Previous Next

Bored with his daily existence of drugs and therapy sessions, Brok the Brave is more than pleased to hear from an emissary from Sol 1 who proposes an interesting mission.

Earth and its space stations need liberating from the terrors of the evil Count Dracula who has the entire population in a state of continual nightmare. Glad of any chance to escape from his humdrum life on the high security planet Hawkland, Brok readily accepts the challenge and is transported to the entrance of the Count's castle.

Vampire is a platform game with arcade adventure overtones set over some eighty screens. Your first problem is one of survival. Starting with only one life, contact with various nasties or flying arrows soon reduces your energy. Mistimed leaps can plummet you into pits from which there is no escape and areas of the castle seem inaccessible until you collect certain items necessary to move false walls. Flashing items of food provide welcome extra lives and there are keys to be collected en route as well.

Just finding Dracula is not enough. He must be destroyed using the traditional stake, hammer and cross but you must also solve a complex riddle included in the instructions which involves finding a room where no light will reach.

As Brok moves around the castle (there are both surfaces and underground areas to explore), he can leap obstacles in both large and small bounds which brings another element into the gameplay. Jumping is done automatically in the direction that you are facing so that there is no need to find those tricky diagonals on your joystick. There is some latitude for moving Brok whilst in mid-leap.

The game's graphics are excellent, featuring highly coloured backdrops and a whole variety of castle furniture. Playing Vampire is difficult - your route is not intended to be an easy one - and I found considerable initial frustration at my inability to get anywhere before I lost all my energy. But perseverance pays off and slowly, further areas of the castle are revealed. A good, challenging game.