Law of the West

Last updated
Law of the West
Law of the West cover.jpg
Developer(s) Accolade
Publisher(s)
American Action (Scandinavia) [1]
Designer(s) Alan Miller
Composer(s) Ed Bogas
Platform(s) Commodore 64, Apple II, Famicom, PC-88
Release
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Law of the West is a 1985 graphic adventure set in the American Old West developed by Accolade for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and Nintendo Entertainment System. It was one of the company's launch titles and the only game from Accolade designed by co-founder Alan Miller. Graphics are by Mimi Doggett and music by Ed Bogas. [2] It was published by American Action in Scandinavia, by U.S. Gold in other parts of Europe, and by Pony Canyon in Japan.

Contents

Gameplay

The entirety of the game happens in a small frontier town, and the player takes the role of the town's Sheriff. The scenes are located along the town's main street, with a view from behind the Sheriff's back (the view is so close that only the Sheriff's waist, right arm, and gun are visible). Various other characters appear on the main street in front of the Sheriff.

The actual gameplay mostly involves the Sheriff interacting with the various characters via a selection menu similar to those in contemporary graphical adventures. For each line the opposing character says, the game offers a selection of four different responses, and the discussion progresses depending on the chosen response.

Depending on the outcome of a discussion, the Sheriff may get involved in a gunfight. In this case, the gameplay becomes a test of pure shooting skills, as the Sheriff has to shoot his opponent before getting shot himself. Gunplay is accomplished by pushing up on the joystick to draw the weapon, which causes a joystick-controlled crosshairs to appear on the screen. The various characters will react if the Sheriff draws his gun before they have a chance to say their opening line, usually refusing to speak until the gun is put away.

If the Sheriff gets shot, he blacks out, and the doctor is called to help. Depending on the Sheriff's previous interaction with the doctor and the other characters in the game (and if the doctor is in town), he may either be healed, or left for dead (either by the doctor refusing to help or the doctor being drunk at the time). The only goal of the game is for the player to survive until the end of the day; if the player wishes he can gun down every character he meets without talking to them, albeit this will be reflected negatively in the final score.

Scoring

The game ends when the Sheriff is shot and the Doctor does not heal him, or when the sun sets after 11 scenarios. [3] The player is then presented with a final score, which is based on various factors such as how the player dealt with the characters, how many crimes they prevented, and even their success with the ladies.

If the player chose to shoot everybody, they will receive the lowest possible score. [3]

Characters

Characters interacted with in the game include: [3]

Locations

The game takes place in the town of Gold Gulch. [3] There are four different locations in the town:

Reception

Law of the West has received mixed reviews from game critics. Zzap!64 found the game to be initially impressive, with striking graphics and a strong atmosphere. However, it was thought to be too short and limited to have lasting appeal. It was given an overall rating of 78%. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Paradroid</i> 1985 video game

Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a shoot 'em up with puzzle elements and was critically praised at release. The objective is to clear a fleet of spaceships of hostile robots by destroying them or taking them over via a mini-game. It was later remade as Paradroid 90 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs. In 2004 the Commodore 64 version was re-released as a built-in game on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and in 2008 for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe.

<i>Wizball</i> 1987 video game

Wizball is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and later in the year for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST were released in the following year. Wizball was also ported to IBM PC compatibles and the Thomson MO5.

<i>Emlyn Hughes International Soccer</i> 1988 video game

Emlyn Hughes International Soccer (EHIS) is a soccer computer game first released in 1988 by Audiogenic Software Ltd. The game is named after the popular English footballer Emlyn Hughes. It initially appeared on the Commodore 64, with other versions produced for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga.

<i>Uridium</i> 1986 video game

Uridium is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels, each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium. The manual quotes Robert Orchard, who invented the name as saying "I really thought it existed".

<i>Star Goose</i> 1988 video game

Star Goose is a vertically scrolling shooter that was published for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS by Logotron in 1988. The player controls Scouser-Gitt, who pilots the eponymous Star Goose, a vessel that has been commissioned to scour the planet Nom and collect 48 crystals. Players must collect all six crystals in each of the game's eight levels to advance, while at the same time avoiding or destroying enemies and maintaining their shield, ammunition, and fuel levels. The game's surfaces are contoured, which affects the way that bullets travel, and contain tunnels that switch modes to a three-dimensional perspective where the player can replenish their resources.

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

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<i>Sanxion</i> 1986 video game

Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex.

<i>Kane</i> (video game) 1986 action video game

Kane is a multi-section action game published by Mastertronic for the Commodore 64 in 1986. It was ported to the Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 16 and Plus/4. The game is set in the Wild West, and its name is a reference to the main character of the film High Noon. It consists of four distinct scenes, although some versions only contain two. A sequel was released in 1988.

<i>Forbidden Forest</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Forbidden Forest is a game designed by Paul Norman, published by Cosmi Corporation in 1983 for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family.

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

Highlander is a video game tie-in to the Highlander franchise released in 1986, the same year as the film, published by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers. Highlander was panned by reviewers.

<i>Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror</i> 1985 video game

Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror is a game for the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and Commodore 64. It was first released by Micro Power on the BBC Micro in 1985, and on the Amstrad CPC & C64 in 1986.

<i>Line of Fire</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Line of Fire is a first-person light gun shooter game developed by Sega and released for arcades in 1989. It was released with two arcade cabinet versions, a standard upright and a sit-down cockpit, both featuring two positional guns. The cockpit design allows the player(s) to sit down while playing the game, while having two-handed machine guns, controlled by a potentiometer-controlled gun alignment software system. The game follows a two-man commando unit as they try to escape from a terrorist facility after seizing a prototype weapon.

<i>The Real Ghostbusters</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on the animated series of the same name. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Mugsys Revenge</i> 1986 video game

Mugsy's Revenge is a strategy and management computer game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC that was released in 1986. It is effectively a sequel to the earlier Mugsy by the same publisher, and has many of the same features, in both design, and setting.

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

Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.

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

Doriath is a side-view action-adventure platform game released for the Commodore 64 in 1985.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Judge Dredd is a platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in Europe in 1986, for Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1990 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1990, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

<i>Pink Panther</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.

<i>Red Heat</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Red Heat is a beat 'em up video game based on the 1988 film of the same name. It was developed by British studio Special FX and published by Ocean Software. It was released in Europe in 1989, for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.stonan.com/dok/C-rapport1-86.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. ↑ "Law of the West – Commodore 64 Game / C64 Games, C64 reviews, downloads & SID tunes". www.lemon64.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "You the Sheriff of this stinkin' town?". www.rarityguide.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "ZZAP Test!: Law of the West". www.zzap64.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
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.