Difference between revisions of "Castle Adventure"
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[[Image:Castle Adventure - DOS - Title Screen.png|thumb|256x256px|Title screen.]] | [[Image:Castle Adventure - DOS - Title Screen.png|thumb|256x256px|Title screen.]] | ||
| − | '''''Castle Adventure''''' is a text-based adventure game designed by [[Kevin Bales]] for [[DOS]] and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model. | + | '''''Castle Adventure''''' is a text-based action-adventure game designed by [[Kevin Bales]] for [[DOS]] and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model. It owes a lot of its display to [[Rouge]]. |
| − | I first played a hacked version of the game released by [[Keypunch Software]] in the shovelware title, [[Swords and Sorcery]]. They re-titled the game "Golden Wombat," to try and confused buyers into thinking they were getting the [[Infocom]] game, [[The Golden Wombat of Destiny]]. My cousin had the game, and we did quite well at | + | I first played a hacked version of the game released by [[Keypunch Software]] in the shovelware title, [[Swords and Sorcery]]. They re-titled the game "Golden Wombat," to try and confused buyers into thinking they were getting the [[Infocom]] game, [[The Golden Wombat of Destiny]]. My cousin had the game, and we did quite well at it, but the hacked copy did not include the game's documentation which caused us to miss key items. I remember my cousin called the ugly ogre an "ugly orgy," which caused my older brother to laugh, though my cousin and I didn't know why at the time. Finally, a friend of my cousin's, who had the real Castle Adventure game, told my cousin how to find the other items, and he beat the game. After watching him show me what we were missing, I later beat the game myself. |
| − | + | I have spent a fair amount of time hacking the Castle Adventure files and have successfully decoded the data. In the past, I've tried multiple times to recreate the game in [[Quick BASIC]] and [[Visual FoxPro]], but I've always got bored with my attempts and never finished a remake. | |
==Status== | ==Status== | ||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
| − | * The story is | + | * The story is lame. |
* There are a few bugs and typos in the game. | * There are a few bugs and typos in the game. | ||
| − | * Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. | + | * Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. A first-time player can beat it in an hour or so. |
| + | * The overly-simplified combat hurts the game. | ||
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
| − | * | + | * Without a frame limiter, it's impossible to beat the game on a PC that's even a little faster than what the game was designed for. |
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
| − | |||
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure] - MobyGames. | * [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure] - MobyGames. | ||
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure] - Wikipedia. | * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure] - Wikipedia. | ||
| + | * [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html] - My old site. | ||
| + | * [http://www.shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Castle_Adventure shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Castle_Adventure] - Modding Wiki. | ||
| Line 38: | Line 40: | ||
[[Category: Rouge-Like]] | [[Category: Rouge-Like]] | ||
[[Category: Dungeon Crawl]] | [[Category: Dungeon Crawl]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Black & White Graphics]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Fantasy]] | ||
[[Category: Games I've Beaten]] | [[Category: Games I've Beaten]] | ||
Revision as of 16:14, 11 September 2017
File:Castle Adventure - DOS - Title Screen.png
Title screen.
Castle Adventure is a text-based action-adventure game designed by Kevin Bales for DOS and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model. It owes a lot of its display to Rouge.
I first played a hacked version of the game released by Keypunch Software in the shovelware title, Swords and Sorcery. They re-titled the game "Golden Wombat," to try and confused buyers into thinking they were getting the Infocom game, The Golden Wombat of Destiny. My cousin had the game, and we did quite well at it, but the hacked copy did not include the game's documentation which caused us to miss key items. I remember my cousin called the ugly ogre an "ugly orgy," which caused my older brother to laugh, though my cousin and I didn't know why at the time. Finally, a friend of my cousin's, who had the real Castle Adventure game, told my cousin how to find the other items, and he beat the game. After watching him show me what we were missing, I later beat the game myself.
I have spent a fair amount of time hacking the Castle Adventure files and have successfully decoded the data. In the past, I've tried multiple times to recreate the game in Quick BASIC and Visual FoxPro, but I've always got bored with my attempts and never finished a remake.
Status
I have beaten Castle Adventure, though not with a perfect score.
Review
- Overall: 3/10
- Best Version: DOS
Good
- The game has some interesting character to it. The room descriptions are a nice touch, there are some jokes, and the parser makes the game feel more interactive than a typical rouge-like.
Bad
- The story is lame.
- There are a few bugs and typos in the game.
- Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. A first-time player can beat it in an hour or so.
- The overly-simplified combat hurts the game.
Ugly
- Without a frame limiter, it's impossible to beat the game on a PC that's even a little faster than what the game was designed for.
Links
- mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure - MobyGames.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure - Wikipedia.
- thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html - My old site.
- shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Castle_Adventure - Modding Wiki.
