''Dracula'' is a

text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

game by CRL released in 1986 for the Commodore 64,

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 the ''ZX81 Colou ...

home computers. The game is based on the novel '' Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. It was the first video game to be rated by the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

. The game received a 15 certificate.

Plot

An English lawyer travels to Carpathia to meet

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

regarding a routine property transaction, but soon learns that his client has sinister ulterior intentions.

Gameplay

The game is a standard text adventure with static graphics in some locations. It is divided into three parts: *"First Night" - The young solicitor arrives in Count Dracula's country, staying at the Golden Krone Hotel; strange events are observed *"The Arrival" - After an eventful journey, he arrives at Dracula's castle, and soon learns the real nature of his host's intentions; he realizes that he must escape if he is to survive... *"The Hunt" - A psychiatrist at an insane asylum in England receives a strange letter from a friend on business overseas, warning of "boxes of earth" and the "undead"; meanwhile a patient at the asylum grows increasingly disturbed...

Reception

The game received a "15" certificate from the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

because of the gory images it contains. However, CRL expressed disappointment with this as they had hoped for an "18" certificate.

Legacy

CRL followed ''Dracula'' with three further adventures of a similar style, ''Frankenstein'', ''Jack the Ripper'' and ''

Wolfman In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

'', all of which also received BBFC ratings.

References

External links

*
''Dracula''
at Lemon 64 * {{CRL Group 1980s horror video games 1980s interactive fiction 1986 video games Adventure games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games CRL Group games Interactive fiction based on works Single-player video games Video games about vampires Video games based on Dracula Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in castles ZX Spectrum games