Saturday, February 17, 2007

throwback videogame #1

This is a listing of games, in alphabetical order, of what was owned between my family and Jason's family and it goes a little something like this...

The object of this game is to get from your home to Cloudy Mountain and vanquish whatever evil dwells within.

There are certain smaller mountains you must pass along the way which house all sorts of different creatures of the night, except for hookers. Some you could kill, others are indestructible, like the blobs.
When venturing through said dungeons, you could only see a certain amount from your torch. I remember being able to ricochet the arrows off the walls. It was a fun game that held my attention quite nicely. As you can see, the graphics are just not what they are today, but the only thing that mattered is they were superior to anything the Atari 2600 could produce, and they were more fun to play.



Here is a review of the game from videogamecritic.net-
"Although the original Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) "board game" is designed to be played with paper and dice, it's a natural fit for the world of video games. Its randomized encounters, tedious mapping, and turn-based combat practically beg to be computerized. Many old video games tried to capture the D&D formula with varying degrees of success, but this Intellivision gem practically nailed it. A fast-paced, easy-to-play adventure, AD&D effectively conveys both the combat and exploration aspects of the original dice-throwing game. Your journey begins on a sprawling map screen complete with mountain ranges, walls, forests, and your final destination: Cloudy Mountain. It looks like something from Lord of the Rings! As you traverse the wilderness you'll stumble into a series of monster-infested dungeons. These caverns are randomly generated and contain oddly-shaped rooms - something you don't see in old games. I love how the dungeons "draw in" as you roam, auto-mapping your progress. While searching for key items, you'll encounter bats, spiders, rats, snakes, blobs, demons, and dragons. It's a shame these creatures are all really, really tiny. The demons resemble aliens (complete with antennae) and I mistook the dragons were bears! Another problem is how you can't see an approaching monster until the thing's practically on top of you. Be sure to listen for sound cues that signal when danger is near. You can shoot a limited supply of arrows, and it's great how they actually ricochet off the walls! You'll want to take advantage of this technique in winding hallways - just be sure the arrows don't bounce back at you! AD&D's controls are responsive, and you can even run one way while shooting another. Five difficulty levels are included, and even the easiest is no cakewalk. If one element of the original game is missing, it would be the complexity. There are only a few items, no treasure, and no magic. Still, AD&D is a fun, arcade-style quest that will probably surprise a lot of gamers."

1 comment:

Unknown said...

man, thanks for posting that pic of the overlay of D&D..."memories..."