From
TES issue 36 (November 2005)
Series 3.
Level 2.
THE CAVERN RANGE
The Cavern Range consisted of three rocky caves, encountered towards the end of the second level in series 3. As such, there was no great test to overcome or trick to work out for the team here, but the Cavern Range was, nevertheless, always a place of tension and suspense. By this point in the quest, the
team knew that they were almost ready to complete the second level and move on to level three, where they would, perhaps, become the stuff of legend. Of course, no one did in series 3, but the point remains.
The first cavern in the series had two stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and a star-filled night sky at its far end. The exit to the next cavern was on the far left. Nothing too hard to overcome there, you might think, but you'd be wrong.
Leo and Julie both met the giant frog in this cave, which confused their teams greatly, while Ross had some dangerous
bats to dodge: (These bats are poisonous!
McGrew.) As for the invisible, hapless Simon II
well, the prospect of sneaking past two
goblins and then falling off the cliff to your untimely death doesnt sound like too much fun, does it?
The second cavern had a rocky table-like ledge, onto which the
dungeoneer would usually have to climb in order to retrieve a quest piece from the wall high above. This doesnt sound too difficult, of course, but add to it the blaring sound of approaching goblin horns, and suddenly the simple task of putting a hand up in the air becomes a puzzling scene of gabbled instructions from tense, ruffled advisors, leading to confused dungeoneers with wildly-flailing arms.
The final cavern was perhaps the least impressive. There was only a very small bit of cliff to fall off, which was easy to avoid, and usually the only hazard was goblins approaching from behind, which were easy to outrun with a speedy exit. However, even this seemingly simple prospect proved far from easy. A change of shot for the advisors, so that the dungeoneer was now walking towards them, necessitating an alteration in directional instructions, and even a haunted
sword lurking around, added to the built-up tension, which was, by now, set to continue into level three.
Difficulty: 7 Tricky, awkward guidance, and danger lurking everywhere.
Killer Instinct: 5 One hapless victim, but there could well have been more.
Gore Factor: 8 The shot of Simon falling off the cliff was a nice touch.
Fairness: 7 A chilling prelude to level three, and no mistake.
