Amstrad Action
1st October 1985
Published in Amstrad Action #1
Sorcery was a great seller on cassette and this disk-based version looks ready to set a whole new trend in Arnold games, being bigger and better than before. You're set the same task as in the original - to rescue eight of your fellow sorcerors from where they have been imprisoned by the Necromancer.
The original 40 screens have been expanded to 75 for the disc version. Each one is filled with picturesque scenery, energy-sapping monsters, power-giving cauldrons, masses of objects and the occasional trapped sorceror.
You have to fly around between screens using the wooden doors that creak open and closed as you battle against both a time limit and the constraints of your energy. The sorcerors appear behind doors and to release them you have to be carrying the correct object to unlock the door. Many of the early locations are the same as Sorcery with the occasional additional room, but there are whole new sections with totally new scenery and repositioned sorcerors.
The old sections have the same variety of monsters that will sap your energy on contact but can be dispatched with particular weapons found lying around. The new areas have more creatures and different items that will send your foes to their maker. Constant throughout are the risk of drowning in pools of water - always fatal - and the cauldrons that replace your energy when sat on. Or sap it if they're poisoned.
Finding your way around is tougher than ever with the need for mapping even greater. Some doors cannot be opened unless you're carrying a particular object, while trapdoors may prevent you getting hold of a crucial object or getting access to a door. The graphics, sound and playability are as strong as ever and even experienced sorcerors may find themselves struggling to complete what is a much tougher proposition.
Good News
1. Colourful, detailed and fast-moving graphics. 2. Masses of screens to be explored. 3. Bigger and better than its cassette predecessor. 4. Fast loading of game and individual screens. 5. A tough task whether you've played the original or not.
Bad News
1. Disc drives are expensive. 2. So are discs.
Second Opinion
Absolutely wizard! Superb graphics, smooth movement, and a really intriguing game. It's not going to be an easy one to crack - the first few times I played I didn't even see a wizard, let alone rescue one. There are some very nice touches, such as the leering ghosts, while it's very satisfying to smash your foes to smithereens with the lightning. For disc-owners it must be a must.
Disc Delight
While playing the game yon have to leave the disc in the drive and as yon move through a door the next screen is loaded. This system means that the game is much bigger, has great demo modes and amusing scrolling messages - and there's still space left. Fortunately the new version isn't too far removed from the cassette one so that players of the original will know how to solve certain sections already but won't be familiar with the whole thing. The disc also allows you to flatter your ego by saving the high score table with your entries on it. It's much faster of course and you hardly notice a screen being loaded as you move through doors. If this is anything to go by, the prospects for disc based games are good even if they are more expensive. Hopefully more people will follow Virgin and Amsoft's lead.
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