31st January 1984
Dracula's Revenge
The scenario is this: armed with only a pistol firing silver bullets and the ability to open windows, the good friar has been charged with sanctifying Dracula's numerous castles. I suppose everyone is by now used to finding these fanciful descriptions reduced to caricature graphics and stock game formats.
Dracula's Revenge is a Snakes & Ladders-type maze game, the best of which is Elevator in the arcades. It's simple, but it's fast and the basic elements are cleverly plotted. While the characters - ghosts, werewolves, the vampire and the friar - are typically crude, the changing light outside the castle adds a splash of colour. Letting in the daylight (by touching the ends of a corridor) will slay the vampire, twilight will despatch ghosts, but once evening falls there's no alternative but to dodge until dawn comes.
Dracula's Revenge lacks a two-player function, but the action is remarkably smooth and instantly addictive. Side by side with similar cartridge games, such as Coleco's Space Panic, you wouldn't know the difference.
