Publication | Score |
---|---|
Famitsu | 20/40 (Mega Drive) [22] 18/40 (PC Engine) [23] |
GameFan | 168/200 (PC Engine) [26] |
Dragon | (Amiga) [27] |
Sega Pro | 90/100 (Master System) [16] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Crash | Crash Smash [28] |
Shadow of the Beast and Shadow of the Beast II were reviewed in 1991 in Dragon where both games got 5 out of 5 stars. [27] Sega Pro praised the Master System version for its graphics and sound, but criticised the "awkward" controls method. [16]
In a retrospective article for Digital Spy , Mark Langshaw remarked that Shadow of the Beast "will always be remembered as one of many jewels in the crown of Studio Liverpool." Langshaw however said that the Mega Drive version was considered inferior to other versions, and because of its poor conversion rate, the game ran faster than intended on the North American Genesis console and "went from unforgiving to near impossible." [7] Travis Fahs of IGN considered the FM Towns port a superior version of the game. [29]
In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Shadow of the Beast the 76th-best computer game ever released. [30]
A re-imagined version of Shadow of the Beast was revealed at Gamescom 2013, developed by Heavy Spectrum Entertainment Labs and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 in May 2016. [31] The original Amiga version is included along with the remake. [2]
Graphics from Shadow of the Beast and Shadow of the Beast II were featured in two special levels in the original Lemmings game (Amiga, Mega Drive, PC, Super NES, and Atari ST versions), called "A Beast of a Level" and "A Beast II of a Level". These references were supported by cameo versions of the title music from each version, in this case both pieces were arranged by Tim Wright.
Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension is a platform game written for the Amiga by Gremlin Graphics and published in 1992. It was marketed as a rival to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. Zool was ported to other platforms and followed by Zool 2 in 1993.
Lemmings is a puzzle-strategy video game originally developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis for the Amiga in 1991 and later ported for numerous other platforms. The game was programmed by Russell Kay, Mike Dailly and David Jones, and was inspired by a simple animation that Dailly created while experimenting with Deluxe Paint.
Ubisoft Reflections Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Founded in 1984 by Martin Edmondson and Nicholas Chamberlain, the studio focuses on racing games and it is best known for creating the award-winning Driver series. Reflections was acquired by GT Interactive in 1998 – which later turned into Atari Inc. – and sold to Ubisoft in 2006. The company works on AAA games in close cooperation with sister studio Ubisoft Leamington.
Oh No! More Lemmings is an expansion pack for the puzzle video game Lemmings by DMA Design. It contains 100 single-player levels and six music tracks. The Amiga version also includes 10 two-player levels. The game requires either the install disk from the previous Lemmings, or, in a standalone version, the game manual, for use as a copy protector. The new levels are separated into five difficulty categories, each with 20 levels.
Lemmings 2: The Tribes is a 1993 puzzle strategy video game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis, and is the sequel to the 1991 video game Lemmings. Similar to the original title, the game sees the player guiding various tribes of anthropomorphised lemmings through a number of levels, using various skills to help them reach the exit. Expanding on the mechanics of the original game, Lemmings 2 featured a more open-ended series of levels with different 'tribes', contained an overarching narrative, expanded the number of skills, simplified the requirements for clearing levels, and included a practice mode for players to test out new gameplay mechanics. Development of Lemmings 2 was more intensive, with Psygnosis having greater involvement in attempt to recreate the success of the original game. A focus on the production of the game was cross-development of a large number of ports, with the game released to consoles including the Mega Drive, Super NES and Game Boy. Lemmings 2 was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards its additional gameplay mechanics and greater variety of levels and abilities.
Xenon 2: Megablast is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was later converted to the Master System, PC-98, X68000, Mega Drive, Commodore CDTV, Game Boy, Acorn Archimedes and Atari Jaguar platforms. The game is a sequel to Xenon and takes place a millennium after the previous title. The goal of the game is to destroy a series of bombs planted throughout history by the Xenites, the vengeful antagonists of the first game.
Blood Money is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter video game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. It was released for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS in 1989, and for the Commodore 64 in 1990. The game is set in four different locations on a planet, where the player must fight off enemies and bosses.
Leander is a video game for the Amiga developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Psygnosis in 1991. It was the first game developed by Traveller's Tales. The game was developed on the Amiga, then converted to the Atari ST by Philipp Wyatt for W.J.S Design. A year later it was published for the Sega Genesis as Galahad by Electronic Arts.
Turrican II: The Final Fight is the second game of the Turrican series. The game, developed by Factor 5 was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64 version, but Manfred Trenz cites the C64 version as the original design. Turrican II was also released for the CDTV, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, and later for DOS, and also for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Boy rebranded as Universal Soldier.
Obitus is an action-adventure game developed and released by Psygnosis in early 1991 for Amiga, Atari ST and DOS. It was also ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by Bullet-Proof Software. The game features both first-person dungeon crawling and side-scrolling gameplay with action-oriented combat and an emphasis on item acquisition. It is similar to games like Eye of the Beholder on Super Nintendo but without the RPG mechanics.
Wrath of the Demon is a 1991 hack and slash video game developed by Quebec-based developer Abstrax, and published by ReadySoft. Versions for Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore CDTV, and MS-DOS were released in early 1991. A Commodore 64 version was released later.
Flink is a 2D scrolling platform video game developed by former members of Thalion and published by Psygnosis.
Barry Leitch is a Scottish video game music composer. His work includes the Lotus Turbo Challenge, TFX, Gauntlet Legends, Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Top Gear, and Rush video game series.
Bill's Tomato Game is a puzzle game for the Amiga, designed by Bill Pullan and published by Psygnosis in 1992. The artwork is by Lee Carus-Westcott and the music by Mike Clarke. The concept of the game is very similar to Sierra's The Incredible Machine.
Shadow of the Beast II is a platform game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis in 1990. It is the sequel to the earlier Shadow of the Beast.
Menace is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. It was released for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1988, and for the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS in 1989. The game is set on the planet of Draconia, where players are tasked with destroying the planet's defence mechanisms in order to kill the harmful creatures.
Ballistix is a video game created by Martin Edmondson for the Amiga and Atari ST and published by Psyclapse in 1989. It was also converted to a number of other home computers in the same year and the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 console in 1991. It is a fictional futuristic sport involving directing a puck to a goal by shooting small balls at it.
Shadow of the Beast III is a platform game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis in 1992, exclusively for the Amiga.
P-47: The Phantom Fighter is a 1988 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. Set during World War II, players control a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft to face against the Nazis, who are occupying multiple countries around the world. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 1 hardware.
Brutal Sports Football is a 1993 sports video game developed by Teque London and originally published by Millennium Interactive for the Amiga. It was re-published for MS-DOS and Amiga CD32, and later became the first third-party title published for the Atari Jaguar. The first entry in the Brutal Sports series, the game is a fictional style of football played against human or computer-controlled opponents. It features a different take on american football by emphasising the violent aspect of the sport.
The box art for Psygnosis' Shadow of the Beast features reptilian robots walking through a sunburnt landscape. In the foreground, jagged trees frame a window into a mysterious world you could reach into — behind the trees, sienna terrain stretches into the distance where a ghostly forest teases at what lies beyond.
Copyright Gremlin Graphics 1990
Copyright Gremlin Graphics 1990
A Reflections Game Converted by WJS Design
Rewritten and Programmed for the FM Towns by Tim Ansell
Music Arranged and Recorded by Chris Howlett and Ian Henderson at DC Productions Ltd
Music by at D.C. Productions
The [FM Towns] Marty library is sizable, but there aren't a lot of exclusives. It did, however, get superior versions of a number of games. Shadow of the Beast and its sequel got excellent remakes for the FM-Towns, with gigantic sprites and redbook audio.