The Immortal (video game)

Last updated

The Immortal
The Immortal cover Apple IIGS.jpg
Apple IIGS cover art
Developer(s) Sandcastle
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Designer(s) Will Harvey
Ian Gooding
Michael Marcanted
Brett G. Durrett
Composer(s) Douglas Fulton (IIGS)
Rob Hubbard
Michael Bartlow
Platform(s) Apple IIGS
Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, NES, Genesis, Switch
ReleaseIIGS and NES: November 1990
Genesis: NA: July 11, 1991
JP: August 1993
Evercade: June 2, 2020
Switch: July 15, 2020
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Immortal is an isometric action-adventure game originally created by Will Harvey and released by Electronic Arts in 1990 for the Apple IIGS. It was soon ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Genesis. A wizard is attempting to find his mentor in a large and dangerous labyrinth. It has a high degree of graphic violence. In 2020, the NES port was re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online service, while the Genesis port was re-released on the Piko Collection Collection 1 cartridge for the Evercade.

Contents

Plot

The wizard Mordamir calls for help from deep below the labyrinth, attempting to communicate with a man named Dunric. The player, an elderly wizard, instead discovers the message and takes on the quest to rescue Mordamir–his mentor and master. While descending the levels of the labyrinth, a race of goblins and trolls at war are encountered, and the goblins allies with the player after sparing their king. The player also encounters many other hostile creatures within the labyrinth, including invisible Shades, flying lizards, Will-o'-the-wisps, flesh-eating slimes, huge man-eating worms, a giant spider and a water Norlac. The player is assisted along the way by the warrior Ulindor, Mordamir's servant and body guard as well as a mysterious merchant selling helpful potions and magical items.

Throughout the journey, the player sleeps on straw beds placed around the labyrinth, where dreams reveal an ancient civilization of peaceful dragons that once lived in the dungeon below. Visions are also seen of the walled-off ancient city of Erinoch, with its abundant fountains of youth and eternally young inhabitants. The dragons governed the city's source of fountain water from below, but the rulers of Erinoch planned a siege against the dragons for control of the enchanted water. Mordamir presented to the city's counsel a weapon he created to kill all the dragons, but was unable to use it for a reason unknown.

As the player nears the bottom of the labyrinth, he finds the trapped and dying Dunric, who explains Mordamir was never a prisoner, but instead kidnapped his daughter to lure him into the labyrinth as a trap. In a dream vision, it is revealed the entire race of dragons were wiped out by the city's army in a fierce battle, except for one that escaped the dungeon labyrinth and returned to the destroy the city and all its inhabitants. Mordamir, 1,000 years later, is the only survivor of his civilization, as is the one last dragon. In the end, the player is confronted by both the dragon and Mordamir in a final conflict.

Gameplay

The game takes place in a labyrinth with 8 levels (7 levels on the Nintendo version). The player must solve puzzles, avoid deathtraps, use magic spells, and acquire various items. Certain items will bring instant death to the player if used unwisely. Some magical items and objects can be purchased from a merchant character in certain levels, using gold pieces acquired.

A variety of non-player characters wander or protect a specific portion of the map. Fireball spells can be freely used to dispatch these enemies on the isometric field, but not in combat mode, which is initiated upon touching them. The player can dodge, and swing and stab with a sword. Certain levels allow the player to possess a flying magic carpet, cast a levitation spell, and paddle a floating barrel. [1]

Development

Will Harvey had started development on an Apple II game to be called Campaign, intended to become an online multiplayer RPG. As its story developed, it became a single-player game only. [2] The music for the Apple IIGS version was composed by Douglas Fulton. On some conversions, Rob Hubbard and Michael Bartlow are credited.

Reception

Computer Gaming World praised The Immortal's graphics, but stated that the game was really an arcade game as it was too linear to succeed as an RPG. It criticized the use of save points and the controls, and concluded that the game "misses the target". [5] In 1992, Dragon gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. [6] Computer and Video Games magazine was positive about the graphics and control scheme and gave an overall score of 93 out of 100. [7]

Amiga Power was mixed, awarding the game 76% and criticising its completely linear nature and lack of replay value, while identifying the graphics as a strength. [8]

It has been reviewed in The One for ST Games, [9] The One for Amiga Games, [10] VideoGame, [11] Computer and Video Games , [12] CU Amiga , [13] ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) , [14] Datormagazin, [15] Your Amiga, [16] The One , [17] Mean Machines , [18] Zero , [19] Joystick , [20] Zero , [21] The One Amiga , [22] ST Format , [23] Amiga Computing , [24] Raze , [25] Australian Commodore and Amiga Review, [26] Amiga Format , [27] Zzap! , [28] Amiga Action [29] ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) , [30] ST Format , [31] Enchanted Realms, [32] Amiga Joker, [33] and Amiga Power . [34]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chaos Strikes Back</i> 1989 video game

Chaos Strikes Back is an expansion and sequel to Dungeon Master, the earlier 3D role-playing video game. Chaos Strikes Back was released in 1989 and is also available on several platforms. It uses the same engine as Dungeon Master, with new graphics and a new, far more challenging, dungeon.

1989 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Phantasy Star II, Super Mario Land, Super Monaco GP, along with new titles such as Big Run, Bonk's Adventure, Final Fight, Golden Axe, Strider, Hard Drivin' and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The year also saw the release of the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 in North America, and the Game Boy worldwide along with Tetris and Super Mario Land.

<i>Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World</i> 1988 video game

Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing in 1988. It is the sequel to Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.

<i>Dragon Wars</i> 1989 video game

Dragon Wars is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Rebecca Heineman, published by Interplay Productions in 1989, and distributed by Activision.

<i>Cadaver</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Cadaver is an isometric action-adventure game by the Bitmap Brothers, originally released by Image Works in August 1990, for Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS. A Mega Drive version was planned but never released. In the game the player controls Karadoc the dwarf.

<i>A-10 Tank Killer</i> 1989 video game

A-10 Tank Killer is a 1989 combat flight simulation video game for DOS developed and published by Dynamix. An Amiga version was released in 1990. The game features an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. Following the success of Red Baron, version 1.5 was released in 1991 which included Gulf War missions and improved graphics and sounds. Several mission packs were sold separately. A sequel published by Sierra, Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer II, was released in 1996.

<i>Double Dragon</i> (video game) 1987 arcade game

Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.

<i>Gateway to the Savage Frontier</i> 1991 video game

Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) is a Gold BoxDungeons & Dragons computer game developed by Beyond Software and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers.

<i>Flood</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Flood is a 1990 platform game developed by Bullfrog Productions. It was published for the Amiga and Atari ST by Electronic Arts. The objective is to collect all the litter and find the exit to the level.

<i>Hard Nova</i> 1990 video game

Hard Nova is a role-playing video game developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1990 for DOS, Amiga and Atari ST. It is a follow-up to Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic.

<i>Centurion: Defender of Rome</i> 1990 video game

Centurion: Defender of Rome is a turn-based strategy video game with real-time battle sequences, designed by Kellyn Beck and Bits of Magic and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released for MS-DOS in 1990, the game was later ported to the Amiga and the Sega Genesis in 1991. Centurion shares much of the concept and feel with Beck's earlier game Defender of the Crown (1987).

<i>Barbarian</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Barbarian is a 1987 platform game by Psygnosis. It was first developed for the Atari ST, and was ported to the Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. The Amiga port was released in 1987; the others were released in 1988. The cover artwork is by fantasy artist Roger Dean.

<i>F/A-18 Interceptor</i> 1988 video game

F/A-18 Interceptor is a combat flight simulator developed by Intellisoft and published by Electronic Arts for the Amiga in 1988. The player mainly flies the F/A-18 Hornet, but the F-16 Fighting Falcon is also available for aerobatics, free flight and the first mission. Contrary to the title of the game, the real F/A-18 is not a true interceptor aircraft, having been designed instead as a multirole anti-ship strike fighter.

<i>Hostages</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Hostages is a 1988 tactical shooter video game developed and published by Infogrames for the Acorn Electron, Archimedes, Atari ST, Amiga, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. The game depicts a terrorist attack and hostage crisis at an embassy in Paris, with the player controlling a six-man GIGN counterterrorist team as they are deployed to defeat the terrorists and free their hostages.

<i>Toki</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Toki is a run and gun platform game released in arcades in Japan in 1989 by TAD Corporation. It was published in North America by Fabtek. Designed by Akira Sakuma, the game has tongue-in-cheek humor mixed with the action. The player controls an enchanted ape who must battle hordes of jungle monsters with energy balls from his mouth. The ultimate goal is to destroy the evil wizard who cast a spell on the title protagonist; thereby transforming him from an ape back into a human, and rescuing the kidnapped princess. The game was ported to several video game consoles and home computers.

<i>F29 Retaliator</i> 1989 video game

F29 Retaliator is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean Software in 1989 for the Amiga and Atari ST, 1991 for the PC, and for the FM Towns and NEC PC-9801 in 1992-1993. Its working title was just Retaliator. The game was developed during the end of the Cold War, based mostly on speculations on then-future aircraft that were expected to be in use by the year 2002, in particular based on the design of the Lockheed Martin F-22 and the Grumman X-29A.

<i>Elvira II: The Jaws of Cerberus</i> 1992 video game

Elvira II: The Jaws of Cerberus is the second game in the Elvira series of horror adventure/role-playing video games. It was developed by Horror Soft and published by Accolade in 1992. The game is a sequel to 1990's Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. It was followed by Waxworks, which can be considered its spiritual sequel.

<i>Pacific Islands</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Pacific Islands is a computer game published by Empire Interactive in 1992 for the MS-DOS, Amiga and Atari ST. It is the sequel to the 1987 video game, Team Yankee.

<i>Cloud Kingdoms</i> 1990 video game

Cloud Kingdoms is a puzzle game published by Millennium Interactive for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS in 1990. The player controls Terry, a green bouncing sphere, on a quest to recover his magic crystals that have been stolen by Baron von Bonsai. To do so, he must travel through the eponymous Cloud Kingdoms, avoiding enemies and hazards while collecting all of the crystals within the game's time limit. The game was developed by Dene Carter at Logotron, with sounds and music composed by David Whittaker.

<i>Murder!</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Murder! is a 1990 video game published by U.S. Gold.

References

  1. "The Immortal". Nintendo Power . Vol. 20. January 1991. pp. 37, 39. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  2. "The Making Of: Immortal". NowGamer.com . January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.
  3. Bro' Buzz (December 1990). "Nintendo ProView: The Immortal" (PDF). GamePro . p. 118.
  4. "The Immortal Review". Megatech (1): 28–30. December 1991.
  5. Laurence, Will (May 1991). "Do You Want to Live Forever?". Computer Gaming World. No. 82. pp. 60–61. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  6. Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (February 1992). "The Role of Computers". Dragon. No. 178. pp. 57–64.
  7. Leadbetter, Richard (November 1990) The Immortal review – page scan at World of Spectrum [ permanent dead link ], Computer and Video Games, issue 108, accessed December 14, 2012
  8. Winstanley, Mark (November 1993) The Immortal review – page scan at Amiga Magazine Rack, Amiga Power, issue 31, accessed December 14, 2012
  9. "The One for ST Games". The One for ST Games. No. 37. October 1991.
  10. "The One Magazine". The One Magazine. No. 37. October 1991.
  11. "VideoGame". VideoGame (in Portuguese). Vol. 1, no. 2. 1991.
  12. "CVG Magazine Issue 108". Computer and Video Games . No. 108. November 1990.
  13. "CU Amiga Magazine". CU Amiga . No. 9. November 1990.
  14. "The Immortal review". ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) . No. 39. December 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  15. "The Immortal review". Datormagazin. No. 17. November 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  16. "Immortal review". Your Amiga. December 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  17. "The One Magazine". The One. No. 25. October 1990 via Internet Archive.
  18. "The Immortal – Sega Megadrive". Mean Machines . November 1991. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  19. "Zero Magazine Issue 26". Zero . No. 26. December 1991.
  20. "Joystick". Joystick (in French). December 1991.
  21. "The Immortal review from Zero 12 (Oct 1990)". Zero . No. 12. October 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  22. "The One Magazine Issue 58". The One Amiga . No. 58. July 1993.
  23. "ST Format – Issue 16". ST Format . No. 16.
  24. "The Immortal review". Amiga Computing . No. 64. September 1993 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  25. "RAZE – Issue 03 (1991-01) (Newsfield Publishing) (GB)". January 1991.
  26. "The Immortal review from ACAR Vol 8 No 1 (Jan 1991) – Amiga Magazine Rack".
  27. "The Immortal review from Amiga Format 49 (Aug 1993) – Amiga Magazine Rack".
  28. "Zzap! 64 Issue 068 (HQ)".
  29. "The Immortal review". Amiga Action . No. 15. December 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  30. "DIE Kult-Seite über die alten Spiele". ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) . November 1990.
  31. "ST Format (Issue 32) – March – 1992: Atari magazine scans, pdf". www.atarimania.com.
  32. "Enchanted Realms" (PDF). mocagh.org. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  33. "Amiga Joker Issue 1557". Amiga Joker. December 1990 via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  34. "Amiga Power Issue 01 1991". archive.org.[ dead link ]