and enemies only require cheap items to make them happy, while the higher level ones demand pricier gifts. The player also can cast one of several spells, including both built-in and hidden spells. Reception The original XOR version of TaskMaker was reviewed negatively in MacWEEK, which compared it unfavorably to contemporary Macintosh role-playing video games The Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, and Pool of Radiance. MacWEEK noted the game's quick and controllable fun, but claimed that it lacked richness and had less enticing graphics compared to the other titles. The Macintosh IIx version of the game got 4 out of 5 stars in Dragon; the reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, saying that it was "not hard" but adding, "it is proven that those who write game code specifically for one computer system and don’t rely on a port of another system’s code usually publish a better-than-average game." The Lessers also noted that the game's graphics were reminiscent of the Mac game OrbQuest, in that "[y]ou have a top-down view of your area, in black and white and shades of gray." "Though not state-of-the-art in gaming technology", Computer Gaming Worlds Chuck Miller in June 1994 said, the shareware TaskMaker 2.0 "is nonetheless a very solid, professional production ... an enjoyable, if slightly dated RPG" comparable to Ultima III through V. Inside Mac Games rated the shareware version of the game four out of five and called the re-release "a superb update to the original". Inside Mac Games selected the re-released Taskmaker as best shareware game of 1993. Allgame critic Lisa Karen Savignano gave the Storm Impact version of the game four-and-a-half stars out of five. She said that although it did not have a very strong replay value, it had solid graphics and sound, as well as complex puzzles and a well-detailed manual to aid in gameplay. The Tomb of the TaskMaker Storm Impact released a sequel entitled The Tomb of the TaskMaker in 1997. In The Tomb of the Taskmaker, the protagonist is now the leader of the land, and is informed by messengers of various tasks that he or she has to do to restore peace. As with TaskMaker, the tasks in the sequel involve retrieving artifacts that must be brought back to the throne, but unlike in the predecessor, said artifacts are destroyed afterward. After the ninth task, the player is told by a