Hellfire Warrior

Last updated
Hellfire Warrior
Hellfire Warrior (Cover).jpg
Developer(s) Automated Simulations
Series Dunjonquest
Platform(s) Apple II, Atari 8-bit, TRS-80, PET
Release1980: TRS-80, PET, Apple II
1982: Atari 8-bit [1]
Genre(s) Dungeon crawl RPG

Hellfire Warrior is a dungeon crawl video game for the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 published by Automated Simulations in 1980. A port to Atari 8-bit computers was released in 1982. [1] Hellfire Warrior is the direct sequel to 1979's Temple of Apshai . Two expansion packs were published.

Contents

Gameplay

Hellfire Warrior leads players into the ruins that are unearthed below the Temple of Apshai. The levels are "The Lower Reaches of Apshai", "The Labyrinth" of the minotaur, "The Vault of the Dead" and "The Plains of Hell". [2] Only the first and third levels have room numbers and descriptions. The game is meant for expert players and characters who already explored all the levels of Temple of Apshai; [3] advertisements warned that "newcomers to Dunjonquest should begin with something easier". [4] The complexity is also increased, with more shops and several new strengthening potions, some of which can give the player character an addiction. [5] While the focus is still mostly on becoming stronger and richer, the last level also has the secondary objective of rescuing a princess from hell, who is represented as a particularly heavy treasure. [6] There is still no ending trigger related to this goal, though. [5]

Reception

Forrest Johnson reviewed Hellfire Warrior in The Space Gamer No. 38. [7] Johnson commented that "I won't forget my last view of Sanson - badly wounded, crawling desperately towards the exit, with sweet-but-cumbersome Brynhild in tow and an outraged fiend at his heels. If you enjoyed the earlier games, Hellfire Warrior is a must." [7]

Computer Gaming World in 1993 stated that Hellfire Warrior was "better than Apshai, but not by too much", criticizing the outcome of rescuing the princess. [8]

Expansions

The Keys of Acheron (1981)

The first expansion pack to Hellfire Warrior is The Keys of Acheron by designer Paul Reiche III. In it, the player attempts to recover four magical gems (the eponymous keys) for the wizard Abosandrus in order to prevent the immortal demon Kronus from invading the Earth. Kronus pursues the player through the four levels: "Abode of the Dragon", "The Temple in the Jungle", "The Crystal Caves", and "The Shadowland of Kronus." [9]

Danger in Drindisti (1982)

The second expansion pack for Hellfire Warrior is Danger in Drindisti by designer Rudy Kraft. In it, the player attempts to defeat four enemies of the wizard Yoturni, the Wizard King of Drindisti. Since a lack of room descriptions in level 6 and 8 are a restriction of the Hellfire Warrior program, the dungeons were built around that fact and are suggested to be played out of order: "The Glass Wizard" (level 7), "The Abode of the Illusionist" (level 6), "The Temple of the Demonmaster" (level 9), and "The Realm of Mist" (level 8). [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for personal computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Associates. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1991, for the MS-DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features a soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. A port to the Atari Lynx handheld was developed by NuFX in 1993, but was not released. In 2002, an adaptation of the same name was developed by Pronto Games for the Game Boy Advance.

<i>Akalabeth: World of Doom</i> 1979 video game

Akalabeth: World of Doom is a role-playing video game released in 1979 for the Apple II. It was published by California Pacific Computer Company in 1980. Richard Garriott designed the game as a hobbyist project, which is now recognized as one of the earliest known examples of a role-playing video game and as a predecessor of the Ultima series of games that started Garriott's career. Garriott is the sole author of the game, with the exception of title artwork by Keith Zabalaoui.

<i>The Temple of Elemental Evil</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure module

The Temple of Elemental Evil is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. It was written by Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer, and is an expansion of an earlier Gygax module, The Village of Hommlet. The Temple of Elemental Evil is also the title of a related 2001 Thomas M. Reid novel and an Atari computer game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epyx</span> Defunct video game developer and publisher

Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983. Epyx published a long series of games through the 1980s. The company is currently owned by Bridgestone Multimedia Group Global.

<i>Temple of Apshai</i> 1979 video game

Temple of Apshai is a dungeon crawl role-playing video game developed and published by Automated Simulations in 1979. Originating on the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, it was followed by several updated versions for other computers between 1980 and 1986.

1979 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Space Invaders Part II and Super Speed Race, along with new titles such as Asteroids, Football, Galaxian, Head On, Heiankyo Alien, Monaco GP, Sheriff and Warrior. For the second year in a row, the highest-grossing video game was Taito's arcade game Space Invaders and the best-selling home system was the Atari Video Computer System.

<i>Wizards Crown</i> 1986 video game

Wizard's Crown is a top-down role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1986. It was released for the Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, Apple II, and Commodore 64. A sequel, The Eternal Dagger, was released in 1987.

<i>Rescue at Rigel</i> 1980 video game

Rescue at Rigel is a science fiction role-playing video game developed by Automated Simulations and published in 1980. It is based on a modified version of their Temple of Apshai game engine, which was used for most of their releases in this era. The game was released for the Apple II, IBM PC, TRS-80, Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Atari 8-bit computers.

<i>Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord</i> 1981 video game

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is the first game in the Wizardry series of role-playing video games. It was developed by Andrew C. Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. In 1980, Norman Sirotek formed Sir-Tech Software and launched a beta version of the product at the 1980 Boston Computer Convention. The final version of the game was released in 1981.

<i>Gateway to Apshai</i> 1983 video game

Gateway to Apshai is an action-adventure game for the Commodore 64, ColecoVision and Atari 8-bit computers. It was developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx in 1983 as a prequel to Temple of Apshai. It is a more action-oriented version of Temple of Apshai, with smoother and faster graphics, streamlined controls, fewer role-playing video game elements, and fewer room descriptions.

<i>Telengard</i> 1982 video game

Telengard is a 1982 role-playing dungeon crawler video game developed by Daniel Lawrence and published by Avalon Hill. The player explores a dungeon, fights monsters with magic, and avoids traps in real-time without any set mission other than surviving. Lawrence first wrote the game as DND, a 1976 version of Dungeons & Dragons for the DECsystem-10 mainframe computer. He continued to develop DND at Purdue University as a hobby, rewrote the game for the Commodore PET 2001 after 1978, and ported it to Apple II+, TRS-80, and Atari 800 before Avalon Hill found the game at a convention and licensed it for distribution. Its Commodore 64 release was the most popular. Reviewers noted Telengard's similarity to Dungeons and Dragons. RPG historian Shannon Appelcline noted the game as one of the first professionally produced computer role-playing games, and Gamasutra's Barton considered Telengard consequential in what he deemed "The Silver Age" of computer role-playing games preceding the golden age of the late 1980s. Some of the game's dungeon features, such as altars, fountains, teleportation cubes, and thrones, were adopted by later games such as Tunnels of Doom (1982).

<i>Star Warrior</i> 1980 video game

Star Warrior is a 1980 science fiction role-playing video game written and published by Automated Simulations for the Apple II, TRS-80, and Atari 8-bit computers. The game is branded as part of the Starquest series, consisting of Star Warrior and the otherwise unrelated Rescue at Rigel.

<i>Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons</i> 1987 video game expansion pack

Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons is an expansion pack for Gauntlet.

<i>Diablo: Hellfire</i> 1997 video game

Hellfire, often called Diablo: Hellfire, is an expansion pack for the video game Diablo, developed by Synergistic Software, a Sierra division, and published by Sierra On-Line in 1997. Despite the objections of Blizzard Entertainment, the Hellfire expansion was produced, permitted by Davidson & Associates, their parent company at the time. Blizzard North, who was developing the sequel Diablo II, thus imposed numerous restrictions upon Synergistic Software's development of Hellfire.

Dunjonquest is a series of single-player, single-character fantasy computer role-playing games by Automated Simulations. Temple of Apshai was the most successful and most widely ported game in the series. The games relied on strategy and pen & paper RPG style rules and statistics.

<i>Dragons Eye</i> (video game) 1981 video game

Dragon's Eye is fantasy role-playing video game published by Automated Simulations in 1981 for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore PET.

<i>Sorcerer of Siva</i> 1981 video game

Sorcerer of Siva is a 1981 video game published by Automated Simulations for the Apple II and TRS-80. The last standalone Dunjonquest game, Sorcerer of Siva is not as large as the major releases in the series, but also not as small as the MicroQuests.

<i>Phantasie</i> 1985 video game

Phantasie is the first video game in the Phantasie series.

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

Questron is a 1984 game from Strategic Simulations, the first fantasy title from a company known for computer wargames. It was written by Charles Dougherty and Gerald Wieczorek and released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. A sequel, Questron II, was released in 1988.

<i>Fortress</i> (1983 video game) 1983 video game

Fortress is a video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1983 for the Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II. It was written by Jim Templeman and Patty Denbrook. A Commodore 64 port followed in 1984.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hellfire Warrior". Atari Mania.
  2. ↑ Dunjonquest: Hellfire Warrior. Automated Simulations. 1980. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Hellfire Warrior, Sequel to Temple of Apshai, Now Available". Compute!: 162. March 1981.
  4. ↑ Hogan, Thom, ed. (27 April 1981). "Announcing "Hellfire Warrior"". InfoWorld (advertisement). Vol. 3, no. 8. Palo Alto, California: Popular Computing Inc. p. 5. ISSN   0199-6649.
  5. 1 2 Scorpia (October 1991). "C*R*P*G*S / Computer Role-Playing Game Survey". Computer Gaming World. p. 109. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Hellfire Warrior". Softalk: 21. December 1980.
  7. 1 2 Johnson, Forrest (April 1981). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer (38). Steve Jackson Games: 35–36.
  8. ↑ Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World. pp. 34–50. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (1981). The Keys of Acheron: Expansion Kit #1 For Hellfire Warrior. Dunjonquest. Mt. View, CA: Automated Simulations. pp.  1–16 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ Staff writer (1982). Danger in Drindisti: Expansion Kit #2 For Hellfire Warrior. Dunjonquest. Mt. View, CA: Automated Simulations. pp.  1–15 – via Internet Archive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.