The Black Cauldron

"Ah, memories"

The Black Cauldron was one of the school's computer games back when I was in fourth grade, when being able to sit down and type at a real computer was the highlight of a kid's week. Everyone in my class got really into this game, and though we'd have some initial success at some of the lower-level puzzles, none of us ever beat it. After finally tracking down a copy after all these years, I was amazed to find it had lost none of its charm.

The plot is basically the same as the movie it was based on, which was quite a bit different form the book it was based on. Anyway, you play Taran, the young assistant to the aged wizard Dalben. You want more than anything to be a hero, and, surprise surprise!, you get your chance before you're two minutes into the game. The evil Horned King is after the Black Cauldron, which will give him unlimited magic power, and only you can stop him from getting it. Players will encounter, albeit briefly, the members of Taran's party of ragtag adventurers, Princess Elionwe, Fllewdur, and Gurgi, as well as Gwystyl, a character who was in the books but not the movie.

Graphics-7/10
Laughably primitive by today's standards, for an early 80's PC game they were state of the art. The graphics of the Black Cauldron have that nostalgic charm that endears them to older gamers.

Gameplay-7/10
You maneuver Taran around Prydain using the arrow keys and use various hot keys to perform various actions like open doors or pick up items, and to select and use things from your inventory. Pretty simple interface and not uncommon for a game of its age, but it works well.

As in most Sierra adventure games, you gain points out of a grand total for solving puzzles and overcoming problems. Many of the major problems had at least two different solutions, and there are several different endings depending on what you do doing the game.

A unique feature of the Black Cauldron among older games is that you need to make sure Taran's stomach is full and his throat wet, or he could die of thirst or starvation as well as any of the many threats awaiting him as he tries to stop the Horned King. And unlike the heroes of some of Sierra's medieval adventure games, Taran doesn't have to be told to swim when he enters deep water. Great stuff.

Audio-2/10
Pretty much non-existent, sad to say. There's a song that plays at the beginning of the game, but most of the rest of the sound consists of that effect where Taran falls off a ledge. Black Cauldron is a game you can enjoy just fine without sound, though.

Overall-8/10
Among older games this little title really shines. I'd say you should track down a copy, but words can't convey how much trouble I had getting my own, and chances are you'd have a hard time finding one that runs on a modern computer. But if you can, you're in for a simplistic but fun treat.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/04