''Morpheus'' is a 1987

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

developed by

Graftgold Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms. History The Hewson Era The studio Graftgold was formed in 1983, whe ...

for the

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 published by Rainbird. The game's designer,

Andrew Braybrook Andrew Braybrook (born 1960) is a software engineer and former game programmer. He created video games such as ''Paradroid'', ''Gribbly's Day Out'', '' Fire and Ice'', ''Uridium'' and ''Morpheus''. He also programmed the Commodore Amiga and Atar ...

, wrote a series of articles on the game's creation for the magazine ''

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 ...

'' over eight months.

Gameplay

''Morpheus'' features 50 subuniverses called Aithers, each of which consists of a central Nucleus surrounded by obstacles called Orbitals. The aim of the game is for players to break through the obstacles to destroy the Nucleus, and by the end of level 50, Morpheus as a whole. Players will also encounter enemies such as Morphii and aliens which can be killed for points. Morpheus allows players to use points earned to purchase weapons, and customize various features of their ships, such as auxiliary weapons and expansion ports to allow various gameplay possibilities.

Reception

'' magazines positively reviewed the game and awarded it a Sizzler rating with an overall score of 90%. They described it as "without a doubt one of the most finely constructed games ever written for the 64". The graphics were praised, but reviewers noted that the gameplay style significantly departed from Braybrook's previous games. Reviewers recommended that readers try the game before purchasing. Although technically accomplished, it might not appeal to everyone. Many Commodore Users were also enthusiastic about the game, saying it "reeks of quality". Their only criticism was the lack of a game save and load facility. ''

'' gave it a 9 out of 10 rating.

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 ...

' reviews were less enthusiastic about the game, which they considered a disappointment, noting "the originality of the game is great, but the gameplay is extremely laborious." The reviewer believed the music and sound effects were the best thing about the game, saying it was "visually very good." They advised potential purchasers to try the game first. It was rated 7/10.

References

External links

*{{lemon64 game, id=1720, name=Morpheus
''Morpheus''
box and manual at C64Sets.com 1987 video games Commodore 64 games Commodore 64-only games Graftgold games Multiplayer and single-player video games Shoot 'em ups Telecomsoft games Video games developed in the United Kingdom sv:Morpheus (datorspel)