Retro Review: King's Quest VII The Princeless Bride PC

Just about everyone interested in adventure games has played at least one game in the King's Quest series. The plights and perils of Daventry's royal families delighted gamers for about14 years, unfortunately like many venerable long running series, eventually quality declined, such is the case with Kings Quest VII.

Story:

The Story for this King's Quest entry is centered around Queen Valanice looking for her daughter, Princess Rosella (Star of King's Quest IV) after a not so well received talk about marriage ends up with  both of them going into a pond and getting sucked in the magical world of Eldritch. Now sometimes the premise is silly but the rest of the story manages to be engaging and interesting, that's not the case here. It evolves into a convoluted drama involving a Witch who's angry with you for reasons that are never entirely clear and Rosella's gaining true love. It starts silly and not particularly interesting and stays that way

Graphics:
Graphics in the cut scenes are done to look like cel shaded animation in the style cartoons from the time period. The cut scene graphics are not great by current standards, but not bad either, serviceable overall. The on-screen graphics use the same animation style for the most part, but it's hit and miss in terms of how good it looks. Most of the background characters and enemies are done about as well as the cut scenes, but Rosella  and Valanice often look terrible in motion and don't interact particularly well in their environments.


Controls:
This is the only King's Quest that is a pure point and click, no typing or keyboard necessary. You use your mouse to investigate, navigate and use your inventory. Additionally, making it simpler than earlier incarnations your pointer is a magic wand that sparkles whenever you're near something that you can interact with. Overall basically what you'd expect when playing a point and click adventure game.

Sound:

There's nothing to write home about in the sounds department, the ambient and action sounds go well with cartoony vibe of the game. The music is so-so, not bad, not good, very forgettable, but in keeping with the game. The only exception being the main theme/ending theme which is some and irritating pop song that sounds like it belongs in a barbie movie. It's fully voice acted game, something worth noting back in 1994, and the voice acting is surprisingly good given game voice acting was still in it's infancy. That being said by today's standards most of it isn't good, like most of the game though it ends up solidly mediocre.

Gameplay:

King's Quest VII's gameplay differs from the earlier entries in variety of ways. First as I briefly touched on in the controls section, there's no text interface at all, it's purely point and click. Second as I also touched on, the point and click cursor is a magic wand that twinkles whenever you're near something of note. Third you take controls of two different characters, in alternating "chapters".




There are six chapters where you take control of either Rosella or Valanice. At first each character is in different areas from one another,  that span the

breadth of Eldritch ranging from a volcanic cave, to fairytale town, to a knock off  Halloweentown. Eventually though they cross paths (though without actually meeting each other) so you get to see all these areas from the perspective of both of the royal ladies of Daventry. Aside from being cliched these environments are actually pretty well executed, they're bright, colorful and interesting. Sometimes the attention to detail can actually make it hard to find what you're supposed to interact with but the environments are a place where the game really does things well.



 Of course what's a good environment without a few interesting inhabitants.The NPCs in these areas

self-segregate because you pretty much only encounter characters who fit the aesthetic of their respective towns. This is not the only game that does this by a long shot, but it's boring and predictable. that being said, there still are a few interesting denziens of Eldritch: there's foppish dog Arch Duke Yip Yap who's governing style seems to hinge on making sweeping generalizations, throwing parties and wearing masks, a talking bolder who spends most of his time sleeping, a troll blacksmith who's clearly got a sexual harassment suit on his hands and a surprisingly pleasant and helpful headless horseman. Although naturally not all of these inhabitants are particularly nice, several of them are more than happy to bring your quest to a premature end.

In typical point and click fashion in order to traverse these areas and meet these colorful personalities

you're going to have to do some item collection and puzzle solving. The magic wand pointer makes the collection parts fairly easy. Making things a bit more interesting, once you've collected the items you will need to examine them, most of them time it's just seeing what it looks like from different angles but occasionally it's necessary to continue with the game. Unfortunately this feature wasn't implemented particularly well so it gets irritating more often than not,  because it's not always easy to spot where to interact with a given item. Still, most of the puzzles aren't particularly difficult. The biggest puzzle problems come from some poorly executed backgrounds which even with the help of the sparkly pointer can be difficult to navigate. That being said there were a few puzzles we had to look to walk-through for, mostly due to some pretty illogical conclusions, *almost a spoiler alert* that's just not how you use a rubber chicken.

Getting from world, to world, puzzle to puzzle is pretty linear. The swapping perspectives guarantees a lot of backtracking as the characters visit a lot of the same areas, though not at the same time, Valanice and Rosella don't actually meet up until the very end of the game. There isn't a whole heck of a lot of back tracking while you're the same character though, just a few minor instances of it. This has bad and good parts, you know that for the most part assuming you diligently picked up the items in a given area you're not going to have to wander back there 100 times seeing if there's a new item to be found, on the other hand you're it makes the game more linear and less interesting.

Your reward for traversing these diverse lands, clicking and puzzle solving your way to victory of the evil witch is either a good ending or a bad ending depending on how you handle the last scene. The bad ending isn't really all that bad, it just doesn't really answer any questions for you. The good ending is a little better, giving you an ending that really only makes sense if you've played King's Quest IV, and a full animated ending sequences of cliches set to some really uninspiring pop music. In short, regardless of which ending you get, it's not worth the time put into getting it.

Conclusion:

Overall this is a mediocre title, it's playable if you like adventure games. It started off fun but it got repetitive and boring pretty quickly. Frankly it was a bit of a struggle to even finish it. Honestly while it's not bad I couldn't really recommend it unless you're a die hard King's Quest fan. I give it 2.5 cephalapoints.

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Not So Retro Review: Contra 4 Nintendo DS

When a gaming company attempts to put out a new version of a classic, beloved series, sometimes you just have to accept that it's not going to have that same flair your old favorites did. Sometimes you have to remember that the tried and true formula that made the original titles the masterpieces they were are going to be replaced by new and questionable features in an attempt to add freshness to an antiquated series. Sometimes you just have to accept that it's not going to be the same.

Luckily, in the case of Contra 4, that entire opening paragraph is entirely irrelevant.

If you want to run and gun, if you want to shoot up a base pseudo-3D style, if you want to search desperately for the spread shot while navigating the narrow platforms of the jungle, if you want to be irritatingly be hit by falling rocks on the way to an Alien Fortress on top of a waterfall, if you want to spend an RPG amount of time trying to survive 9 merciless stages with the brutal, console-throwingly difficult 2D gameplay that defined the late 80's and early 90's portion of your childhood, then you probably want Contra 4.

Get Psyched! Oh wait, wrong game.

Graphics:
 Graphically the game is an example of how instead of putting all of our energy into 3D rendering, we should also appreciate just how much we can do with 2D graphics in the modern era. This is a gorgeous game with very nice background visuals with some 3D effects added in nicely. The player sprites are a bit pixelated but animate very smoothly. The game doesn't suffer from intense flickering like the games of old do, which is nice because with all of the on-screen activity it's going to be hard enough to keep track of things. Artistically the game looks a lot like Contra III, which isn't surprising given how most fans loved that one the most. Many of the enemies retain their original look and the player sprites are very similar to their classic counterparts.

Alien breeding programs have eliminated the "ball arms" gene

Controls:
The controls are as responsive as they need to be and simple to get the hang off for the most part. The direction pad on the DS may give you some problems, especially when trying to shoot diagonally which may prove frustrating while you're new to the game. It's a little harder to really mash the shoot button on the DS due to the small size of the buttons and the fact that it causes the whole console to shake. By holding the R button, you can at least stand safely in place while you fire in any direction, which also allows you to fire directly downward without having to jump. If you've only played Contra and Super C with lacked this feature, that's an incredible button right there. The simplicity of Contra's controls will lead to the same problems they did in the old days, such as accidentally dropping down from a ledge when you try to jump too soon after shooting at an enemy below you. The new ability to climb ropes affords itself many opportunities at accidental and deadly dismounts when you're trying to do too much at once and while none of these issues are necessarily new to this game, they are a perennial source of frustration.

Sounds:
The sound effects are crisp although some are rather quiet, so you'll have to strain a little to enjoy that classic 'p-choom' sound unless you've got headphones. The classic ricochet noise which denoted a successful shot on an enemy returns for added nostalgia, though most of the sounds in the game will be more updated. The game's music features some new tracks and several remixes of the ones you remember. If you're playing on Hard then you're rewarded with an enhanced version of the original Jungle track. Arguably the greatest 8 bit music ever, the Base Boss music from the first Contra returns in two of the three base-style levels as you're fighting the final enemy there, offering a more percussive and instrumental version, coming off as more dramatic (though not necessarily better) than the original version.

Gameplay:

 Mad Dog has chosen the passive-aggressive approach

After years of questionable titles and a few decent but very different ones, Konami's Contra 4 on the Nintendo DS is clearly meant as fan service to the long time fans of the run n' gun series, from the game itself, to the bonus unlockables, and even the booklet is made lovingly with long-time fans in mind. The game takes its overall design from the first three Contra games, featuring levels, weapons, music, and bosses borrowed or inspired from Contra, Super Contra, and Contra III: The Alien Wars. Contra 4 takes place soon after the events of Contra III, serving as a direct sequel to that game and ignoring all the rest that came in between (which is good because those storylines were crazy and the characters were wearing shirts). Midst the familiar features, the game brings fresh new ones to ensure that it isn't just a phoned-in reboot. While a few of the levels are clearly inspired by the look of some of the classics, they are set up in brand new, challenging ways while retaining the original feel. This includes the pseudo-3D shooting galley-like base levels which retain the "shoot the red things" goal but with beefed up enemies and hazards. One of the biggest new factors in the game is the simultaneous use of both the upper and lower screen, adding a huge new challenge to a game that was not exactly short on them to begin with. The insane difficulty remains intact, so only elite players will see the end. All in all, the easiest way to describe the game is...it's a Contra game, with all of the good and bad that comes with that status.

 With the addition of only a few new tricks, the core gameplay is unaltered from what we've grown accustomed to, feeling the most like Contra III, which might seem expected, given the numbering, but let's remember that they're 15 years apart. Before starting the game you can select which character you want to use. So if you're like me and sad that you have to be player two to enjoy the benefits of red pants, now you can choose Lance (the red pants guy) instead of that stuck up Blue Pants Bill right out of the starting block. Two other characters, Mad Dog and Scorpion, are also immediately selectable, and if you're familiar with the regional differences between the original Contra games, you know why that's such a delightful addition. All of these initial characters are just color palette swaps of each other, but if you ever felt that Bill Rizer would be better represented as a black guy with a golden rifle then this game's for you.

This seems very familiar

After your support chopper drops you into the jungle, careful not to insult your manhood with a helpful missile or two aimed at your enemies, you'll find yourself in the same position in which you found yourself way back in the original Contra, with a big gun that shoots one small, pathetic round at a time. Even the sound effect is exactly the same as it was in the NES days. Your mission on every level is simple to say but nearly impossible to do, run to the end of the level while shooting everything in sight before it gets you. If you take one shot from anything, you lose a life.

    Enemies come in all forms, from the backpack carrying cannon-fodder guys who used to irritate us on the waterfall (and still do) to durable gun turrets which take many shots to destroy. There's an increased premium on mid-bosses in Contra 4 which help give each level some added depth and challenge on the way to the eventual main boss. Mid bosses are among the most interesting enemies and may take the form of a large alien, a powerful tank, a giant robot, and more. It's not uncommon to encounter a mid boss that's actually more difficult than the level's final boss.

Spreadshot is love

   To help you navigate all of these hazards, your character can climb certain walls, hang on bars and certain ceilings, and can now climb ropes or rope-shaped alien entrails, which does unfortunately open the door to the 2D platformer rope nightmares we all remember, and more than once you'll be lamenting the loss of a life while asking, "why didn't we grab that rope, Bill?" New to the series, you are also given a grapple hook which is used to latch onto hangable objects above you. The grapple hook with shoot all the way to the heights of the level but you're very vulnerable to attack while it's pulling you up there. In an effort to make use out of this new tactic, weapon pods can often be found over deadly chasms, forcing you to shoot them open, jump down just far enough to collect the item before it's lost, and then grapple back to safety before it's too late, which looks pretty darn cool when you pull it off, but is rarely worth the trouble. Perhaps you might feel the use of the grapple hook adds a needless new learning curve in a series that's already too damn hard, but you'd better get used to it, as several key parts of the game require it. Sticking to running and gunning and some light climbing would be ideal but the grapple hook just may save your life one day. Or possibly cost you one.

Grappling can also leave you temporarily headless

Better weapons and powerups are shot out of pods imbedded into the background, or from flying pods which look very similar to those found in Contra III. If you're hoping for some new toys to play with here then you'll be somewhat disappointed as all of the weapons within have been featured in previous titles. However, all of the weapons can be upgraded by picking them up twice, so their functionality will improve in ways you may not expect. In some cases, the upgraded weapon is If you're playing on Easy, they all start off fully upgraded. Being able to upgrade the weapons puts an increased premium on collecting them as well as making it more tragic when you're killed, and your weapon is lost. Like in Contra III, you're allowed to carry two different weapons which is awfully helpful, since you only lose the one who had equipped when you die. Unlike Contra III you can't fire both weapons at once although there was really no tactically sound reason to do so in the first place. You can also discard your weapon, tossing it to the ground. This is useful if you're playing with a friend and are generous enough to share the wealth. It can also be helpful if you know you're about to get hit by something that don't want to lose the weapon permanently. Although if you're new to the controls you'll find yourself accidentally throwing away your weapons at very inopportune times.

Crap.

The levels play similarly to how they'd play in Contra III, with most of them being a side-scrolling format allowing you to climb rails, walls, and ropes in order to get to higher plains. Many portions of the game give you the option to take the high or low path, so you can run along the roof tops of the crumbling city or try your luck on the mean streets below. This would be especially helpful on multiplayer so you can finally get your buddy the hell out of your way, relegating him to whatever path you don't take. One of the levels takes place over the ocean on a futuristic jet ski, sort of like an aquatic version of the hover bike level in Contra III. And to the delight of fans of the original Contra, there are three shooting-gallery levels reminiscent of the bases from the first game. These levels are even harder than they were in 1987 with more tricks and traps awaiting you, but with the faster pacing and new features, may be even more fun than the bases you remember. Or maybe just more infuriating.

Aside from the regular campaign, you can also unlock Challenge Mode, which sticks you in 40 different scenarios, demanding that you complete tasks ranging from completing a section of a level without being able to shoot, having to retain extreme accuracy, taking on a boss without sustaining a single hit, and more. Some of these are unimaginably annoying, and not in the good Contra way, but just in an unfair, irritating way, which I assure you is actually different. For example, when playing some of the Pacifism modes, where you can't shoot, you're basically at the mercy of what the game throws at you. Sure, it might give you 3 paths to take but say enemies are on all three paths, preventing you from jumping, dropping, or standing your ground. What do you do? Nothing, you're screwed. Most of the challenges are fair in some very hidden way, but some of them will have you contemplating just how important a DS really is while you're looking for a hammer. As you complete these tasks you'll be rewarded with various unlockable bonuses which actually manage to justify the injustice you've just suffered. These bonuses...these bonuses are perhaps the greatest example of fan service the game has to offer. The booklet specifically says it offers no spoilers on what these prizes are, and in honor of that they won't be mentioned here, but to give you a small idea, if Contra 4 itself were absent from the game and only the unlockables remained, it would still be worth buying. Seriously.

So the gameplay in general is pretty great, classic Contra at its finest with a few new abilities. But alas, we must also cover the grim matter of the difficulty. First the good news: It's not as hard as Contra III. But then, few things in life are. However, the difficulty of Contra 4 is still insane and will scare off the modern gamer used to endless life bars and unlimited continues. It's much harder than Contra and Super Contra and requires extremely skillful maneuvering and heroic patience. The game can be set to 'easy' but the last two levels won't be available, and it's not as if "Easy" isactually all that easy anyway. If you're feeling extra masochistic, you can put the game on hard, where enemy bullets are almost too fast to see and bosses boast a carpal tunnel inducing number of hit points. As eluded to earlier, one of the hardest things about Contra 4 is that it takes place on both screens, making it very hard to see threats coming from the screen opposite of the one you currently occupy. You either have to look at what's coming or keep and eye on what's happening on your screen, either option increasing your mortality significantly. Plus, enemy fire briefly gets lost in the space between the two screens making it extra difficult to keep track of it. Honestly this is one of the more frustrating facets of the game, and whether it's intentionally meant to increase difficulty or just an unfortunate side effect of an attempt to take advantage of the DS platform, it does beg for an eventual adaptation to a single-screen platform if ever possible. Fortunately the overall game is great enough for this not to ruin it.

Bill must eliminate all the Aliens before 20th Century Fox sues him.

Conclusion:

Contra 4 is a prime example of what can be accomplished two decades into a long-running series when its made with the fans in mind and not just the money. Contra 4 isn't made to appeal to a new generation of gamers. It doesn't even try. This game is solely for those who loved Contra, Super C, and Contra III, loved the punishment and tragedy they dished out, and wanted more. Fifteen years after the last classic Contra, this game proves it can hang with its iconic predecessors and is easily the best Contra to come out in the 2000's. It doesn't try to be new or different, it just tries to be good. There is no fathomable reason that any classic Contra fan wouldn't become an immediate fan of this classic Run and Gun experience.

~Richard

* A few of these screenshots came from IGN.

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Top Ten Classic Doom and Doom II Tracks

Doom  recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary and  few games since can get anywhere near the level of aural perfection contained in the soundtracks of Doom and Doom II.  For this reason doom has arguably one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time. It's a perfectly laid soundscape which provides the perfect accompaniment to your journey to hell and back. With that in mind, we undertook the unenviable task of isolating and ranking the ten best Doom tracks from the original two games. The following ten songs are not only some of the finest in Doom, but some of the best video game music ever composed.

10. They're Going to Get You

The eerie, simplistic rhythm of the bass strings which introduce this track soon gives way to an unnerving choir which rises and falls upon the course of a simple yet haunting scale. The song stays unsettlingly quiet throughout and is effective in its attempt to instill what can only be described as  a weird feeling as you proceed into the level. While other tracks portray the rage or despair of the underworld, 'They're Going to Get You' offers a mysterious side of hell; a tune that sounds as if you crossed into a new dimension, free of the fire and intensity most associated with hell, but an unknown place, housing the souls and spirits of the fallen as they watch you proceed. The song is laden with the occult yet never truly escalates beyond a loud whisper. Located in the heart of the second episode, 'They're Going to Get You' is the perfect soundtrack for your transition from the comforts of man-made familiarity, to the unknown world that Deimos is quickly warping into.

9. Waltz of the Demons

Waltz of the demons starts off with horror movie style staccato strings and slowly layers in strings while being punctuated with sudden upsweeps. It eventually moves into an melancholy baroque melody that seems like the background to a Danse Macabre. This is an unique Doom track in that  it's eerie, but doesn't leave you feeling uneasy like some of the other tracks. It seems like something you'd hear played on a dusty old gramophone, more than the backdrop to demon killing. Somehow though the juxtaposition still works, like a film that uses classical pieces over scene of extreme violence. All told this is a bewitching tune and due to it's novelty is one of the most memorable in the game.

8. Into Sandy's City

Nobody thought a harpsichord could kick this much ass before Bobby Prince jokingly threw it into this track. But the boys at Id spoiled the legengary digital composer's fun by nodding their approval for this unique Doom II jingle. And it's good that they did, as few DOOM tracks can match the intensity and energy of this song's brilliant melding of rhythm and melody. It's a track that brings to mind the Doom Guy clambering to the edge of one of the mountains of the underworld, looking down upon the sprawling wickedness of hell as the burning winds and red sky swirl around him, before finally jumping down to take it all on at once. The only weakness in the song is when it hits the staccato strings section and remains there until the loop, somewhat tempering the original strength of the track.

7. Shawn's Got The shotgun

This starts off aggressive with a hard build up and relaxes into a heavy metal chorus of the main theme accented with some heavy rhythmic drum hits from time to time. This track is easily the best Metal based tracks on the whole Doom soundtrack and while it's inspired by Slayer's south of Heaven it manages to be a wholly different song. Hard, Heavy and Perfect for a bloody descent into hell.

6. Suspense

While most doom tracks are hard rock anthems to ass kicking, a few of them are haunting melodies that impart despair, dread and distress. Suspense starts with solemn solitary strings, and layers in ominous bass and melancholy melody. It feels old and eerie, you're grouping around in the dark, anxious and terrified but  you have to press on to survive. It's almost a shame that such a great atmospheric piece is placed in Phobos lab as while it's got it's fair share of dark hallways it's a pretty open and airy level. This track also made it on to our list of creepiest game songs indicative of just how unsettling it is in any context.

5. Deep Into The Code

Robert Prince had a way of isolating the best part of whatever song he was sampling, and sticking with it throughout the entirety of the track. Heavily influenced from the opening to Slayer's "Behind the Crooked Cross," the unshakable riff of Deep Into The Code reminds you of how head-bobbingly fun demon slaying can be. In some ways it might feel out of place, featured exclusively in one of the original Doom's most demonic levels, but at the same time, something about a heavy metal band's riff accompanying your romp through Pandemonium just seems to click in such a beautiful way.

4. Untitled

It would be foolish of me not to start this out by pointing out this song is largely a remix of Pantera's Mouth for War. That being said this song zeroes in on the fantastic main riff of that song and hits and hits it hard throughout. It's the opening track for the first level of inferno and it's perfect in that capacity. It's got the dark gritty feeling that lets you know you're in Hell  but the hard rock sound that let you know you're gonna kick some ass.


3. Nobody Told Me About Id

When the haunting accordion of this track fades into prominence, it hums almost tauntingly to the player, as if the level itself knows something you don't. By the time the pounding bass drum and
assaulting melody joins in, it is immediately clear that whatever awaits you in the Tower of Babel is unlike anything you've seen in the previous 15 levels. With the addition of the infectious percussion, the eventual battle with the iconic Cyberdemon is granted an ambiance of both fun and terror, something that seems to say "ready or not, he's coming for you...!"


2. Sign of Evil

Although unable to surmount the iconic status of the top-ranked song, Sign of Evil, in terms of pure musical quality, may be the best track in all of classic DOOM. The song first appears in Phobos Anomaly, the level many of us came to know as the final stop of the shareware version of the game. The plodding pace of the percussion greets the player before baleful voices fade in, like the choir of a godless temple. Soon after comes a somber guitar melody which creates a chill-inducing medley of mournful sound which seems to say "You have no idea how hopeless this is." An appropriate soundtrack to the level, for as the Doom Guy believes he's finally reached the end of his nightmare, he's given his first real look at the demonic forces which await him in the form of the memorable first boss encounter of the game. And all he gets for his eventual victory is an inescapable room swelled with hell-spawn who rip and tear at his flesh before the episode ends. All of which seemed to be prophesied by the haunting tones of Sign of Evil, which never once offers a glimmer of hope within its doleful story.

1. At Doom's Gate

This is the quintessential doom song. Every doom fan has at one time hummed this song while wielding a toy gun, random object that resembles a gun, or an abnormally passive cat.  Sure it helps that it's the first track of  the game, but that alone doesn't make it stick in our collective gaming memories. The fact is that it's a really great song and  perhaps one of the greatest opening tracks in Video Game history. It's got a catchy pop sensibility with a hard metal undercurrent. It gets you pumped to start slaughtering the demonic hordes, without being overwhelming.  It strikes just the right balance of badassery and cheerful optimism.  The doomguy is not only perfectly primed to send a horde of demons back to hell with a shotgun in his hand, he's gonna do it with a smile on is face.

It was hard work to narrow down two games worth amazing tracks to just 10 but we feel confident we've presented with you with the best of the best Doom has to offer.

~Stephanie and Richard

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In Honor of Friday the Thirteenth: Friday the 13th NES Game Review

This was originally posted back in 2009, but we felt it should be revisited and revitalized a bit in honor this auspicious date.

Enjoy

INTRODUCTION

Nearly thirty years ago, Paramount produced a movie that would forever staple the "Summer Camp Horror" cliche into our hearts. Only a very special film company can turn a story about a vengeance-seeking homicidal mother of a dead mentally retarded boy into a never-ending series about an undead, invincible, hockey-masked super-human killing machine. It takes a very, VERY special video-game development company to turn this killing-machine into an 8-bit, blue-masked-purple-jogging-suit-wearing juggernaut squaring off against six faceless "counselors", while at the same time turning this into a zombie invasion. Can such a video game really exist? Why yes, it can. What can you do to be a part of the magic? Well, first you can read this ironically elaborate review.

OVERVIEW


Sarcasm aside, let's get this straight...it's an LJN game, it's terrible. That aside, it is actually one of LJN's better put-together titles, and one of the first-ever survival horror games. The game actually manages to "scare" you, when the masked maniac suddenly appears on screen with little to no warning, in many instances. And let's not forget the game's infamous difficulty.

Oh No! It's Jason and he's got a purple jogging suit!

Once the game is started, it goes right to a well-rendered intro sequence, which is an animated throwback to the famous cover design of the Part IV movie case, where a knife flies in from God-knows-where and sticks into the eyehole of Jason's Hockey Mask. Then the screen flashes violently. It's easily the most graphically impressive part of the game. While you sit there, noting how they must have blown their entire budget for the game on that opening sequence, the title screen will appear. You push start, and after it tells you to light the fire places, you select your first character.

Your goal in this game is to destroy Jason before getting all six of the counselors killed off. Likewise with the fifteen children, whom were looking forward to an enriching summer of hiking, rowing, singing, not getting slaughtered, and fishing. You kill Jason by using six different weapons of differing strengths and uses (and by uses, I just mean strength.) When you hear the alarm, indicating to you that Jason is either attacking a fellow counselor in their cabin, or the campers, you race to the cabin, and have one of many, many battles with the Demon of Crystal Lake, until you finally put him down once and for all (or, at least until the next sequel).

Graphically the game is actually pretty well rendered. The backgrounds even change, in the distance based on your location, IE: changing to trees when you're getting near the woods, rock when you're near the cave, and water when you're approaching the lake. They are rather simplistic, but get the job done as far as clarity of the situation, except for Jason of course...nobody's ever going to understand that.

Sound wise the effects are pretty crisp, although nothing resembles anything close to a realistic sound. All of the sound effects are your standard, classic beepy-boopy electronic sound of some sort .Though notably missing is Jason's trademark sound (if you're familiar with the movies you know what I'm talking about.) The music is like most any other NES game, it is obnoxiously repetitive yet strangely intoxicating. The music that plays while inside of a cabin is especially notable, for its distinct sound and ambiance.


GAMEPLAY


-Characters-

I could get extra analytical about this and scout each and every character's strengths and weakness. Instead, I could just put it like this - use Mark. Crissy and Laura are okay too, but Mark is who's going to do this for you. Avoid doing anything with Paul, Debbie, or George. Eventually it will become a necessity to use these three, but until that time comes, put them away in the closet, and take care of Mark and his girls. Though for those of you who WANT something more analytical, read on.

If you going to lay out a kids camp in such an unsafe fashion you kind of deserve a masked maniac

Mark - Moves fast, rows fast, jumps high, he's your guy.Take care of him so that you may make him last for the entirety of the game. Make sure he gets all the potions he wants and give him the Sweater (both of those things will be discussed, below).

Crissy - Also moves fast on land, jumps high, she's just about the female equivalent to Mark and you should also take care of her, as well.

Laura - She moves quickly, but sucks at jumping. She's still a better choice than George, Debbie, and Paul but only because of her speed.

George - A useless cretin, he excels at absolutely nothing. Also, he's also the least attractive one, so it's a pretty standard notion than you want nothing to do with him.

Debbie - She's pretty much just female George, although when he throws a weapon, she really whips that thing. Still, with a name that even SOUNDS slow, Debbie is definitely on the reject list.

Paul - Paul's only better than Debbie and George because he's black. But even so, how black is he REALLY? His name is Paul, for crying out loud and he can't run OR jump. But you have to cut him some slack - he's the one most likely to die in this situation.

-Playing the Game-

You wander Camp Crystal Lake, wondering how a place that so frequently experiences mass murders can STILL be a problem, looking out for goodies and Jason. To keep you busy while Jason's deciding who to kill, you battle yellow and blue zombies, who even walk with the outreaching arms. They are the most annoying part of the game, however, killing them will give you the invaluable lighter (which the game refers to as a "torch" ...perhaps LJN are a bunch of bloody wankers from England?) and killing enough of them may even grant you a special weapon.

Just havin' a friendly chat

Every now and again, Jason himself will appear right on the screen without warning. He has a bit of tell though, generally indicated by whatever zombies that are on screen walking off the screen and by the screen halting its scroll, as you move. When Jason appears he will throw spinning axes which are rather hard to dodge. Hit him enough times with your weapon, and he will run away. The game is slightly realistic in the sense that if you follow him you will likely end up fighting with him again in a moment. Also, if Jason leaves and suddenly the alarm sounds, it will probably be very close to where you two just battled.

Once the alarm sounds, you look to the status bar atop the screen, and see which indicator is flashing. If it is the Counselor Indicator (The one next to the potentially changing number of unhappy-looking faces) you then press start to see which cabin it is that Jason is occupying (it will be green and flashing). A timer will appear next to the flashing indicator, giving you sixty seconds to reach the cabin. It is pertinent that you get over there as fast as you can. The longer you take, the more Health the counselor inside loses and you may need to use this counselor at some point. If you're dawdling, indifferent, or more likely - lost in the woods, and time expires, Jason will slay the counselor inside, effectively costing you one life, and the use of that character. GOD HELP YOU if it's Mark. If the Children Indicator is flashing, then you've got slightly more of a chore to deal with, as the only way to reach them is to row your boat across the lake to their cabins, all the while getting attacked by zombies, birds, and  Jason himself,  who's attack you can do virtually nothing about other than wonder how it is that he's in the water attacking you while simultaneously  killing the campers. The more time you spend dawdling on the way to the campers the fewer of them there will be. Once Jason has wiped out a cabin full of children he will move on to the next cabin when he strikes again. If all your children are wiped out it's game over so as much as you might like to, you can't ignore them.

Thank goodness the quintuplets are safe

Once you've entered a cabin, the screen switches to a pseudo "3D" screen, with very limited movement and excruciatingly slow progression. If there is another counselor in the cabin, you can switch weapons with them by pressing select and choosing the "PASS" option. Though leaving them with a weapon, no matter how nice it is, doesn't seem to help them fend of Jason's wrath without your help. You can also switch places with each other with Select-CHANGE. If you having a potion, cure them with Select-CURE. If you find a weapon or note on the cabin floor, take it with Select-TAKE. If you're in an empty cabin and press start you can choose a new character and you'll start from their cabin, if you do this in an occupied cabin, the cabin's original counselor will move to an unoccupied cabin.

Occasionally you will enter a cabin that Jason is randomly occupying, even if there's no alarm. While in a cabin, you can tell if Jason is there with you because his life bar appears at the bottom of a screen. If you are attacked by Jason in a cabin, you square off with the purple-suited psycho while he attacks with either his fists, a machete, or what looks like a hair brush, but is most-likely an axe. You throw the weapon you have at Jason with the B button. By pushing down and over in any direction on the D-pad, you can dodge Jason's attacks when he steps in front of you. Sometimes Jason will attack you twice in a row without moving, so stay on your pixelated toes. Once you've hit Jason enough times, like any other NES sprite he will flash and disappear and a message will display on the screen, reading "You win...for now." Ominous, no? Meanwhile, Jason will wander off to continue his murderous rampage.Jason's Health Bar depletes over the elapse of several different battles with him, so depleting it entirely can take quite a while.

Sometimes though, if Jason's Health Bar is low enough, he will fight you until it depletes entirely, something that really sucks if you only have one of the first two weapons. Jason may also try and fight to the death when he attacks you on the path, but here, you cannot see his Health Bar, so you just have to keep fighting until he flickers.

Once you've totally depleted Jason's Health Bar, you get a less-than-congratulatory message, and you will find yourself having to kill him again - only now everything's harder.

-Days-

The game spans three "days," each new day starting when you deplete Jason's health. Each day follows a cycle, starting off in daylight, turning to dusk and then night, the progression being completely dependent on how often you enter and leave a cabin.

Day One - Everything's standard, Jason's at normal speed, takes off normal health, zombies are at normal speed...it's normal.

Day Two - Zombies are faster, and Jason is stronger and every now and again takes a snort of crack and starts really flying, making his attacks nearly impossible to avoid, completely.

Day Three - Zombies are still fast and possibly more frequent,  and crows appear on all the roads. Making matters worse it that Jason has become a non-stop speed-demon making every encounter with him a real labored attempt.

-Areas-

Aside from the cabins, there are four different areas to scroll, each of them exhibiting their own special traits and enemies.

A lovely day by the shores of Crystal Lake

Road/Path - The normal screen of the game, you can use the map to navigate this and see which cabins are where,though  often the implied distance is far from accurate. If you happen upon a new, alternate path leading into the horizon, or one at your feet, you can press up or down to travel them, which may lead you to the perimeter of the cave or lake, into the woods, or into the cave or lake.

Whoever established this camp hates kids & counselors, why are there no trail markers?

Woods - Taking on Labyrinthine qualities, it's very easy to get lost in both wooded areas, traveling up and down paths that don't always lead to the same place twice. However, the Woods do hold secret cabins housing secret items and they also yield an abundance of potions. So occasionally venturing in can be very worthwhile.

Not sealing off this cave is a lawsuit waiting to happen

Cave - Dark and...scary? This area has bats and holes for you to fall down and die in. It's a bit hard to tell where some of the alternate paths are (the ones in the backgrounds are almost invisible their location hinted only by the crumbled rocks on the ground in front of them, among the other rocks), but once you collect the flashlight, it's much brighter and the paths are easy to see.

You can tell it's a water zombie because it's blue, wouldn't want to mix it up with the land variety

Lake - Here, you row to wherever you're going, the camper's cabins being the only non-pointless destination.  While boating you try to avoid zombies jumping out of the water, birds, and Jason. It takes a little while for your character to accelerate to max boat speed, and the maximum speed is dependent on the character you're using.

-Weapons-

All weapons are projectiles. Nice that picking up just one gives you and endless supply.

Stone - Your default weapon, it takes five hits of these useless things to take off a single pellet of Jason's life...Jason having thirty-two, randomly-numbered pellets in total. (I don't mean to mention crack again...but these ARE big, white rocks...)

Knife - You get this, along with many other items, by jumping in certain areas. You are guaranteed to have at least once instance where you accidentally lose a great weapon by picking up one of these by mistake. Four hits to a pellet, it's not a whole lot better than the Stone but it's still an improvement.

Machete - You can get this either by defeating Jason's mother in the Cave, finding it in a cabin in the Woods, or killing fifty zombies. Usually when you earn this via zombie-death, you're not ready for it, and either would have to downgrade your weapon to get it, or gain nothing, having already acquired a Machete. It's too bad to see it go to waste, as it kills zombies in one hit, and takes only three to take off a pellet of Jason's life.

Thank goodness a class in advanced knife throwing was offered at the camp before things went sideways

Axe - A strong weapon, but slower compared to the others. You throw these spinning, just like Jason does on the road. This can only be acquired by defeating Jason's mother under certain circumstances, or finding it in a secret cabin in the Woods. One hit for zombies, Two-per-Jason pellet.
Torch - The most useful weapon in the game, this one can even be used to hit Jason in the Lake, making those attacks just a bit more fair. This weapon drops to the ground when you throw it, burning for a second, and killing zombies that absent-mindedly run into it. It also takes a health pellet from Jason per hit. It is acquired by lighting certain fire places and then finding it in a cabin by the lake, or by getting it from Mrs. Voorhees. It may also be available in a secret cabin.
Pitch Fork - The hardest weapon in the game to acquire, it is only available by killing Jason's mother on Day Three. It's very fast, passes right-through zombies, killing them instantly and takes off one pellet per single hit on Jason.

-Items-

Items can only be collected by coming into contact with them while jumping. It sounds dumb, but it actually makes it a little easier to avoid collecting unwanted pick-ups. However, it frequently threatens to do the very opposite for you while you're jumping to avoid an enemy.

♫ ...am I only dreaming?

 Is this burning

 an eternal flame...♪

Lighter - Use this to light fireplaces in big cabins.
Potion - You can use these to regain a small amount of health or to heal your fellow counselors in need. If you're carrying one of these when your Health Bar depletes, it will automatically be used and saving you for the time being.
Key - These are used to unlock the doors of secret cabins and the door to Jason's mother's lair. One key can open everything without seemingly disintegrating in the lock,  unlike so many other games.
Flashlight - This is found when certain fireplaces are lit. It appears inside the cabin instantly after you finish the fireplace so don't leave the area or it's gone. You can use this to light up the cave and reveal hidden paths, though it's rather useless once you know what to look for.
Notes - Random notes are left for you in large and secret cabins. They may hint on to where you may find a special item, or they may just tell you to go into a random cabin or into the woods.

-Enemies-
Zombies - The standard enemy of the game, they basically give you something to do while Jason's inactive. Easy to deal with, but you get tired of it real soon.
Lake Zombies - These jump out of the water while you're rowing the canoe. Rather annoying, but weaker than normal zombies.
Birds - Maybe it's a crow? Either way, it appears after about 10 zombies come and go, takes only 1 hit to kill, but it's pretty annoying to deal with. Seen both on the road and over the lake.
Wolves - Appearing in both the Woods and the Cave, (colored baby blue while in the cave for some reason) they're very hard to deal with. They're fast, they jump, and they're very tough, sustaining a lot of damage before being eliminated. It's recommended that you just run away from them.
Bats - A weak enemy that appears only in the cave. Not a huge problem.
Jason - The Hockey-Masked killer we all know and love is done less-than justice, in his sky-blue mask, skin of the same color, and purple jogging-suit. However, his admittedly hilarious look is no reason to take him lightly. Very strong and very fast, as is right, if someone's gonna get ya, it's him.

This looks like it's gonna be pleasant, surely nothing bad will be behind that door.

Mrs. Voorhees - Jason's beheaded mother, she floats up from her candle-lit alter and basically headbutts you with the remains of her body. You can battle Mrs. Voorhees once on all three days, enjoying her shifting of color for each. Her location is obscured, but if you defeat her, you will be granted a special reward, depending on the day it is, and/or the weapon you are carrying:

Day One Prize - Machete. If you already have one, Axe. If you already have that, Torch. Already have that? Axe again.
Day Two Prize - Sweater. In the movie series, the sweater played a notable part in Part 2. It was blue then. Here, the Sweater is a neon pink and yellow...yeah. Upon getting it, your current character will sustain only half the damage he or she receives. You will also flash from your normal color to green, making you feel extra special.
Day Three - Pitchfork. As stated earlier, very strong, very nice. Beware, though...Mrs. Voorhees is a real problem this time around.




CONCLUSION


So, there you have it, poor Friday the 13th didn't wait long enough to have its video game spin-off made...competently. But you know, thinking back to how "competently" the films were made...this seems right, in a way. It must be doing something right...I've spent hours and hours playing and beating this game over and over. It must be stressed again that this is no small feat. This game maybe bad, but it's also insanely difficult, beating it ranks you right up there with the Gods.

 

~Richard

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Retro Review: Legends of Murder 2: Greyhaven

Greyhaven was one of my favorite games as a child, I was so happy to find that my old 3rd or 4th generation floppy of it still functions after 20 years, especially as for years it was not available for download anywhere on the Internet (though last we checked a few sites had it).

Introduction

Greyhaven is a fantasy murder mystery RPG published to Big Blue Disk magazine in 1991 (though the game itself was apparently made in 1990) which was a computing magazine solely for DOS games. It wasn't one of the most notable games to ever by published in Big Blue Disk (Like Apogees Kroz series, or ID Software's Catacomb series) But it is the one I remember most fondly from my childhood.

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven Opening Screen

Overview

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven OKeys

Controls are pretty simple keyboard controls arrows and simple keyboard controls (IE G brings up the game menus, S searches/looks etc.). They're pretty standard for a dos game of this type. However, the controls are clunky it's easy to get stuck on things and you sometimes have to search around a stationary object 10 times before you find an item you KNOW is there.

Graphics are fine. Graphics while you're moving around the map and interacting with things are quite sparse, graphics on the closeups are better, but really nothing amazing. Honestly though the graphics are a bonus this game easily could have been a text only.

Sounds are nonexistent. I suggest listening to something like Midnight Syndicate to set your own mysterious murder fantasy mood.


Gameplay

You start the game with text explaining why you've come to the sleepy little town of Greyhaven which you've apparently been to before. You are the inspector, a crime solving mage, who's continuing mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations, to investigate the murder of a wizardry School apprentice. You make your way to the local tavern to meet with the headmaster of the school. On the way there you can investigate the town or run straight to the Tavern.

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven Tavern

Honestly though if you just want to dash through and not read and/or explore this probably isn't the game for you, as it's pretty much the entire game play. When you do investigate you'll notice that things in the town are...a little off. Boarded up businesses, abandoned homes, deserted streets and naturally some unhappy creatures bent on killing you. Eerie! After you've gotten all of your exploring out of the way and hopefully not gotten yourself killed in the process you met up with Baswik the Wizard headmaster for more detailed info on the situation. You adopt the guise of a new apprentice so as not to arouse the suspicions of the other students (and likely murders) and start your investigation.

The entire game is basically you wandering around the map searching for clues, fighting in encounters, leveling up, and reading a lot of text. Without actually going into to everything you do in the game and how you solve the crime, there's not too much to discuss here. Though there are some things for better or worse that set Greyhaven apart from other games from this period.

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven Telescope

First you can examine just about everything. Personally this is a big bonus for me. If there's painting on the wall (in this case a couple of blue pixels) I want to know what it looks like, if there's a shelf I want to know whats on it even if it's not useful. However this can get you in to trouble because you figure out the crime pretty organically, you don't take special note of the things that are important (or take notes at all) so actual clues can get a little muddled with random information.

Second the encounters are completely set. You can walk up and down the same patch of empty street 500 times and you're never going to encounter an enemy. But if you walk into the same trigger corner of a house and you haven't killed the enemy there it will pop up with the same text every single time. This is kind of convenient in that when you're week or simply don't feel like fighting anything you can avoid the encounters until you're ready for them. But annoying because later in the game you'll find that you're too weak to take on the enemies that are left to trigger, but you've already killed the ones you were capable of killing.  Very frustrating.

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven Skeleton Demon

Third you can only carry a 9 items, this seems like it ought to be enough but it's really not. You find way more stuff than you can carry and have no real way of knowing what you're going to need to hold on to and what you won't and when you drop something it's gone forever. Not being able to pick-up stuff you've dropped is probably the biggest issue with the game play.

Legends Of Murder 2 Greyhaven 

Third as I said earlier you figure out the crime in an organic manner, the game doesn't hand you anything. This is both awesome and annoying. The clues aren't obvious and unless you have a completely photographic memory of everything you read, examine, say when you walk in a room and/or hear from someone, you're going to have to write some stuff down and sift through it. Even then though it's tough, when I got to the final showdown it was some trial and error for me to guess the name of the killer (which is a necessity). On the other hand, it's nice not to be treated like you're stupid and makes things more of a surprise at the end. Which is way better than other games where blatant clues often tell you the whole story from the beginning.

Once you've gotten all your information and drawn successful conclusions you'll have your necessary items, and can find the killer. Assuming you're strong enough take them out and not only solve a murder, but save a town in the process. 

Conclusion
I love Greyhaven, I really do but it does have a few flaws. It's short, I'll say generously an hour of gameplay if you know what you're doing. It's got very limited replay value, encounters only happen in specific areas under specific circumstances and there isn't a lot you can do to alter or change your conversations in any way. Pretty much the only time it's worth playing again is once you've totally forgotten everything that happens. That being said it's really a shame more people haven't played this game. It's really a great game considering the time period and that it was a 1 man effort. If you're a fan of the genre, Greyhaven is definitely a game worth seeking out.

~Stephanie

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