altogether! *** --- ***