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The Payoff is the sequel of the adventures of Cadaver, involving Karadoc, the heavily armoured person of diminished stature. An isometric puzzle game which takes place in a village setting, our diminutive hero is trying to claim his reward from patrons who seem to have conveniently taken leave of the country.
The game is in a similar style to the first adventure, the difference being new puzzles, rooms and riddles to solve. Targeted exclusively at Cadaver fanatics, the makers of the game used the skills of experienced players to find out what would make an exciting, new sequel. The result is a concise and sharp conundrum with plenty of mysteries to make the brain achieve cerebral pyrotechnics.
One of the most endearing aspects of the game is the character Karadoc. Something of an anti-hero and misfit, the poor misunderstood duffer is treated with insults and hatred by everyone he comes across. Probably because of this treatment, Karadoc has learned to look after himself and can usually get out of scrapes. The layout and background to the game is planned well, enabling the player to travel through rooms, village squares, temples and caves. Tip-toeing through the rooms is essential for picking up valuable objects, spells and potions. These can be used to befuddle the various monsters, which range from squeaky metallic blobs to floating blood shot eyeballs. Killing them is not necessary, in fact, they can be put to good use to help in the quest. For example, some monsters are heavily addicted to gold and will go to any lengths to acquire it. A nifty spell enables you to capture and then release them to collect gold from dangerous nooks and crannies that Karadoc would rather avoid.

The Payoff is filled with cryptic, mind bending puzzles which truly give a sense of satisfaction when solved. Although the game will be savoured by Cadaver fans, it could also be addictive for those who have not crossed swords with the character before. Unfortunately, though, you'll have to fork out for the original game's disk to load up these data disks.
Fiona Keating