''Gateway to Apshai'' is an

action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...

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 W ...

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...

and

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, ...

, developed by The Connelley Group and published by

Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before ren ...

as a prequel to '' Temple of Apshai''. It is a more action-oriented version of ''Temple of Apshai'', with smoother and faster graphics, streamlined controls, fewer

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

elements, and fewer room descriptions. In ''Gateway to Apshai'' the

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

assumes the role of an unnamed adventurer, who tries to survive a series of increasingly difficult dungeon levels filled with both

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

and

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

s. Each level is played within a freely selectable dungeon. Level 8 of the dungeon perpetually repeats until the player runs out of

lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a '' life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...

, ending the game.

Plot

The player's character is summoned to the chambers of an old priest called Merlis, who informs him that he is the son of the greatest warrior of Apshai, and that it is written in the prophecy that only he can reclaim the fabled Temple of Apshai and rid the land of its monsters and curses. This game covers the Gateway to Apshai, which they have to clear in order to reach the Temple of Apshai.

Gameplay

The player is initially armed with a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

and clad in

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

. As play progresses, they obtain new weapons, armor, potions, eyeglasses, and scrolls containing magical spells. Various enemies, ranging from simple rats and

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

s to

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

s, inhabit the dungeon. The player must kill them with weapons or magical spells. The levels become progressively harder to survive as the player descends deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Each dungeon is covered in complete darkness that illuminates as the dungeon rooms and corridors are explored. The Gateway consists of 8 levels, each consisting of 16 dungeons, each consisting of 60 rooms, for a total of 7680 rooms.Gateway to Apshai Review
/ref> The player gets approximately six and a half minutes to explore each level. Once the time passes, if they are still alive, they advance to the next deeper level.

Reception

'' Softline'' called ''Gateway to Apshai'' "a ''great'' game ... enthralling". ''

Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, focusing on all Commodore color computers, but especially the Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 198 ...

'' praised the game's size and recommended that two people play together. It concluded that ''Gateway to Apshai'' "is a marvelous game, a must for ''D & D'' freaks". ''Hi-Res'' called the game "well designed, fun to play" and liked the graphics and sound, but criticized the lack of a

save game A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...

feature. ''The

Addison-Wesley Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles throug ...

Book of Atari Software 1984'' gave the game an overall B rating, concluding that it was "a better game in many ways" to ''Temple of Apshai'' because of the faster pace, fewer keyboard commands, and cartridge format. ''

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 w ...

'' rated the ColecoVision version 64% in 1989.

References

External links

''Gateway to Apshai''
at Atari Mania *
Map viewer and reverse engineering
{{Dunjonquest 1983 video games Action-adventure games Atari 8-bit family games ColecoVision games Commodore 64 games Epyx games Role-playing video games Video game prequels Video games developed in the United States Single-player video games