Previous Next

What sadists Palace Software are. After destroying half my braincells with the original Cauldron (probably the toughest game of 1985), they're back to finish the job with Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back.

Cauldron achieved critical acclaim because it had an excellent mix of Defender-style shoot-'em-up and Willy-style platforms - quite an achievement in those dark days. Both the exquisite graphics and the wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack have been matched, as have the wicked puzzles and the mind-numbing difficulty.

The original prize was the Golden Broomstick - the most powerful in the whole world. But instead of using its powers for the good, the witch used it to destroy all pumpkins (you know how witches are). In true hero fashion, one pumpkin survived and now it's up him to restore true pumpkin-kind and rid the land of the tyrannous hag.

Not so easy, though, because the witch has built a massive castle and filled it with nasties that are all out to get you - naturally. The castle has 28 locations all oozing with Dirty Dens craving for your pumpkin juice.

The object is to find the witch's bedroom, snip a lock of her hair and take it down to the bowels of the castle to concoct the spell. You'll need six objects to help you and these can be found in the hazardous bastions around the castle.

Also lying around the castle are sparkly things which replenish your energy and enable you to fire fireballs of magic which destroy most adversaries.

Sadly, I felt a little disappointed after playing the game for only a short period. The first Cauldron broke new ground and was original and challenging. Cauldron II is just a copy of Jet Set Willy. Judging of Palace's previous releases, there's obviously talent there, and it would have been good to see a more original game from them.

Also, I fail to understand why Palace have made the pumpkin bounce. It makes the game very unplayable and unpredictable. In a game of this difficulty, the ability to move accurately is required and that cannot be achieved with bouncing. I reckon even the most experienced players will find this hard to master.

Despite all that, Cauldron comes across as an extremely well polished and presented game. The title music is very spooky and the graphics are wonderfully detailed throughout the game. Animation is also good, especially the gargoyles and simply brilliant ghosts.

Nevertheless, I was less than keen to complete the game, probably because it's beyond the bounds of human capability. Those of you who are short of readies and want a game that lasts, this is the one. Otherwise, you'll need to be a total masochist.

This game is bound to cause a stir in the industry but it won't rock the boat half as much as Cauldron did. Neither will it be remembered with as much affection.