The Bells

aka: Attack on Castle Ghastghorah
Moby ID: 25058
Amstrad CPC Specs

Description

This is a fairly close copy of Ocean/Century's arcade platformer, Hunchback. Your goal is to traverse each screen filled with perils, so that you may reach the bell that is placed on the right side. The first screen contains only a ball or bullet that crosses the screen, which you must jump over. Jumping straight into the bell rope will kill you, however. The next screen has gaps which you must jump across, with the right distance in mind. After that comes a similar screen, only the pits are filled with pikemen who lower and raise their pikes. Timing is necessary in order not to be impaled as you jump over the pikemen. The fourth screen has the object from screen one hurtling across the screen, so your jumps across the pits must be timed so that you don't jump into its path. The fifth screen is a variation on the third, but with an arrow shooting over your head so that timing must take both the pikemen and the arrow in account. The game procedes in a similar fashion, with different combinations of projectiles, pikemen and pits.

Your bell-ringer has two different jumps. One is for jumping up in the air, so that you can avoid projectiles, and the other one is a long jump for bridging gaps. Each screen must be crossed within a short amount of time, or Quasimodo will be struck by lightning.

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Average score: 18% (based on 2 ratings)

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Trivia

Development

According to the National Dragon User's Group disk magazine Up-2-Date issue 5:

HELLS BELLS first appeared in the now defunct magazine 'Your Computer' in September 1984.

It was written by Drew Marshall, he says after many months of disappointment, waiting for decent arcade games to appear on the Dragon market, although they were just beginning to appear under the Microdeal label.

He had never been able to get his hands on a Hunchback type game. After seeing his friend's version on a CBM-64, he just couldn't wait for Ken Kalish to relieve his pangs.

So he sat down and threw a version together. Realising the potential of the game he became more interested in it and began designing a brick wall and animated graphics. When he had finished he found it difficult to stop playing.

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  • MobyGames ID: 25058
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Игги Друге.

Additional contributors: formercontrib, Patrick Bregger.

Game added November 18, 2006. Last modified April 17, 2023.