Amstrad Computer User


Nosferatu The Vampyre
By Piranha
Amstrad CPC464

 
Published in Amstrad Computer User #27

Nosferatu The Vampire

You've read the book, seen the film, now get bitten by the game. Following the tried and tested axiom of "Make yt mysteryous - myspell yt wyth a Y”, 20th Century Fox, in association with Macmillan/Design Design/Piranha (who are especially good at teeth) bring you Nosferatu, the Vampyre.

Count Dracula, the immortal neck nipper, is in town. The town of Wismar, to be precise. Ever mindful of rising house prices, he wishes to buy a small dente-a-terre from Renfield's estate agents, your employers. They send you, Jonathan Harker, to his castle to conclude the sale, but in so doing you inadvertently discover the Count's true identity, that of Bloodsucker and Lifedrainer. The ideal estate agent.

Your sense of civic duty dispels any feelings of kinship you have at this discovery, and you realise that, should the Count move into town, it won't be long before he's a pain in the neck to everyone. And house prices will just plummet.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

Quickly you go to the place where you left the deeds to the house. But Nosferatu has grabbed the papers and vanished. And there you stand, alone in the castle at night. You have to find the papers and escape during the day, but against you are the spiders, bats and similar nocturnal vampyrical emissions.

There are a few bits around with which to combat the creepy crawlies, but too much ghost-bashing will leave you too weak to escape. During the day, things aren't too bad, but at night the forces of evil are at their most powerful.

Come daybreak the castle doors are unbolted. If you don't have the deeds, but still escape, the Count will have a toehold in town, and that's bound to lead to tears by bedtime. Much better to get the titles before making good your escape, but it's up to you.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

The scene changes. Now there's Jonathan, Lucy Harker (wife) and van Helsing (Lucy's brother-in-law) pitted against the Teeth of Terror. Lucy has that special something which is fatal to vampyres (and it's not garlic breath).

Neither of the two males knows of this, and for the moment, they are concerned with clearing the town of the vermin introduced by the arrival of Nosferatu. They must also keep the vampyre at bay long enough to drive him to attack Lucy, because only then will they be able to despatch him. They're out for the Count.

Another thing on Nosferatu's mind is the title deeds of that house. If Jonathan managed to relieve him of them in the previous scene, then Draccy might try and get to Renfield, who's had a bad breakdown and is currently residing in the Wismar Laughing Academy. In his current state Renfield might well just hand the deeds over. To prevent this. Jonathan and Co. must keep the place surrounded by garlic cloves. A sort of stake out.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

At the end, Lucy must be safe in her house, and Nosferatu lured towards her. Lucy must trap the two men, who are still trying to protect her, and try and keep Nosferatu occupied until daybreak, when she can finally destroy him. It ain't gonna be easy. But nobody ever said that estate agents had it easy. Well, they did, but not in Wismar.

Nigel

I don't usually like games which use isometric graphics, but this has to be an exception. The screens are well defined - you can actually make out what things are meant to be, rather than have them disguised in pretty curls.

The game, which is in three parts, must end in the defeat of Nasty Nosferatu, your resident vampire, so crucifixes, garlic, and a friendly exorcist won't come amiss.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

I'm still stuck in the first part, that is, in Nossie's castle, trying to retrieve the deeds of the house that the vamp wants to purchase, but I live in hope. And in the meantime, my breath carries a Government Health Warning.

Liz

The malpractice of wanting to play the game without looking at. the instructions meant that I recognised this as a Design Design game from the similarity to <span id = "game_title">Nexor</span> and not from the Logo above the Piranha.

The excellent graphics make this a very absorbing game, as dusk falls the tension increases. It is difficult. I suppose that Piranha would say challenging. A map is a good idea.

Colin

Nosferatu The Vampyre

Biting satire would be too easy. But seriously, folks, Design Design has perpetrated far fewer turkeys that the average software house, and this game isn't one of them.

A pretty standard isometric display, and some detailed graphics lots of bathtubs) greet the player, and some competent coding ensures that the film's plot is followed a bit closer than some spinoffs I can think of.

Some objects aren't immediately visible, so be prepared to spend some time bumping into things to fully exploit every situation.