THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE THE CURSE OF SHERWOOD PUBLISHER Mastertronic AUTHOR Derek Brewster YEAR 1987 DESCRIPTION An arcade adventure, where you play Friar Tuck who has to run about using various objects to get others - a la Magic Knight - in order to get rid of a dangerous cult. CONTROLS Joystick/Keyboard A/D - Left, S/F - Right, Y to P - Up, H to ENTER - Down, B to BREAK - Fire, Q - Quit ORIGINAL INLAY CARD TEXT Sherwood Forest has been taken over by the evil and ruthless Cult of Sagalia. Robin and his men fight on bravely, but the odds are stacked against them. You, as Friar Tuck are their only chance of survival. Solve the clues hidden in the rhyme and destroy the evil force. Robin Hood and his merry men are confronted with their biggest challenge to date! The evil Cult of Sagalia has taken control of Sherwood Forest instilling fear into the hearts of the forest dwellers. They are relying on you as Friar Tuck, Robin and the rest of the band to rid the forest of this evil force and then get back to normal pursuits like robbing the rich to give to the poor! In the meantime Robin and his men battle valiantly on, but the odds are definitely stacked against them. Werewolves roam the forest day and night watching and waiting for any likely looking prey (actually they're not particularly fussy!). Hideous animated skeletons appear when they're least expected and should you be unfortunate enough to come across one of the Priests of Salagia, well, your days are numbered! Already one attempt to rid the forest of the Cult has failed. You had arranged to meet the Bishop of Derby to try to carry out an exorcism. When he failed to arrive on time you set out to look for him and at the edge of the forest you find his body, he had been slain by a black arrow. But on his body you notice a piece of blood stained parchment bearing the following rhyme, could this possibly be the answer? For fire protection you must amass Werewolves fangs and a Scrying glass Then travel through the misty wood To take them to the Witch of Good From the man of solitary means A parchment guide is what you need Without it you may go astray And in the forest lose your way To buy the means to safety walk A firey monster you must stalk He holds the price with precious metal Convey to the hermit without much fettle A silver cross must be found Before you feel safe and sound On the pentagon it must be dropped And the portal of evil will be stopped Clutching the parchment you hurry back to the camp to find Robin and his men surrounded and fighting for their lives. You are their only chance, you must follow the clues and destroy the source of evil before it claims its final victory. GAMEPLAY The solution lies in the rhyme. To pick up an object walk over it. CONTROLS Joystick or keyboard Left A or D Right S or F Up Y to P Down H to Enter Fire B to Break Quit Q HINTS/CHEATS From YS November 87 "For one thing, you won't need the shield and the map - they're useless. To cross the river, you'll need the ice wand, which'll freeze it over. And you'll only get through the teleport door by smashing it down with a club!" And for those people who want it spoilt, here's the solution! From Crash No.44 (Sep 87) 1. Right, right, right, right, shoot person, get club 2. Right, right, enter house, shoot person, get ball 3. Exit house, left, down, right, enter teleport, shoot wall 4. Right, down, shoot person, get cross and dagger 5. Up, left, enter teleport, left, up, left right to end of map, shoot monster, get teeth 6. Right, enter house, touch person and you get bottle 7. Exit house, right, right, up, right, shoot person, get ice wand. 8. Right, right, right, shoot water, one screen back, take crossbow 9. Right to end of map, get money 10. Left, left, left, left, up, shoot monster, get key, open door. Take cross, bottle and money with you 11. Up, left, left, left, up, map will guide you through swamp 12. Out of swamp, right, right, down, right, right, enter house, shoot person, stand on star. Thassit!" 64613,0 - Infinite Lives RELATED GAMES Con-Quest is a similar game by the same author and label, but Derek himself is probaly better known for much earlier games such as Jasper and Codename Mat I/II. He also wrote a very early Star Trek game. SCORES Crash, Issue 39, 56% URL ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/pub/sinclair/snaps/games/by-letter/c/ curseofs.zip FACTS NOTES