''Citadel 2'' is a

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

game developed by Symo for

Superior Software Superior Software Ltd (also known as Superior Interactive) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windows ...

. The sequel to ''

Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

'', it is a

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

with puzzle solving elements. Like the original, the game's plot involves finding five gems hidden in various locations in a large fort, together with areas outside it (including mines, three trees, a lodge and a floating sky castle) and destroying them in a teleporter hidden at the bottom of a well. The game was released in 1993 on Superior's ''Play It Again Sam'' (''PIAS'') ''18'' compilation, which also included the games ''Nevryon'', ''Holed Out'', and '' E-Type''. To win the game, the player must achieve a score of 100% by solving the various puzzles. Anyone completing the game without cheating was issued a signed congratulatory certificate by quoting the completion message.

Gameplay

''Citadel 2'' has a number of distinctive features. Unlike many other

platform games Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

, the player is not automatically killed if they come into contact with monsters or other hazards; instead the player is allocated a set amount of energy, measured by a number, which is depleted through contact, which can be replenished by collecting scrolls marked with a plus sign. In addition scrolls marked with a minus sign are present which will drain the player of half their health. If the player continuously loses too much energy in a room, the screen turns red and the player is transported back to where they entered the room. This prevents players from passing through a room simply by walking through enemies and taking the damage. Most enemies cannot be destroyed, only avoided. The exceptions to this is a homing bee which must be destroyed using a smoker, and eight immobile guards which must be shot with a pistol. The pistol only has 16 shots so the player had to be accurate. In addition to the gems, various other items are located throughout the game which can be collected and used to solve puzzles in order to obtain the gems. These include sixteen coloured keys which open doors of the same colour, giving access to other areas of the game; an

oxygen tank An oxygen tank is an oxygen storage vessel, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders, or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank. Uses Oxygen tanks are used to store gas for: * medical breathing at medical facilities and at home ...

which whilst carried allows the player to breathe underwater; barrels which can be jumped on to reach high areas ordinarily out of reach, and many others. Springs can be used go gain access to high up areas. The game features an apple object which generates reverse

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

when placed in special locations and is required to access certain areas. The player is limited to carrying two items at any one time and a certain combination of objects in their

inventory Inventory (American English) or stock (British English) refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation. Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying the shap ...

is often needed to solve particular problems. For example, an oil can is needed to open the drawbridge near the starting screen. As a tribute to the game ''

Atic Atac ''Atic Atac'' is an arcade-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, released for the ZX Spectrum and the BBC Micro in 1983. The game takes place within a castle in which the player must seek out the "Golden Key of ...

'', a two-part key is required to get past the wall blocking access to the teleporter. Objects are found on special bases which limits where the player can pick up and drop them. The game feature two taps which have to be placed on rare vertical bases. All of the items scattered throughout the game are needed to complete it, with the exception of the beaker which was originally meant to be filled with water to destroy fires or with acid (in the pool above the Pit room) to temporarily destroy any creature. However memory limitations meant that this feature was cut although the beaker remained. Placing a barrel on the base in the

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

screen allowed the player to jump right onto the rope and climb up to a secret screen titled ''wer''. This was meant to lead to a special set of screens for the

BBC Master The BBC Master is a home computer released by Acorn Computers in early 1986. It was designed and built for the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was the successor to the BBC Micro, BBC Micro Model B. The Master 128 remained in produ ...

version which was never written. A black and white pixel appears, corrupting the energy bar. This still mystifies the game author to this day. A god mode cheat could be activated by typing the word ''clare'' while the game was loading; Clare was the programmer's girlfriend at the time.

Development

The original name of the game was ''The Fort'', but was changed by the game

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. This can be seen with the naming of the various sections of the main game area. ''PIAS 18'' was in fact

's last release for the BBC Micro.

External links

''Citadel 2'' website by the programmer

''Citadel 2'' information on bbcmicro.co.uk
{{Superior Software 1993 video games Platformers Superior Software games Video games developed in the United Kingdom BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron-only games Single-player video games