Tower of Evil

The Good
Tower of Evil is a flick-screen action game in which you play a little green man called Andros on a quest to rescue Princess Diana from the Necromancer’s lair. First, you must negotiate all seven floors and retrieve the stolen treasures from each one. Things will not be so easy for you, as various creatures such as Valfors, Xaphans, and Baphonets are out to get you, but these can be either avoided or shot at. Their appearances vary depending on what floor you’re on. For example, the creatures on the first floor look as if they came straight out of Pac-Man, while the creatures on the fifth look like worms. If they get too much for you, you can find a goblet that will make you invincible for a short time.

Once you have gotten the required amount of treasures on each floor, a teleporter awaits you somewhere. Go through it, and you will proceed to the next floor where more treasures and creatures await. When all 28 treasures have been collected, you must store them in a chest on the seventh floor to be able to rescue the princess. If you come into contact with any creature along the way, you lose one of your lives; and the game ends when you run out. Assuming you find her, she will start walking up and give you a kiss. The game then restarts.

Andros’ walking animation is impressive, and I find it funny that he is always looking at you while moving in a certain direction. The way he breaks apart if he comes in contact with a creature is impressive; it’s like watching an animation of a door opening. Killing each creature is challenging, given that they constantly move around, making it difficult to get a clear shot. Although some of them have the ability to shoot at you with clear accuracy, they can shoot each other as well, not only making you get points for nothing, but making your job much easier. There is no map provided, but the floors are not that big and it is easy to find all the treasures on a floor within five minutes.

The Bad
Regardless of whether creatures are already in the room when you enter, more will come through one of the doorways. More often than not, you will lose a life trying to go through a certain doorway because it would be too late to turn back once one of them appears all of a sudden. Even if you make it through the door, there is the possibility of losing a life when a new room appears. The constant beeping sound is irritating, also.

The Bottom Line
Games from Creative Sparks are really entertaining to play, and Tower of Evil is no exception, especially if they involve a lot of exploration. In this game, you have to explore each floor of the Necromancer’s lair, collecting all the treasures and storing them in a chest so you can rescue the princess. The graphics and animation are good, and the game itself is rather challenging. There is hardly any sound other than beeping, and Tower of Evil is one of those games where you only play it once and never again.