Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon

Title           Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon
Game Type       Adventure
Company         Cinemaware
Players         1
Compatibility   All
HD Installable	No
Submission      D.J.

Review
      Sinbad is a Cinemaware, movie style adventure where you are faced
with certain decisions about what to do, what to say, who to trust, and
must play out the consequences. Good decisions poorly executed are as
deadly as bad choices.

 You Play Sinbad, the legendary sailor and adventurer. Your benefactor,
the Caliph of Damaron has been transformed into a Falcon by the Black
Prince, whose forces are advancing on your home city, intent to usurp the
throne from the transformed Caliph.

 It's up to you to restore the Caliph and save the city from its many
enemies. The game is played through pull-down menues which let you talk to
people, move to neighbouring places or navigate between the three main
control screens. These are;


 - the TIME, featuring an hourglass whose rushing sands demand swift and
decisive action. Also here are three chains which will hold important
jewels, if and when you win them.

 - the CITY, a hexagonal grid on which you deploy your armies to defend
against those of the approaching Black Prince. If you fail to do so
effectively you might get called back prematurely to fight the Black
Prince (your toughest fencing opponent). Even if you beat him (and he
prefers to dash off before you deliver the coup de grace) you will have
wasted time on your equally important quest to save the Caliph.

 - the WORLD, a colour map of the world which can be viewed in greater
detail with an ingenious magnifying glass. Passing the glass over the map
allows you to see the names of seas, islands and countries, so you can
choose your next destination. This is a fine example of Bill Williams'
(Knights of the Crystallion) innovative, unique and... well... dazzling
design.

 On the World Map you sail your ship, the Sabaralus, exploring strange
seas and stranger lands. Each time you restart the game the locations of
the people, monsters and treasures you seek are scrambled but you will
need to accomplish the same number of tasks every time. You seek jewels
and potions, genies and monsters, friends and enemies.

 Random dangers dog you. Earthquakes cast you into a chasm and you must
scramble out, dodging boulders. You might come across shipwrecks and the
opportunity to bolster your ever diminishing crew, if you can avoid the
rocks and becoming a drowning sailor yourself. There are far too many
Cyclopses, who kidnap your crews and force you into a David and Goliath
battle of boulders versus sling-shots (guess who gets the boulders). Once
my ship was wrecked on some shoals. Everyone survived but there was no way
off the island. I didn't stick around to see if there was a rescue or if
the crew is simply picked off by Rocs and sea monsters.

 All to often you will cross swords with skeletons and other monsters. The
Crown Prince Harun is handy for advice on fencing. A loss might mean death
for you or Prince Harun (heir to the throne), or the abduction of Princess
Slyphani (heiress to your heart).

 The kindly old Gypsy and the Genie are faithful allies but the temptress
Libitina is a risky source of aid and information (but be tempted by her
for once, it's fun). Be careful how you speak to everyone, even your
friends have limits to their patience.

 Sinbad is one of the earlier and best of the Cinemaware games, thanks in
large part to Williams' clever, stylish and entirely appropriate
interface. The point of view changes, sometimes first person, sometimes
platform style. The music is great *and* can be turned off (even better).
The action sequences are common enough that, after a few plays, you will
be skilled enough to have a good chance at them but not so skilled that it
becomes a cakewalk.

 Like other such games there are many, many ways to play through it
and even more to die. Unlike other Cinemaware offerings you CAN save the
game, only when you quit though. Make sure you write down the EXACT name
of your save file as there is no requester for the load feature. Also, if
you use the save feature to complete the game you are told that a special
treat awaits you IF you can win without resorting to this cowardly act.
Could it be that the comely Sylphani rewards you with more than just a
kiss? I haven't found out yet .....Perhaps you will.

Alphabetical list.