''Tanglewood'' is a puzzle/adventure computer game published by Microdeal for the Dragon 32 and TRS-80 Color Computer in early 1987. It was released for the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

in 1988.

Gameplay

The 8-bit and 16-bit versions of the game have a different setting and characters but the same basic premise. In the 8-bit versions, Tanglewood is a peaceful glade under threat from a property developer and wizard named Sharck. The player controls five different animal characters who have ten days to defeat Sharck before the bulldozers move in. In the 16-bit version, the premise is that Tanglewood contains valuable minerals that have only been discovered after the protagonist's uncle Arthur acquired mining rights from an unscrupulous company. The company now want to mine Tanglewood themselves and are suing Arthur for the rights back. The player has 10 days until the court case and must find the documents to win the case. Instead of controlling animals, the player controls five remote controlled vehicles.''Tanglewood'' review
Betty D. DeMunn, ST-Log, Issue 28, February 1989

Development

The game had originally been planned to be based on the children's TV series '' Willo the Wisp'' but this was dropped.''Tanglewood'' review
Jason Orbaum, Dragon User, Issue 48, April 1987 It was designed and programmed by Ian Murray-Watson with graphics by Pete Lyon. Pete Lyon also produced the graphics for other MicroDeal games including '' Goldrunner'' (1987) and ''

Airball In basketball, an air ball is an unblocked shot that misses the basket, rim, net, and backboard entirely. Origin The Oxford English Dictionary cites earliest printed use of "air ball" in a 29 January 1967 article from the (Hayward, Calif.) Dail ...

'' (1987). ''Tanglewood''was first released by Microdeal in 1987 in a joint release for the Dragon 32 and TRS-80 Color Computer. It was released on the 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST in 1988. It was also published by Microdeal in the US.

Reception

Reviews were favourable with '' Dragon User'' giving a full score of 5/5 with the reviewer stating ''Tanglewood'' is "very hard" but "an excellent game". A review of the Atari ST version in ''ST-Log'' also emphasised the difficulty of the game but gave particular praise to the graphics and sound effects. "The animation is faultless... but it's the detail that'll knock your socks askew. If the colorful graphics don't get you, the multiple sound effects will. They're superb, from the underwater gurgles to the mobile motors."

References

{{Reflist 1987 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Dragon 32 games TRS-80 Color Computer games Video games developed in the United Kingdom