Computer Gamer


Lands Of Havoc

Publisher: Microdeal
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Computer Gamer #5

Lands Of Havoc

The packaging of Lands Of Havoc includes nine colourful postcards. Their purpose becomes obvious from the start of the game. Each card depicts a different terrain: castles, village, garden forest, etc. The opening screen of each game gives a layout for these cards which can be used as a map.

In times gone by, the good sorceror, the High Vanish, was defeated by the Dark Lords who unleashed a wide assortment of evil creatures upon the face of the earth and under its surface. Realising that defeat was imminent, the High Vanish hid various magical artifacts to help those who might follow.

As you wander around whatever landscape the computer has chosen for you, you must collect artifacts which will allow access to the underworld.

Lands Of Havoc

Unfortunately, the relics are hidden in areas heavily populated by the Dark Lord's evil henchmen who must be killed because physical contact with them will result in death.

When all the artifacts have been collected, the wild wood may be entered and the gateway to the underworld will be open to you. If you stumble across this gateway before all of the symbols are found, your character, a reptile called Sador, will freeze and all his lives will be forfeited.

Entering the underworld means a different maze spread over many screens and totally unmapped. There are more artefacts to collect here before the full power of the High Vanish can be unleashed on the land. The artifacts are guarded by evil trolls who must be dodged or killed.

At this point, the game starts to resemble Cuthbert And The Tombs Of Doom, an earlier Microdeal product, but it does hold the interest.