''Necromancer'' is an action game created by
Bill Williams 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, ...
and published by
Synapse Software
Synapse Software Corporation (marketed as SynSoft in the UK) was an American video game development and publishing company founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit family, then later developed for th ...
in 1982. A port to 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 ...
followed in 1983. The game was rereleased 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 ...
on cartridge in the style of the
Atari XEGS
The Atari XE Video Game System (Atari XEGS) is an industrial redesign of the Atari 65XE home computer and the final model in the Atari 8-bit family. It was released by Atari Corporation in 1987 and marketed as a home video game console alongsid ...
in 1987.
The player controls the wizard Illuminar who attempts to grow an army of trees to attack Tetragorn the Necromancer and his evil minions who are attempting to take over a graveyard. The game is divided into three sections with unique gameplay, and the player's success in each affects the one that follows it.
Gameplay
''Necromancer'' consists of three sections, as in a three-act play: The Forest, The Vaults, The Graveyard.
The Forest
Illuminar stands fixed in the middle of the screen. Moving the joystick controls his "wisp", a magical boomerang-like device. Pressing the fire button plants a seed that will slowly grow into a tree in several stages to adulthood. Ogres appear from both sides of the screen, walking across it horizontally. If they walk over an immature tree, the tree shrinks back one stage of growth, eventually disappearing. Spiders periodically appear and move randomly about the screen. If they move over a fully grown tree it becomes poisoned, and will eventually die. Both enemies can be vanquished by touching them with the wisp, which will also cure poisoned trees.
Eye-Pods containing additional seeds periodically appear and can be picked up with the wisp. The speed of the action increases continually through the level until it becomes hectic.
The Vaults
Every tree that survives the first level becomes Illuminar's ally in the second: The Vaults. Here the player enters a five-level side-view map of a crypt filled with spider eggs. Using the wisp, the player selects trees and moves them over the coffins where their roots grow into the roof of the coffins and eventually break through to crush the eggs lying below. If they take too long, the spider will hatch and attack the trees until the wisp kills them. Periodically the Hands of Fate descend from the roof, picking up anything below them and sometimes dropping prizes.
The player must move through the vaults while all of this takes place, capturing question-mark prizes in order to extend ladders needed to reach lower levels. On this level, moving the joystick normally moves Illuminar, but holding down the fire button freezes him in place and moves the wisp instead.
The Graveyard
The final confrontation between Illuminar and Tetragorn takes place in a graveyard. Gravestones appear that must be destroyed by walking over them in order to prevent Tetragorn from appearing. When he does—and there are always enough gravestones to ensure this—he shoots off trails of fire that injure Illuminar as he moves about. Any spider eggs that were not destroyed in the vaults also turn into spiders that attack Illuminar. The wisp can be used to banish either enemy, although while it is in use, Illuminar remains fixed in place.
Each hit by any enemy on Illuminar reduces his power and eventually kills him, although the periodic appearance of small rings of power will improve his life power again.
Reception
Hosea Battles Jr reviewed the game for ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' and stated that "This is definitely one of the best games in the Synapse line for the Atari. Even the best arcader will have a difficult time defeating the wizard and reaching level five of Act Three."
''Necromancer'' was noted for its oddball concepts and frenetic gameplay. A ''
Creative Computing
''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...
'' review claimed it "is one of the strangest, yet most imaginative, games I have ever played on the Atari computer", and "Necromancer is well-conceived and beautifully implemented. The sound and graphics are out of this world." Brian Bagnall considered it one of William's most notable releases on the Atari, among a notable career. Reviewers continued to pour on the praise even decades later, and it remains a common fixture of articles on
retrogaming
Retrogaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the current playing and collection of obsolete personal computers, consoles, and video games. Usually, retrogaming is based upon systems that are outmoded or discontinued, alt ...
.
[Matt Barton and Bill Loguidice]
"A History of Gaming Platforms: Atari 8-Bit Computers"
''Gamasutra'', 2010[
]
References
External links
*{{moby game, id=/necromancer
1982 video games
Action video games
Atari 8-bit family games
Commodore 64 games
Single-player video games
Synapse Software games
Video games about plants
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in cemeteries