Path: news.uh.edu!barrett From: teler@cs.huji.ac.il (Eyal Teler) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: Castle Incinerator Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.games Date: 5 Dec 1994 17:34:50 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 199 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <3bvivq$5o5@masala.cc.uh.edu> Reply-To: teler@cs.huji.ac.il (Eyal Teler) NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Keywords: game, missile command, shareware Originator: barrett@karazm.math.uh.edu PRODUCT NAME Castle Incinerator BRIEF DESCRIPTION A full version of Castle Incinerator, similar to Incinerator, but with different graphics. The demo version of Incinerator has been reviewed by me in the past. [8 November 1994, file software/games/IncinerplexGames in the c.s.a.reviews archives] AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Incinerplex Games Pete W Storonskij Address: 200 A Street Lincoln, NE 68502 USA E-mail: pws@cse.unl.edu LIST PRICE $5 (US), or $10 for five games, including Castle Incinerator. See my review of the shareware versions of Pete's games if you want more information. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Should work on any Amiga, although Enforcer hits have been mentioned for some other game. Pete's games are written using Blitz Basic 1, so use them at your own risk. :-) COPY PROTECTION None. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 500, 1MB Chip RAM, 2MB Fast RAM Fujitsu 100MB SCSI hard disk in A590 1084 monitor Kickstart 1.2, Workbench 1.3, ARP INSTALLATION The game arrives ready to run from diskette. By dragging the files into the directory of your choice, you can install it anywhere. Dragging a Files drawer and the game icon is all you need to do. REVIEW Castle Incinerator is similar in nature to the old Missile Command game, only this time there's a medieval twist - you protect a castle from incoming flying horses, plus the occasional giant bird - a dangerous creature that fires bolts at your castle. In addition, you get the opportunity to attack your opponent's castle. The castle is protected with the aid of two magicians who fire bolts at the horses that seem to be catapulted at the city (although a different explanation of their nature is given in the docs). You aim the bolts using the mouse, and the left and right mouse buttons cause the corresponding wizard to fire a bolt. The wizards get their energy from "mana" generated by villages on the sides of the castle. When there's no need to recharge the wizards' energy supply, the mana supports a shield above the city. The shield gets depleted by hits from horses. If the villages are destroyed, you're in trouble. You also get the ability to use Wrath of God to destroy all the horses that are on the screen. There's a limited supply of these. When attacking your enemy's city, you just click the mouse where you want the horses to fall. The game is supposed to support a two player option - see the DISLIKES and BUGS sections below. DOCUMENTATION The documentation is similar in nature to the documentation of the demo versions - in short, it stinks. Well, it does explain a few things about the game, but it certainly can't be considered good. LIKES The graphics are nice. The cute horsies, the nicely drawn castle with the livestock around, the reasonable 3D affect of incoming horses.... In short, there's not much more you'd want in terms of graphics from such a game. The game is well implemented and highly playable, and it should keep you occupied for about half an hour (see DISLIKES). DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS The first major fault of this game is that it's just too easy. There are three levels (Easy, Medium, Hard), and indeed Hard is more difficult to win than Easy. The problem is that even at the Hard level I managed to win in about six rounds (three for each side). While I did get some damage to my castle, unlike with the Easy level, the computer's city was easily destroyed. (And I wasn't even cheating, which is very easy even without using the cheat mode - not that you'll need it.) I now tried it again, just to see that it wasn't some kind of once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I beat the computer at the Hard level in 8 rounds, without getting hit. It would have been faster, but it seems that hits made at the very end of the round don't get registered. The second dislike is the non functioning two player mode (see BUGS). A two player mode might have made this game longer lasting. The last dislike is the inability to quit a game. Once you start a game, you are stuck with it. This is especially bad if you started a two player game, since this is virtually impossible to finish. I wouldn't mention the documentation... Well, I would. Couldn't it mention that in two player mode one player uses the mouse, and the other uses a joystick? Well, actually the attacker uses the joystick while the defender uses the mouse, which means that the two players have to alternate controllers each turn. Frankly, I would have liked a two mouse option. I do have two mice, and it's much easier to control a cursor with a mouse than with a joystick. (This is all theoretical - see BUGS.) BUGS Two player mode is nice and all, but the attacker just doesn't seem to have any effect on the game. You can move the attacker's cursor using the joystick, and you can even press the fire button, but unfortunately this does absolutely nothing (that I could see). Perhaps there's some esoteric control mechanism to this, but I doubt it - the controls are quite logical in this game. I thought of mentioning another small bug, but that one is enough. It means that you have to make do with your horses falling only on the middle of the castle, which makes it nearly impossible to destroy it (unless you have luck with the giant birds). VENDOR SUPPORT He seems to be a responsive guy, but I wouldn't know about his support for the game. CONCLUSIONS Warning: use these ratings at your own risk. Graphics 9 All that you need from such a game. Cute and cuddly. Sound 4 Minimal sound effects. Playability 9 Easy to get into and control. Lastability 2 I finished the three difficulty levels in half an hour (or so), and the two player mode doesn't work. Value for money 5 That's $5 for a nice picture and half an hour of fun. Go to the arcades instead, and pay $1 for a disk of PD pictures (or rather load some from Aminet). Conclusion 3 If I could beat it that easily (and I'm not that much of an arcade player), then unless you're very slow, you'll just want to format the diskette and use it for something else. I didn't, out of respect for Pete - after all, he did include nice labels on all the disks. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1994 Eyal Teler. All rights reserved. --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews