Dark Castle

The Good
I do not recall when or where I played this game, but I do recall I have played the game and that I was still in elementary school when I did. Regardless, I do recall that this was probably one of the "real games" that later defined what PC games came to be...although it seems it was a port.

One distinctive aspect about certain games in this era of gaming was that it was a combination or compilation if you will, of many action games packaged into one neat game. Unlike most platform games where basically most of the gameplay is practically similar from beginning to end, Black Castle introduced different types a little more different style of gameplay for each "level" or in this case "room", with different monsters, different puzzles, different action strategies. This "many action games into one" concept evolved into a similar game called Hillsfar.

The non-linear action game (during that time anyway) made the game quite addictive as you keep trying to find new ways "not to die" and the process of figuring out new areas and the process of interacting via trial and error (e.g. can I climb those ropes) certainly intrigues your curiosity to a certain extent.

The Bad
Although the game provided a major upgrade in gameplay as well as new features, the is not without many irritating features...repeat irritating.

Movement controls were upmost horrible. Walking, especially jumping and walking down the stairs require precise timing but the controls were kind of slow and grogy, often resulting in certain death.

Monsters keep regenerating endlessly, some bigger monsters only pass-out for a short period of time, in addition to your limited number of rocks you can throw makes it a little frustrating, not to mention trying to aim to the direction you want is worse than climbing and jumping combined sometimes.

I don't think I've actually passed any one room in the game, as it was very difficult to complete the level without being knocked by some flying bat or scurry rat. Regardless, it was fun for a while.

The Bottom Line
Nice ol' little classic...with a lot of great new features back then.

The Good
For an early Sega Genesis game, the graphics are okay and so is the sound. The AI isn't that bad either, though it has one flaw.

The Bad
Almost everything in this game is bad. As I said above, the AI has one flaw: some of the enemies might take some time to realize you are close to them. But, that's not all. The controls are bad, the main character is a coward in this port of the game that makes goofy sounds and there is only ONE song that plays during the game. Wait, why do I call it a song when it's just one part of "Toccata and Fugue" that loops? Also, the aiming system used to throw rocks at enemies should have been removed from this version. It doesn't work well on a Sega Genesis. Also, if you jump from a high place, the character might stop moving in mid-air for a second or two, and then keep falling, until he collides with the floor and dies. I forgot to mention that, in the game there is a cute-looking dragon. Isn't this game supposed to be scary? Oh well.

The Bottom Line
The only thing that makes this game scary is the fact that it sucks. The Macintosh port is the real deal.

The Good
I worked at a software store when this game came out. Though we didn't carry it, several co-workers and I spent hours playing it and learning the precise controls to beat each level. We loved this game, right from the opening credits with the digitized sample of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to the animation within the game and the humorous death sequences.

Through experimentation, we learned the precise positioning of Duncan's arm needed to defeat the bats in one level and the timing for the boulders in another. The developers used the high resolution Macintosh display to full effect for this game.

The Bad
The only drawback to this game was that--at the time--it wasn't available for any other platform but Macintosh. It also lacked a save game feature, but so did most other video games of the era.

The Bottom Line
Great platformer with innovative graphics and sound for the nearly game-less 80s-era Macintosh.