''Black Lamp'' is a

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

, originally published by

Firebird Software Telecomsoft was a British video game publisher and a Division (business), division of British Telecom. The company was founded by Ederyn Williams, Dr. Ederyn Williams in 1984 and operated three separate labels: Firebird, Rainbird, and Silverbir ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

computers in 1988, and later published by

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

for the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

in 1989. The Atari ST version was included in the Atari ST Power Pack, a collection of 20 games which came with some editions of the computer system.

Plot

The game casts the player as Jack The Jester, in the fictional kingdom of Allegoria. According to the story, Jack has fallen in love with the Princess Grizelda, but knows the king would never allow his daughter to marry a lowly court jester. Unless, of course, he were to perform some kind of noble and heroic act. That chance comes for Jack the day a gang of dragons attack the kingdom, stealing the magical black lamp which protects the kingdom from harm. Without the lamp's protection the kingdom is soon overrun by monsters, so Jack sets off to recover the black lamp, save the kingdom, and hopefully win the hand of the fair princess.

Gameplay

The game is viewed from the side-on perspective typical of platform games. Jack, under the player's control, has to run, jump, climb and shoot his way through the kingdom of Allegoria in search of nine different coloured lamps, while under constant assault by all manner of creatures. Eight of the nine lamps may be found randomly scattered around the kingdom (in locations which change with each new game), but the ninth lamp, the black lamp, is guarded by a dragon which must be defeated before the lamp can be recovered. Each lamp must be returned to one of several lamp racks in the kingdom. As the player can only carry a single lamp at a time, this can mean a lot of traveling back and forth. Once all the lamps have been returned to the rack, the level is complete, and the player advances to the next level. The game takes place across a series of static and scrolling rooms, which are connected by doorways leading into the foreground or background, as well as up down, left and right. Several items can be picked up to assist the player *Food replenishes the player's health *Collecting 5 weapons gives the player temporarily increased firepower. *Collecting 5 musical instruments temporarily allows the player to fall from heights without being hurt. *Collecting 5 jewels gives the player temporary invincibility. Controlling Jack can be difficult, as unlike many more modern platform games like

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

where the character responds immediately to joystick input, Black Lamp moves the player in set increments of distance, so if the player starts walking in one direction, Jack cannot stop or turn around until he has taken a full step in that direction.

Music

In the Atari ST and Amiga versions of ''Black Lamp'', the title screen music is a version of

Elizabethan Serenade ''Elizabethan Serenade'' is a light music composition by Ronald Binge. When it was first played by the Mantovani orchestra in 1951, it was simply titled "Andante cantabile", although the original orchestral manuscript parts in Ronald Binge's ow ...

Ronald Binge Ronald Binge (15 July 1910 – 6 September 1979) was a British composer and arranger of light music. He arranged many of Mantovani's most famous pieces before composing his own music, which included ''Elizabethan Serenade'' and '' Sailing By''.A ...

, while the in-game music is a rendition of the

English folk song The folk music of England is a tradition-based music which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music traditionally was preserved and passed on orally wit ...

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...

. In the ZX Spectrum and C64 versions, the title screen music is an original piece by Tim Follin.

Reception

Black Lamp was generally well received by reviewers, with many praising the game's graphics and animation. Main criticisms of the game were its high difficulty level, and difficult control system.

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

magazine, issue 77 awarded the ST version 5/5 stating that "each screen is beautifully illustrated and populated with some really amazing creatures, all brilliantly animated".

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

, Aug 1988, gave the Amiga version 7/10, and described the scenery as "beautifully detailed".

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

issue 36 gave the Commodore 64 version 78/100, citing "startlingly good graphics", but "high difficulty level and awkward control".Unknown reviewer - Zzap!64 magazine, issue 36, April 1988, page 17

References

External links

*
''Black Lamp''
at Lemon Amiga

for the Atari ST at Atari Mania

for the Atari 8-bit family at Atari Mania {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Lamp (Video Game) 1988 video games Atari ST games Amiga games Commodore 64 games Atari 8-bit family games Telecomsoft games Video games about dragons Video games scored by Fred Gray Video games scored by Tim Follin Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Single-player video games