Castle Master

Last updated
Castle Master
Castle Master and The Crypt.jpg
Cover art of the compilation release
Developer(s) Teque Software Development
Publisher(s) Incentive Software
Designer(s) Ian Andrew
Programmer(s) Chris Andrew
Paul Gregory
Sean Ellis
Artist(s) Mike Salmon
Writer(s) Mel Croucher
Engine Freescape
Platform(s) ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, IBM PC
Release1990
Genre(s) Role-playing, puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player

Castle Master is a 1990 video game by developer Teque Software Development and published by Incentive Software. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC. A compilation was released also in 1990 that contained the original and the sequel, Castle Master II: The Crypt.

Contents

Gameplay

The player approaches the castle, which is rendered in flat-shaded 3D polygons. Castle master-amiga.png
The player approaches the castle, which is rendered in flat-shaded 3D polygons.

Initially the player chooses between playing as the prince or princess. The character not chosen is then taken away by a dragon to Castle Eternity. (The location of keys and some other items differ slightly between the two characters.)

The game requires the player, through a first person view, to explore Castle Eternity. There are riddles on many of the castle walls, which give gameplay hints. There are also keys and pentacles hidden in various locations for the player to collect. Many rooms contain spirits which attack the player and reduce his or her health. The player's health (represented by a barbell where weights indicate the amount) is also the player's strength which is important for some puzzles. The player's only weapon is an unlimited supply of rocks to throw, but a single hit is sufficient to exorcise most of the spirits. The ultimate goal is to kill the boss spirit Magister (who can only be killed when all other spirits in the castle are destroyed) and thereby rescue the character's opposite number.

There are no lives for the player; if health is reduced to nothing the game is restarted from the beginning unless the player loads a saved game.

Development

Castle Master was built on the Freescape engine, which allows solid, fully three-dimensional environments to be produced. The same engine was used for Castle Master's sequel, The Crypt, and other games released by Incentive Software.

The game's backstory was written by Mel Croucher.

Reception

The game was ranked the 39th best game for the Amiga in Issue 0 of Amiga Power (May 1991). The budget re-release was reviewed by Linda Barker in Issue 17 (September 1992) receiving a 70% score. [2]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Bloodwych</i> 1989 RPG video game

Bloodwych is a dungeon role-playing video game, a dungeon crawler, developed for the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Its box featured artwork by Chris Achilleos. The plotline identifies the player as a champion of Trazere who, after recruiting up to three fellow champions, travels through dungeons and mazes fighting creatures along the way to find and destroy the evil Zendick, and banish the Lord of Entropy.

<i>Skate or Die!</i> 1987 video game

Skate or Die! is a skateboarding video game released by Electronic Arts (EA) in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It is EA's first internally developed game. Versions for the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum followed. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System by Konami, published under the company's Ultra Games branding.

<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.

<i>Captain Blood</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Captain Blood is a French video game made by ERE Informatique and released by Infogrames in 1988. It was later re-released in the UK by Players Premier Software.

<i>The Faery Tale Adventure</i> 1987 video game

The Faery Tale Adventure is a 1987 action role-playing video game designed by David Joiner and published by MicroIllusions for the Amiga, and later ported to the Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and Sega Genesis. The MS-DOS version is titled The Faery Tale Adventure: Book I. Microillusions also released a "Book 1" version for the Amiga which was going to be the start of a series of games, according to Talin, but bankruptcy prevented it. The initial version was produced for the Amiga 1000 and featured the largest game world to that date. A sequel, Faery Tale Adventure II: Halls of the Dead, was released in 1997.

<i>Rick Dangerous 2</i> 1990 video game

Rick Dangerous 2 is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It was released in 1990 and published by Micro Style as a sequel to Rick Dangerous.

<i>Zombi</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Zombi is an icon-driven action-adventure video game. It was Ubisoft's first publication, released in 1986. It was programmed by Yannick Cadin and S. L. Coemelck, with graphics by Patrick Daher and music by Philippe Marchiset.

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

Driller is a 1987 puzzle video game. It was written by British developers Major Developments and published by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. It uses the Freescape 3D game engine.

Freescape is a video game engine, an early 3D game engine used in video games such as 1987's Driller. Graphics were composed mostly of solid geometry rendered without shading.

<i>War in Middle Earth</i> 1988 video game

War in Middle Earth is a real-time strategy game released for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST in 1988 by Virgin Mastertronic on the Melbourne House label.

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

Vixen is a platform game published by Martech in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Dark Side</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Dark Side is a 1988 video game published by Incentive Software for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, IBM PC compatibles, ZX Spectrum, and Sharp MZ-800. The game is a sequel to Driller, set in the Evath system but this time on Evath's second moon Tricuspid.

<i>Questron II</i> 1988 video game

Questron II a 1988 role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations for the Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Amiga. It is the sequel to 1984's Questron. The story and original design is credited to Quest Software, the programming and artwork is credited to Westwood Associates.

<i>The Hunt for Red October</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Hunt for Red October is a video game based on the 1984 book The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. It was released in 1987 and was available for the Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, Macintosh, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, and IBM PC. A port for the Apple IIGS was released in 1989. The game is a combination of submarine simulator and strategy game. The player navigates the Red October towards U.S. waters while avoiding the Soviet Navy.

<i>Mugsy</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Mugsy is a strategy and management computer game for the 48K ZX Spectrum. It was well-received, mainly due to its innovative graphic style, and was followed two years later by a sequel.

<i>Monopoly</i> (1985 video game) 1985 video game

Monopoly is a 1985 multi-platform video game based on the board game Monopoly, released on the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, Tatung Einstein, Thomson MO, Thomson TO, and ZX Spectrum. Published by Leisure Genius, this title was one of many inspired by the property.

<i>Legend of the Sword</i> 1988 video game

Legend of the Sword is a 1988 fantasy interactive fiction video game developed by Silicon Soft and published by Rainbird Software for the Atari ST. Ports for the Amiga and MS-DOS were released later. A Macintosh version was expected to release shortly after the Atari ST version but was never released. A sequel, The Final Battle, was released in 1990.

<i>Mickey Mouse: The Computer Game</i> 1988 video game

Mickey Mouse: The Computer Game, also known as just Mickey Mouse, is an action game developed and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>Tennis Cup</i> 1990 video game

Tennis Cup is a 1990 tennis video game developed and published by Loriciel for the Amiga. It was ported to the Atari ST, MS-DOS and Amstrad CPC during the same year. Tennis Cup was ported to TurboGrafx-16 in 1991 as Davis Cup Tennis. Versions for the Super Nintendo and Mega Drive/Genesis were released in 1993.

References

  1. Game review, Amstrad Action magazine, Future Publishing, issue 56, May 1990
  2. Amiga Power magazine issue 0, Future Publishing, May 1991
  3. "Jeux & stratégie NF 8". July 1990.