This is a game that I need to experience. Looks great and seems like it's full of adventure. Crash gave it 91% with a good review.
Any of you guys completed it?
Never did complete it, almost finished Dragontorc once though (I found it easier for some reason). Both awesome games... they may take a bit of getting used to (using the inventory/spells can be a bit fiddly at first), but once you do you'll be sucked in!!
One of my top 5. Amazing for the time and very atmospheric back then. Well worth taking a look at but you need to devote some serious time to do it justice.
I completed it back then and dragontorc too...though I used tips as I remember.
Lifelong fan of both Avalon & Dragontorc, and got quite far with Avalon back in the day. Eventually finished it but had to resort to tips on a couple of occasions. Puzzles are easier than the ones in Dun Darach though. :smile:
I possibly even preferred Avalon to Dragontorc at the time (I always got lost!), though I think they're both absorbing & full of atmosphere.
The menu selection controls are challenging to begin with, it gets a bit frantic trying to interact with objects when nasties are on your trail.
Yep a blinding game, but you may not have the patience to grapple with the control's.
I loved it in the day but had to resort to a walk through to complete it.
Ans: yes, as graphic adventures go, this was one of the best.
I didn't really get into Avalon, but got totally swept away by Dragontorc; it seemed to have a stronger backstory and you felt like you were going all over ancient Britain. The henges in particular were fantastic.
Tricky to control (unlike the more accessible, Dragontorc) it's still a brilliant game, one of the bestest adventuring games on the Speccy. Don't miss out on it. The puzzles are aimed just right, and given a bit of time, you WILL complete it. Fantastic.
Incidentally, did anyone move on to Astroclone after playing these two? If so, how did you get on with it?
Although it's not listed in the same series, it looks as if it shares a lot of the arcade adventure characteristics of Avalon & Dragontorc and the reviews seem to describe it as a logical progression from these.
I just wondered because I never got round to playing it. Looked a bit different. (Set in space, obviously :grin:).
I remember a little about it. It didn't work at all well if I remember correctly. A good idea, but nowhere near as well executed as the Avalon games.
Yeah, Astroclone was a bit naff. Too much reliance on the sideways shooty stage. Hewson should have finished the Avalon trilogy before attempting the final Seiddab game.
Would've been nice if ol' Wiz could've just put his bloody feet on the floor once in a while :evil:
He's astral-projecting, so he's got no need to. Though why he can't just float through the walls I do not know... Perhaps there's some psychic force blocking the way. Yeah, that must be it. :)
He's astral-projecting, so he's got no need to. Though why he can't just float through the walls I do not know... Perhaps there's some psychic force blocking the way. Yeah, that must be it. :)
Fair point :) It's a bit like the old line about Frogger - why does he drown when he falls in the lake?
I`ve never been to Avalon so I don`t know, I went to Bognor once, ONCE...
Oh you mean the game, it could have been great, but it was only a bit above average, bigger sprites would have been nice.
Every time I read that the oldest person in the world has died, I have to do a quick check to see it isn't ME..........
2 of the best games ever written in my opinion. Full of magic and atmosphere. I spent MANY hours exploring the worlds in both games but didn't really get very far. No matter though. I got lost more times than I care to remember.
Even now, I get this weird and warm feeling just by handling the game-boxes, looking at the inlays and inserts. I'm going to post them here, just so it gives me another excuse to look at them!:
I think these additions really added to the atmosphere.
Never really played 'Astroclone'. I tried and nothing really seemed to click with me. I couldn't get immersed in the world like I could with the previous 2. So I didn't really bother.
Lovely! Yeah, nice to see 'em in all their glory. I gotta play them again. I remember writing a two page review for Retro Classix magazine, many long moons ago. Blimey, the amount of hours I've put into those games, yet it's always a pleasure to go back to 'em.
I bought mine in the special card-sleeved doublepack (1985 I think) It was a toss-up between that, or 'Orm & Cheep - Narrow Squeaks.' I think I chose wisely!
I've only ever seen one other doublepack on ebay, and I didn't win it :( I threw my outer sleeve away, y'see. Silly boy!
I'm surprised that he says he was disappointed with the packaging! :-o Looking back I'd say they were pretty iconic (even if they didn't fit nicely in your cassette holders.!)
I'm surprised that he says he was disappointed with the packaging! :-o Looking back I'd say they were pretty iconic (even if they didn't fit nicely in your cassette holders.!)
Interesting. Notice he gets the name of 'Dragontorc' wrong and calls it 'Dragonwrath'!
It's a shame neither of the games had a loading screen though, I always thought that having one used to, when done right, set up the mood for the game. A good loading screen would have made it seem even better!
And he didn't like the boxes? I liked them and the little bits you got in them! :)
I'm surprised that he says he was disappointed with the packaging! :-o Looking back I'd say they were pretty iconic (even if they didn't fit nicely in your cassette holders.!)
Thanks for that link, it was a great little read that. I'm not that surprised about him being disappointed with the packaging, the Ultimate boxes were so great and Avalon & Dragontorc definitely justified the use of them as they had nice artwork and extra things like maps. From his perspective it may have been a shame that all the extra parts ended up as fold outs to the case cover rather than separate extras that fit in a nice Ultimate style box. In fact, I think most of the Hewson stuff would have looked great in those style boxes.
As for the games themselves, Avalon had a very distinct and cool looking graphic style, the control was finicky and unfortunately due to only being able to play this around a friend's house, I never was able to master it and get into the game properly but I enjoyed playing it when I did. I've got original copies of both Avalon & Dragontorc now, although I haven't been able to find the time to really play them in depth yet but it's on my list of things to do.
Incidentally, did anyone move on to Astroclone after playing these two? If so, how did you get on with it?
Although it's not listed in the same series, it looks as if it shares a lot of the arcade adventure characteristics of Avalon & Dragontorc and the reviews seem to describe it as a logical progression from these.
I just wondered because I never got round to playing it. Looked a bit different. (Set in space, obviously :grin:).
I finished Dragontorc back in the day, and then went out and bought Avalon but like others here I found the original much harder and never managed to finish it. Once you get into the control system and the way you float around at great speed they were both great games.
I bought and played Astrocolone and quite liked it, but only ever got about two thirds of the way through before running out of spaceships. The arcade shoot 'em up section defeated me in the end which was a shame as I really wanted to finish it. One day I might give it another go!
Comments
Never did complete it, almost finished Dragontorc once though (I found it easier for some reason). Both awesome games... they may take a bit of getting used to (using the inventory/spells can be a bit fiddly at first), but once you do you'll be sucked in!!
I completed it back then and dragontorc too...though I used tips as I remember.
Oh, and the game is pretty good too!
https://discordapp.com/invite/cZt59EQ
I possibly even preferred Avalon to Dragontorc at the time (I always got lost!), though I think they're both absorbing & full of atmosphere.
The menu selection controls are challenging to begin with, it gets a bit frantic trying to interact with objects when nasties are on your trail.
I loved it in the day but had to resort to a walk through to complete it.
Ans: yes, as graphic adventures go, this was one of the best.
I recall a lot of tense gameplay, trying to get through doors pursued by bad guys and just bouncing repeatedly off the frame.
I also remember trying to navigate through the spell book to get a spell off before the bad guys get a touch on you.
Both cracking games and two of the few speccy games I did complete
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Although it's not listed in the same series, it looks as if it shares a lot of the arcade adventure characteristics of Avalon & Dragontorc and the reviews seem to describe it as a logical progression from these.
I just wondered because I never got round to playing it. Looked a bit different. (Set in space, obviously :grin:).
https://discordapp.com/invite/cZt59EQ
Yeah, Astroclone was a bit naff. Too much reliance on the sideways shooty stage. Hewson should have finished the Avalon trilogy before attempting the final Seiddab game.
Would've been nice if ol' Wiz could've just put his bloody feet on the floor once in a while :evil:
He's astral-projecting, so he's got no need to. Though why he can't just float through the walls I do not know... Perhaps there's some psychic force blocking the way. Yeah, that must be it. :)
Fair point :) It's a bit like the old line about Frogger - why does he drown when he falls in the lake?
https://discordapp.com/invite/cZt59EQ
Oh you mean the game, it could have been great, but it was only a bit above average, bigger sprites would have been nice.
You poor, poor chap. *Nods in commiseration*
Even now, I get this weird and warm feeling just by handling the game-boxes, looking at the inlays and inserts. I'm going to post them here, just so it gives me another excuse to look at them!:
I think these additions really added to the atmosphere.
Never really played 'Astroclone'. I tried and nothing really seemed to click with me. I couldn't get immersed in the world like I could with the previous 2. So I didn't really bother.
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
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lovely plastic cases with instructions with the inlay if i recall
Yes, that's right. Two of the few original Speccy tapes I still own...
I bought mine in the special card-sleeved doublepack (1985 I think) It was a toss-up between that, or 'Orm & Cheep - Narrow Squeaks.' I think I chose wisely!
I've only ever seen one other doublepack on ebay, and I didn't win it :( I threw my outer sleeve away, y'see. Silly boy!
http://www.graftgold.com/
Under the games section.
I'm surprised that he says he was disappointed with the packaging! :-o Looking back I'd say they were pretty iconic (even if they didn't fit nicely in your cassette holders.!)
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
Interesting. Notice he gets the name of 'Dragontorc' wrong and calls it 'Dragonwrath'!
It's a shame neither of the games had a loading screen though, I always thought that having one used to, when done right, set up the mood for the game. A good loading screen would have made it seem even better!
And he didn't like the boxes? I liked them and the little bits you got in them! :)
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
Thanks for that link, it was a great little read that. I'm not that surprised about him being disappointed with the packaging, the Ultimate boxes were so great and Avalon & Dragontorc definitely justified the use of them as they had nice artwork and extra things like maps. From his perspective it may have been a shame that all the extra parts ended up as fold outs to the case cover rather than separate extras that fit in a nice Ultimate style box. In fact, I think most of the Hewson stuff would have looked great in those style boxes.
As for the games themselves, Avalon had a very distinct and cool looking graphic style, the control was finicky and unfortunately due to only being able to play this around a friend's house, I never was able to master it and get into the game properly but I enjoyed playing it when I did. I've got original copies of both Avalon & Dragontorc now, although I haven't been able to find the time to really play them in depth yet but it's on my list of things to do.
I finished Dragontorc back in the day, and then went out and bought Avalon but like others here I found the original much harder and never managed to finish it. Once you get into the control system and the way you float around at great speed they were both great games.
I bought and played Astrocolone and quite liked it, but only ever got about two thirds of the way through before running out of spaceships. The arcade shoot 'em up section defeated me in the end which was a shame as I really wanted to finish it. One day I might give it another go!