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Two years is a long time in anyone's life, let alone a soft-ware publisher's. You can do a lot of things in two years. Things which were illegal then could be perfectly legitimate now, for example. Or you could start to write a sequel to your best-selling classic, stop half-way through to produce a pseudo sequel to another one of your classics, and then carry on from where you left off...

Which is exactly what Novagen's Paul Woakes did. It's been a long time coming, but Damocles - The follow-up to what was the ultimate adventure game, Mercenary- is here, bigger, better and considerably meaner.

Damocles carries on from where you left off in Mercenary. Remember? You were heading for the Gamma sytem when you were forced to crash-landing on Targ and subsequently had to acquire an interstellar craft and escape with up to 10 objects and as much moey as possible.

Arriving in the Gamma system and landing on the planet Eris, you find that the comet Damocles is due to collide here in a few hours time - and you are the only one capable of stopping it.

Damocles' gameplay is similar to it's predecessor's, only this time around the hundreds of objects dotted around not only have financial value, but a use - For example, an assortment of tools lying around could have suitable repair qualities. Then there's a camer, complete with film, which can be used to record events to show to your mates at your leisure. Explosives also play a major part. One obvious solution to your plight would be to blow up the comet and no doubt a few buildings or planets along the way.

Your only help is your ship's computer, a ninth generation PC by the name of Benson. He's a guide and mentor who's not averse to the occasional dry quip amidst his helpful banter which scrolls across the top of the panel below the play area.

Moving around the Gamma system is straightforward enough, allowing you to conecntrate on the task in hand. There are no flaps, no undercarriage and no complicated instrumentation to worry about. The panel below the play area shows, to the left: Temperature, speed, altitude and coordinates for navigation purposes, while on the right there's time remaining, cash obtained and a text inventory window in the centre of the panel so you known what you are dealing with.

The Gamma system is similar to our own, comprising a sun, nine planets, 18 moons and thousands of stars- all "mapped" onto a heavenly backdrop (this consistency means you can use the more obvious star constellations for navigation purposes). Each planet has its own day and night cycles, and even years pass- only you don't have time to sit around at watch! That said, it's easy to get engrossed in the planetary movement, and you can begin to appreciate what the breath-taking view from Voyager must be like. Landing on a planet you can watch planet-falls and sun rises, or - getting back to the task in hand - explore building complexes, road networks (complete with junctions!) and underground mazes found in most of the cities. Most objects are found in rooms in the buildings or mazes, but some are only available from the trading post.

The more energetic player may enjoy walking or running around, but for the armchair athletes among us there are 20 different vehicles to be discovered. Not all craft are capable of space flight- The helicopter and tank for example... Oh, and the skate-board, which is only worth using when you get really desperate!

Anyone familiar with Novagen's Mercenary will appreciate the virtual total freedom available to the player in Damocles as teh two play very similarly... Only Damocles in considerably larger and no less absorbing because of it. Fluid solid 3D graphics generate a wholly believable environment which is a joy to explore, and the unique feeling of being there is exemplary. There are dozens of "neat bits" to discover along the way and plenty of Benson's dry quips to being a smile to even the most jaded adventurer's face. It's not suprising Damocles took two years to produce- it will probably take at least another two years to complete it every which way possible!

-Brian Nesbitt

(Comments)

ST           #19.99

Graphics        96%
Sound           77%
Value           93%
Playability     96%

Overall- 95%

UPDATE

"Sorry, 8 bitters: Versions for you r machines are out of the question. Work has yet to begin on an Amiga incarnation, but expect to play a very similar game in a month or so for the same price as ST Damocles. The news is also good for PC people, who didn't get to sample the delights of Mercenary the first time around. The CGA, EGA and VGA conversions of Damocles are being carried out by Paul Woakes and should see the light of shop towards the middle of next year. A price has yet to be fixed, and depending on the success, a PC version of Mercenary could follow."