Zzap


Camelot Warriors
By Ariolasoft
Commodore 64

 
Published in Zzap #21

Camelot Warriors

When the hero of Camelot Warriors went to bed everything was fine. In fact, he didn't even realise that he was about to become a hero - Mummy had just tucked him in, the alarm clock was set for eight o'clock, teddy was sitting by his side... everything was all totally normal and hunky dory. Until he woke up, that is. Gone was the bed, teddy and the clock. Gone were his Ah-Ha posters, his house, and the town he lived in. In fact it seemed that everything for miles around had disappeared and been replaced by trees, fields and leafy glades. His pyjamas had also done a runner, but luckily these had been replaced by a button bright suit of armour (a little uncomfortable to sleep in maybe, but dead handy in battle).

After musing for a while, the confused young chap got to his mail-clad feet and started to walk down a nearby dirt track, After strolling along for a while he met a peasant who explained, in between tugs of his forelock that, "it be the times of good King Arthur, noble sir". Oh dear, what a predicament. What should he do?

By now, dark was drawing near so he decided to make tracks towards the large castle which loomed ominously on the horizon. Eventually he reached the dark and gloomy castle and discovered that it was inhabited by an ancient white wizard. The crumbly, but very wise magician, told him that the reason why he'd been spirited back to the times of King Arthur was because one of his more difficult spells had gone completely haywire. Four other elements had also been transported back from the twentieth century, the old magician went on, and the only way that the situation could possibly be reversed was if they were all collected and handed to the guardians of Camelot's four worlds: Aznaht, Druid of the forest; Kindo, King of the lake; Azomic, Dragon Lord of the caves; and King Arthur himself. So, after resting a while, our young disorientated hero took his leave, strolled out of the castle, and began searching for the four out of time elements.

Camelot Warriors

The game is a flick-screen arcade adventure in which the player steps into the armour of the gadget-seeking knight . The worlds of King Arthur all consist of platforms and floors over which the hero can walk. He can also jump from platform to platform in one athletic bound - not bad when you consider that he's got a heavy suit of armour welded around his body. His biggest problem is that t he place is infested with all manner of animals, both flying and crawling, which try their best to attack him. If a creature touches him, he loses one of his five lives, but luckily he's armed with a sword which he can brandish with one press of the fire button, killing anything which gets in his way.

Our hero begins his quest in the forest and must find the 'fire which doesn't burn', i.e.: a lightbulb. Once it's in his possession (collected by running over it), it cart be taken to the guardian of the wood, who, on presentation of the object, gives our hero the ability to go into the next world, in this case turning him into a frog so that he can enter the lake. The game continues in this fashion until all the objects have been delivered, whereupon the hero gains access to Camelot castle, and he can at last transport himself back to the present day.

RE

Camelot Warriors offers very little and the scenario isn't even very original. It's another of those 'wander around, collect the goodies and avoid the meanies games. ' The sort of game that I get tired of very easily. Most of the time is spent idly wandering around nothing more than the programmer's self-indulgent maze. Yawn. There are, occasionally, remotely interesting pieces but don't expect to complete it quickly.

PS

Camelot Warriors

Strangely reminiscent of Elidon, Camelot Warriors is yet another bog-standard arcade adventure. Why it's £9.95 is a complete mystery to me, nothing to do with its quality that's for sure.

It's a full price games pretending to be budget software. Simple, unrewarding gameplay, equally rubbish graphics, sound and packaging. Steer clear and stay happy.

JR

This arcade adventure offers little in the way of excitement and interest to a budding adventurer. The four tasks don't really involve much in the way of action, and all you have to do is collect the object and find the guardian. Occasionally you might have to avoid a nasty, but it's not exactly adrenalin-producing stuff. The program is badly designed too, and it's quite easy to get yourself into a position where you lose your lives without being able to do a thing about it - very annoying indeed. The graphics are quite nice, but sound is lacking, so are any addictive qualities. Avoid it.

Verdict

Camelot Warriors

Presentation 74%
Pleasant title screen and joystick and keyboard option.

Graphics 68%
'Pretty' backgrounds but the sprites lack detail.

Sound 44%
Poor title screen tune and a few spot effects during the game.

Camelot Warriors

Hookability 52%
Might be interesting to an advertureless arcade adventurer.

Lastability 38%
Boredom soon sets in due to a lack of variety and action.

Value For Money 39%
Expensive for what it offers.

Overall 44%
A simple arcade adventure lacking arcade action and adventure.