Commodore User


Bloodwych
By Image Works
Amiga 500

 
Published in Commodore User #73

Bloodwych

This is exactly what the games world has been crying out for, and is what A500 owners have been desperate to get their hands on for a long time. In short, a glimpse at the screenshots will tell you this, Bloodwych is a one or simultaneous two-player Amiga version of Dungeon Master.

The Bloodwych are - or were some of the most powerful beings in the universe. A group of immortal mages, they were all-powerful guardians until the world was taken over by a twisted entity called Zendrick, who didn't hold with the Bloodwych's philanthropy. After spending many years studying the dark arts, he turned upon the Bloodwych and destroyed them. Using magical crystals, he summoned the Lord of Chaos, whom he foolishly believed would allow him to recreate the world in the way he wanted.

Many years of great mourning have passed. Zendrick has been in power for far too long. The immortal Bloodwych decides that the time has come to call Zendrick to task. You, a Bloodwych, and three recruits, must travel through the concrete mazes of McGrane, battle the bad guys, solve all the puzzles and steal the crystals from Zendrick.

Bloodwych

The game looks like DM and plays like it, too. Controls consist of a pointer and lots of little icons. At the right hand side of the screen are all the controls for casting speels, opening doors and manipulating inventories. On the left hand side are pictorial representations of your party, plus a record of any battle damage that may have been incurred.

Bloodwych seems to be far more varied than DM ever was. The further you get into the game, the more depth you realise it has. One thing that has been salvaged from DM is its logical element. Every puzzle can be solved if thought out logically, which makes it much more fun than a trial and error jobby.

A deep and involving one-player game. A deep, involving and highly competitive two-player game. A thumbs up deserved if ever there was.

Tony Dillon