Dungeon Master
DOS version
Hiding behind the sofa at the age of 9.
The Good
My Dad wouldn't let me play on his Atari ST back in 1987, but to be honest I had my Commodore 64 so I didn't care... then he bought Dungeon Master!
In the evening, my sister and I would watch as he opened strange doors and battled with mysterious creatures. When it all got a bit much, for example his first encounter with a Screamer, we would take cover behind the chair. I have vivid memories of watching the whole story unfold (although not actually playing myself), from selecting characters in the Hall of Champions through to defeating Chaos himself. It was much more entertaining than being dumped in front of the TV every night, and quite frankly it scared the s*** out of me!
The silence in this game is deafening - long periods of nothing, then suddenly a roar or a scream which makes you jump out of your skin... Now THAT I do remember!
The Bad
Having nightmares about Screamers (I was only 9!)
The Bottom Line
You have to try and imagine what this was like back in 1987 - there was nothing to compare it to. The scariest thing I'd ever played was 'Atic Atac' on the Spectrum. It was a total gaming revolution that surpassed everything else in terms of sheer atmosphere and tension. Superb.
by J B (2) on April 18, 2001