''The Eidolon'' was one of two games that were part of
Lucasfilm Games' second wave in December 1985.
The other was ''
Koronis Rift''. Both took advantage of the
fractal technology developed for ''
Rescue on Fractalus!
''Rescue On Fractalus!'' is a 1985 first-person shooter computer game created by Lucasfilm Games. It was originally released for the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200 games console. It was also ported to other popular platforms of the day, ...
'',
further enhancing it. In ''The Eidolon'', ''Rescues fractal mountains were turned upside down and became the inside of a cave.
In addition to common
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
formats, the Atari and Commodore 64 versions were supplied on a
floppy disk. One side had the Atari version, and the other had the Commodore 64 version. The Atari version required an XL/XE with 64kB or more memory.
Plot
The player discovers the Eidolon, a strange 19th-century vehicle, in an abandoned
laboratory
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physic ...
. As the player investigates this device, he is accidentally transported to another dimension and is trapped in a vast,
maze-like
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
. The creatures in this cave, sensing the energy emanating from the Eidolon, are woken from a long slumber, and the player soon finds that his only chance of survival lies in this mysterious vehicle and its powerful energy weapon.
Gameplay
The objective of ''The Eidolon'' is to successfully navigate through all of the game's levels, defeating the
dragon guardian at the end of each level. The player navigates through each maze and collects energy orbs, which come in four different colors (
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
,
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...
,
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
and
blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
). Along the way, various enemies wake up and attack the Eidolon, attempting to absorb its energy. Some enemies also fire orbs at the Eidolon, of which all but the red orbs can be absorbed by pressing the space bar at the right time to replenish the Eidolon's limited energy.
Green orbs also have the power to transform other enemies into different kinds of enemies. Blue orbs can freeze enemies temporarily, giving the player a momentary advantage in a fight.
Each level contains three
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
s, each guarded by an enemy of a specific color. After defeating each of these enemies and collecting the diamonds, the player can proceed to the dragon that guards the exit. There are eight levels in a game. The game is over when the player has successfully defeated the final dragon or runs out of time.
Reception
''
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 ...
'' gave the game a Gold Medal award, with an overall 97% score. The summary of th
reviewsfrom their three reviewers was "Lucasfilm's most original release yet, containing outstanding graphics and gameplay elements. ''The Eidolon'' is both immaculate in conception and execution. Not to be missed".
Gregg Williams of ''
Computer Gaming World'' disliked ''The Eidolon''. He stated that it was as difficult as ''Koronis Rift'' but with no save game feature. While praising the graphics and sound, Ardai criticized the game for "a lack of imagination. You get transported to god-knows-where ... and you basically shoot everything in sight. Is this a reasonable—let alone responsible—way to explore a new world?"
Charles Ardai later described the game in the magazine as "one of the worst" of 1986.
The game was positively reviewed in a retrospective article in ''
Retro Gamer
''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...
'' magazine. It was praised for being "wonderfully atmospheric" due to the technical achievement of the fractally created environment. It was also considered to be the most ambitious and original release of the 3 Lucasfilm games which used fractal routines. Overall it was described as "a fascinating snapshot of gaming history that showed how innovative, immersive and tense a first-person style arcade-adventure could be on 8-bit platforms".
References
External links
''The Eidolon''at Atari Mania
*
*
from archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eidolon, The
1985 video games
Amstrad CPC games
Apple II games
Atari 8-bit family games
Commodore 64 games
Epyx games
Fantasy video games
First-person shooters
LucasArts games
MSX games
Steampunk video games
Video games developed in the United States
ZX Spectrum games