Castle of Terror
{{Short description|1984 video game}}
{{Lead too short|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Castle of Terror
|image = CastleofTerrorC64coverart.jpg
|caption = C64 cover art
|developer = Beam Software
|publisher = Melbourne House
|writer=Grahame Willis{{cite magazine | title=Adventure Review Section | url=https://archive.org/details/Commodore_User_Magazine_Issue_018/page/24/mode/1up | magazine=Commodore User | publisher=Commodore International | issue=18 | page=24 | issn=0265-721X}}
|released = 1984
|genre = Graphic adventure
|modes = Single-player
|platforms = Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
}}
Castle of Terror is an interactive fiction game with graphics released for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum by Melbourne House in 1984.
Gameplay
The player is given a quest by an old man at the local tavern to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the local Count (a vampire), who resides in the nearby castle. Throughout the game, the player gathers items, which can then be manipulated to solve various puzzles. The text based interface, coupled with a visual display of the player's location, is similar in style to the Commodore 64 version of The Hobbit.
Reception
The game received notoriety amongst gamers as being impossible to fully complete, namely due to there being no known way to kill the count or achieve a full score of 290 out of 290. Grahame Willis, author of the game, has since revealed that it is not possible to kill the count and that messages suggesting so were placed in the game intentionally to frustrate players.{{Cite web|url=http://solutionarchive.com/grahame_willis/|title=:: CASA :: Grahame Willis}}
At the time of its release, it received mixed reviews. Your Commodore praised the game, describing its graphics as "very good" and its playability as "user friendly".{{cite news|last1=D.I.W.|title=Software Review: Castle of Terror|work=Your Commodore|issue=7|date=April 1985}} Your Computer criticized the game, marking it as "fuzzy" to play.{{cite news|last1=Lee Paddon|title=Software Shortlist: Castle of Terror|work=Your Computer|issue=2|date=February 1985}} It got a 67% rating from Zzap!64.{{cite journal |date=May 1985 |title=Castle of Terror Review (part 1)|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=001&page=072&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap | journal=Zzap!64 |issue=1 |page=72 |access-date=19 February 2019}}
{{cite journal |date=May 1985 |title=Castle of Terror Review (part 2)|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=001&page=073&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap | journal=Zzap!64 |issue=1 |page=73 |access-date=19 February 2019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://gb64.com/game.php?id=1296&d=18&h=0 Castle of Terror] at Gamebase 64
- {{WoS game|id=0009585}}
- C64 version at the Internet Archive
Category:Video games developed in Australia
Category:1980s horror video games