"Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood" Review

Publisher:  Sierra

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  As Robin Hood, you must gather money for the king's ransom while avoiding the Sheriff of Nottingham's men.

Gameplay:  Gameplay is a mix of arcade sequences involving things such as playing backgammon or (of course) archery and puzzles, which are a mix of item usage, wayfinding, and memory.  Thankfully, there is a difficulty slider for the arcade sequences.

As for the puzzles, many of them depend upon the game's copy protection, which uses things such as coats of arms and arcane druid knowledge.  It's interesting stuff, but it feels over-used.  Other puzzles aren't bad, but there are some annoying instances where it takes a bit to realize how to implement what you want to do.

Style:  The graphics have lovely VGA colors with plenty of inset portraits to convey characters.  Sherwood Forest is vibrant and there are plenty of screens, but also lots of maps so you don't have to tromp about to get everywhere.  The music is beautiful.

Story:  The story takes place very sequentially, with certain events happening each day and the day ending when events are completed.  Thus the game can go quite quickly if you know what to do and quite slowly if you do not.  It's also possible to have something go awry early in the game and then play the rest of the game to go a horrible ending.  Despite these issues, the game builds nicely and includes lots of Robin Hood touchstones.

As in the previous Conquest game, there are lots of pagan references, and they feel a bit odder here, perhaps because this game is set later in time.  It doesn't help that Friar Tuck is the sole charitably portrayed priestly character, and he has to be included by tradition. 

Conclusion:  Conquests of the Longbow is a colorful and fun tale of Robin Hood with some annoyances in its puzzles.

"Black" Review

Publisher:  schivafrecce

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  You are confronted by a strange creature in a dark cave.

Gameplay:  Gameplay consists of your choices of responses and actions.

Style:  As reflected in the name, the palette is largely darkness and greys, with occasional white highlights.  Color is rare.  Even at the highest speed, the text appears slowly, and the menu options can get a bit confusing with their in-universe titles.

Story:  There isn't much to go on in Black; it relies mostly on atmosphere rather than backstory or plot.  Because the game is trying to be creepy, I felt it assumed I would be more scared and cruel I wanted in my options. 

Conclusion:  Black is a short little game with neat (lack of) lighting.  It's a little blunt for my tastes, but it offers options and good atmosphere.