Necromancer
Want a fast, frantic and fun gameplay experience like no other? Well I've got one for you this time!
The title "Necromancer" conjures up several images tied in recent RPG's and movies to creating undead skeletons, zombies and that sort of thing. Black magic and death worship. But the 1983 Commodore 64 game Necromancer by Synapse Software at first appears to have very little to do with the modern gamer's image of Necromancy.
After all, the main character, your character on-screen, is a Druid who imbues trees with spirit-like abilities and makes the game one that would appeal to tree-huggers more than the black arts goth types who might want to play a Necromancer. The popular game named "Druid" did not come out until 1986, so that's no excuse.
So where does the title come from? Well, your Druid must take down an evil Necromancer, and although there are no waves of zombies and skeletons to deal with, there are other baddies that will harass you and your magically imbued trees throughout the game - and the Necromancer is the black hand behind it all.
The object of the game changes dramatically between levels, keeping things interesting and making the game more of a collection of 3 games than a single game.
The first "level" (of which there are multiple screens) has your Druid controlling a Wisp that serves the dual purpose of defending from attacking Ogres while planting and raising tree seedlings into magical trees. Since the ogres cannot attack mature trees, try growing them in a ring to protect a younger group within. Start with a semi circle on one side of the screen, then move to the other to complete your ring of defense. Spreading your trees out will make it too difficult to protect them all effecively. After they've matured, spiders can poison your full grown trees -- you'll know because of the heart-rending sound they emit from their screaming "mouths". Hover your wisp over a poisoned tree to cure it.
Got all of that? You'll need to plant trees, protect the young ones from ogres, then protect mature ones from spiders, while continuing to raise young ones you need to protect from ogres... Needless to say, the action can get quite hectic. And fun. And to add further to distraction, there's a pod that floats around and supplies you with more seeds - again requiring interaction with your wisp.
The ogre/spider onslaught requires great reflexes and doesn't let up until you have an army of full-grown trees.
The next level (also with multiple sub-levels) is a little less frantic and is where you'll use your now mobile trees, similar to the Ents of the Lord of the Rings Series or roving sentient trees seen in games like World of Warcraft to destroy the hatching area of the spiders that bothered you in the first stage of the game. Move your wisp to a tree and you'll then be controlling that tree. Hold your fire button while moving your gamepad / joystick to contol your Druid. Use your wisp to revive a tree that has broken through the spider hatching pod, and take it elsewhere.
Oh, did I mention the nasty hands that descend from above and snatch your trees away?
There is something very satisfying about getting your trees to root down into the hatching areas of the spider eggs to ruin the evil necromancer's plans. It's also a little bit of payback for the sweaty palm defense you put up in the first stage.
The last stage is a bit crazy, and I'll admit to having a tough time with it. Now it's you against the Necromancer, and your task is to clear 5 screens worth of tombstones before he'll go down. And he's going to throw everything he has against you to make sure that task is far from simple.
If you want to get through the whole game and not do so in a single sitting, I strongly suggest the "snapshot" option in the VICE emulator to make life easier.
The fast-paced action, the music and the effects make Necromancer a must-play for C64 fans. Check it out! I think you'll find that the gameplay will challenge even the most experienced of gamers - even that Halo kid down the street.
Download it HERE
For a quick intro on using an emulator like VICE to run C64 game files, go HERE
SCREENSHOTS
The title "Necromancer" conjures up several images tied in recent RPG's and movies to creating undead skeletons, zombies and that sort of thing. Black magic and death worship. But the 1983 Commodore 64 game Necromancer by Synapse Software at first appears to have very little to do with the modern gamer's image of Necromancy.
After all, the main character, your character on-screen, is a Druid who imbues trees with spirit-like abilities and makes the game one that would appeal to tree-huggers more than the black arts goth types who might want to play a Necromancer. The popular game named "Druid" did not come out until 1986, so that's no excuse.
So where does the title come from? Well, your Druid must take down an evil Necromancer, and although there are no waves of zombies and skeletons to deal with, there are other baddies that will harass you and your magically imbued trees throughout the game - and the Necromancer is the black hand behind it all.
The object of the game changes dramatically between levels, keeping things interesting and making the game more of a collection of 3 games than a single game.
The first "level" (of which there are multiple screens) has your Druid controlling a Wisp that serves the dual purpose of defending from attacking Ogres while planting and raising tree seedlings into magical trees. Since the ogres cannot attack mature trees, try growing them in a ring to protect a younger group within. Start with a semi circle on one side of the screen, then move to the other to complete your ring of defense. Spreading your trees out will make it too difficult to protect them all effecively. After they've matured, spiders can poison your full grown trees -- you'll know because of the heart-rending sound they emit from their screaming "mouths". Hover your wisp over a poisoned tree to cure it.
Got all of that? You'll need to plant trees, protect the young ones from ogres, then protect mature ones from spiders, while continuing to raise young ones you need to protect from ogres... Needless to say, the action can get quite hectic. And fun. And to add further to distraction, there's a pod that floats around and supplies you with more seeds - again requiring interaction with your wisp.
The ogre/spider onslaught requires great reflexes and doesn't let up until you have an army of full-grown trees.
The next level (also with multiple sub-levels) is a little less frantic and is where you'll use your now mobile trees, similar to the Ents of the Lord of the Rings Series or roving sentient trees seen in games like World of Warcraft to destroy the hatching area of the spiders that bothered you in the first stage of the game. Move your wisp to a tree and you'll then be controlling that tree. Hold your fire button while moving your gamepad / joystick to contol your Druid. Use your wisp to revive a tree that has broken through the spider hatching pod, and take it elsewhere.
Oh, did I mention the nasty hands that descend from above and snatch your trees away?
There is something very satisfying about getting your trees to root down into the hatching areas of the spider eggs to ruin the evil necromancer's plans. It's also a little bit of payback for the sweaty palm defense you put up in the first stage.
The last stage is a bit crazy, and I'll admit to having a tough time with it. Now it's you against the Necromancer, and your task is to clear 5 screens worth of tombstones before he'll go down. And he's going to throw everything he has against you to make sure that task is far from simple.
If you want to get through the whole game and not do so in a single sitting, I strongly suggest the "snapshot" option in the VICE emulator to make life easier.
The fast-paced action, the music and the effects make Necromancer a must-play for C64 fans. Check it out! I think you'll find that the gameplay will challenge even the most experienced of gamers - even that Halo kid down the street.
Download it HERE
For a quick intro on using an emulator like VICE to run C64 game files, go HERE
SCREENSHOTS
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