''Wings of Death'' is a 1990

vertically scrolling shooter A vertically scrolling video game or vertical scroller is a video game in which the Player (game), player views the field of play principally from a top-down perspective, while the background Scrolling, scrolls from the top of the screen to the bot ...

developed by Eclipse Software and published by

Thalion Software The company was formed by members of the Atari ST demoscene in October 1988, in Gütersloh, Germany. The main aim of Thalion Software was to produce cutting edge technology games. Despite the technical quality, sales of the games never really mat ...

for the

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 ...

, then ported to 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 ...

. In ''Wings of Death'', the player controls a mage turned into a winged creature on a quest to defeat a wicked witch. The game was well received and was followed by the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

-themed sequel ''

Lethal Xcess ''Lethal Xcess'', also known as ''Lethal Xcess: Wings of Death II'' or just ''Wings of Death II'', is a shoot 'em up game developed by two members of demo crew X-Troll and published by Eclipse Software in 1991 for the Atari ST and Amiga. It is a ...

'' in 1991.

Gameplay

Despite its

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

setting, ''Wings of Death'' is a standard vertically scrolling shooter in which multiple enemies in formation enter the screen from above and can either be avoided or destroyed to release

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...

s. Each weapon can be upgraded several times, yielding generally more powerful versions. Changing to another weapon resets the player's upgrades. The player may transform into several forms, including a giant eagle, a griffon, and a dragon.

Plot

A spell of the evil witch queen Xandrilia transformed her hated rival, the magician Sagyr, into a winged creature. Now the player's role is to guide Sagyr in his quest to defeat the witch for once and for all, and revert into a human being. His quest takes place through seven levels, from Sagyr's castle to Xandrilia's domain.

Reception

Trenton Webb of ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ''ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format t ...

'', who gave the Amiga version a review rating of 76%, wrote ''Wings of Death'' is "chaotic fun, but relies too heavily on luck." Paul Roundell of ''

Amiga Computing ''Amiga Computing'' was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later ''Amiga Action'' was incorporated i ...

'' later opined the game was "underrated on its release."''Amiga Computing'' 60
page 110

Legacy

A sequel to ''Wings of Death'' was released in 1991 for the same platforms. In it, the returning Sagyr fights on against Xandrilia's descendants after being transported into a distant future.

References

External links

''Wings of Death''
at Lemon Amiga

at Atari Mania *{{in lang, fr}
''Blazing Wings''
(Windows remake) 1990 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Video games about dragons Eclipse Software Design games Fantasy video games Vertically scrolling shooters Single-player video games Video games developed in Germany Video games scored by Jochen Hippel Video games about witchcraft Video games about curses Thalion Software games