This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2013) |
Castle Master | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Incentive Software |
Publisher(s) | Domark |
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 |
Release | 1990 |
Genre(s) | Role-playing, puzzle |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Castle Master is a 1990 video game developed by Incentive Software and published by Domark. 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.
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.
Castle Master was built on the Freescape engine, which allows solid, fully three-dimensional environments to be produced. The same engine had been used for Driller, Dark Side and Total Eclipse which had previously been released by Incentive Software. Castle Master marked the first release in a deal with Domark who marketed the game leaving Incentive free to concentrate on the development. [1]
A sequel using the same engine, Castle Master II: The Crypt, was published together with Castle Master on a compilation exclusively for members of The Home Computer Club. The two games later featured on Domark's Virtual Worlds compilation in 1991 which also included Driller and Total Eclipse. [2]
The game's backstory was written by Mel Croucher.
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Amstrad Action | Mastergame [3] |
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. [4]
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. The box artwork is Chris Achilleos. The player is 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.
Times of Lore is a 1988 action role-playing game that was developed and published by Origin Systems for several platforms, including PC, Commodore 64/128, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Apple II, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Amiga.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the vector graphics Star Wars arcade video game released by Atari, Inc. in 1983. It was made available by Atari Games in 1985 as a conversion kit for the original game. As in Star Wars, the player takes the role of Luke Skywalker in a set of battle sequences from a first-person perspective. The game features the Battle of Hoth and the subsequent escape of the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. It is the third Star Wars arcade title from Atari; the raster game Return of the Jedi came out the previous year.
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.
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.
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.
3D Construction Kit, also known as 3D Virtual Studio, is a utility for creating 3D worlds in Freescape. Developed by Incentive Software and published by Domark, it was released in 1991 on multiple platforms. The game originally retailed for £24.99 for the 8-bit version, and £49.99 for 16-bit version and the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes version, in the United Kingdom. A sequel, 3D Construction Kit II, was released in 1992, but only available on Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS.
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.
Vixen is a platform game published by Martech in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum.
007: Licence to Kill is a 1989 video game based on the James Bond film of the same name, developed by Quixel and published by Domark in 1989. It was released for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX and ZX Spectrum.
Iron Lord is an adventure video game developed by Orou Mama and Ivan Jacot for the Atari ST and published by Ubi Soft in 1989. It was ported to the Amiga, Acorn Archimedes, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS.
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.
Future Knight is a 2D, flip screen platform game released by Gremlin Graphics in 1986 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. The player must guide Randolph through twenty levels of hostile robots and aliens before defeating Spegbott and rescuing Amelia.
Final Assault, known as Chamonix Challenge in Europe, originally Bivouac in French, is a mountaineering simulation developed by Infogrames in 1987 and distributed by Infogrames in Europe and Epyx in the American continent, for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Thomson MO6, Thomson TO8 and ZX Spectrum. The original release of the game was copy protected.
Tiertex Design Studios Limited was a British software development company and former video game developer based in Macclesfield, England; it was founded in 1986, focusing on porting games to home computers and handheld platforms.
Total Eclipse is a first person adventure game released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum computers in 1988. It can also be considered an early example of a first-person shooter.
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.
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.
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.