The Horse Lord

This fabulous arcade game for the BBC Micro is written by the author of Rocket Raid and Snapper, and is based on the bestselling Century novel of the same name.

Colourful, zany and fast, The Horse Lord should keep you glued to the keyboard.

The Game

Welcome to the Messenger's Ride! In this contest you are Aldric, the Horse Lord. You must steer your mount through a series of obstacles, jumping water courses, slaying any opposing forces that stand in your way, to arrive at the castle with the all-important message. Note that you will be barred from continuing the course until all the opposition has been silenced.

Some Tactics

1. Never get too close to a foot soldier as he is better at in-fighting than you are.
2. Strike, and then disengage, otherwise the enemy may hit you.
3. Jump the water courses, as there is no other way past them. You are allowed only one attempt at a jump, so it is important to get it right first time. Move at full speed towards the water, and jump right at the last moment - i.e. before you hit the water.
4. If you feel the need to practise the water jump, then, while the high score list is being displayed, hold down the W key, and then press either the Fire button on the joystick, or the space bar. This will give you a screen of water jumps.
5. Some of the obstacles are red herrings, but beware - the bushes may contain ambushes!
6. You can survive ten strikes. After this you will die. You lose points from the obstacle bonus for being hit.
7. The enemy can also survive only four hits from your sword - the fifth will kill him, but he cannot survive an accurate shot from a bow and arrow. If you fire an arrow then your sword will disappear when the arrow is in flight. Since the arrow moves quite fast this shouldn't affect your tactics. Be sparing with your arrows, however: you only have ten.

To move your mount, use either the keyboard or a joystick.

Game Controls

Z - Turn Left, X - Turn Right, SHIFT - Acclerate, RETURN - Slash sword/Jump, SPACE BAR - Fire Arrow

You may use a joystick if you prefer.

After ten seconds in the high score chart, the game will demonstrate itself. To play the game, press ESCAPE at any time.

COPY/DELETE - Pause/Resume, Q/S - Sound Off/On

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Tape: CHAIN"" (RETURN)
Disc: SHIFT-BREAK

Game Credits

Written by Jonathan Griffiths
Based on the novel by Peter Morwood
The fantasy novel The Horse Lord by Peter Morwood is published by Century Publishing Ltd