Psygnosis
Price: £24.95
"Can you become Hegor the famous dragon-slaying,
monster-mangling Barbarian?" That's what Psygnosis would like to
know.
I have not been a great fan of Psygnosis games but
their latest release, Barbarian, is truly magnificent. Psygnosis
have really pulled out all the stops to bring us their best game
yet.
The whole package is one of extreme quality. The
packaging, as always, is very good. Inside the box you will find two
disks, an instruction sheet, a novella, and a fantastic poster
created especially for the game by Roger Dean. The story leading up
to the game is quite long and complicated, but I shall attempt to
describe the basic plot of the game: You are Hegor, son of the
famous hunter and dragon slayer, Thoron. Many years ago, Thoron was
killed by the dragon Vulcuran, who is guardian to the evil Necron.
The surprising thing is that Necron is your fathers brother, who was
killed by your father many years ago in an attempt to free a city
from Necron's evil reign. Necron's soul was not destroyed when
Thoron killed him, and it is this which lives on, wreaking havoc
upon villages and towns by sending hell dogs and ape men to steal
children and animals. Your task is to enter the underground world of
Durgan, where Necron has constructed his lair, and to destroy it
thus avenging the death of your
beloved father.
In order to complete the game you must destroy the
crystal which is the source of the evil power of Necron. Once the
crystal has been destroyed, the volcano in which Durgan is situated
will begin to erupt, making it imperative that you reach the surface
again before it blows. The time it takes you to destroy Necron's
crystal, is not only your score for the game, but also the time
which you have to get back to safety at the end of the game.
Hegor can be controlled by any combination of
mouse / keyboard / joystick, and as with all Psygnosis games so far
(with the exception of Arena) the mouse is probably the best form of
control. You manipulate Hegor mostly with a group of icons at the
bottom of the screen, which enable you to do such things as run,
jump, attack, defend, flee, etc. etc.
That's what the game's about and how you play it
but what are the graphics and sounds like? As we now come to expect
from Psygnosis the graphics are absolutely superb. Whilst loading
the game, you are treated to three really good pictures. The first
is the now familiar Psygnosis logo drawn in many shades of grey and
blue, which has been on all of Psygnosis' recent games. After a
short while the 'Barbarian' logo appears with a fantastic picture of
your character wielding a great broadsword. Psygnosis games usually
have good title screens and this is definitely their best yet.
You are next prompted to insert the second disk,
and a few seconds later you are treated to probably the best picture
I have seen on a computer game. The Roger Dean poster found in the
packaging has been reproduced faithfully on the screen, complete
with the red dragon (presumably Vulcuran, Necron's guardian)
standing over the waterfall and the eerie forest background. The
loading screens aren't the only impressive pieces of artwork within
the game. The backgrounds, and especially the sprites, are also
excellent. Your character, Hegor, for example is drawn in many
shades of brown, and he has long flowing blonde hair. Around his
wrists he wears large silver wristbands, depicted in several shades
of grey. The attacking hordes are equally well drawn. The number of
these evil creatures in the game is quite overwhelming. I have to
date only completed about 25% of the game and I have encountered at
least ten or eleven different creatures, each having its own way of
attacking you. Some attack with swords or axes, hell hounds attack
with their teeth, others just jump on you (or through you!). Once
you have got the hang of the game some of the earlier creatures are
easily disposed of with your mighty sword.
The sound in Barbarian is as impressive as the
graphics. As we have now come to expect from a lot of the more
recent games, the sound effects are digitized, thus giving a very
realistic feel to the game. Most of Hegor's moves are accompanied by
some kind of cry or grunt. Ones of note are when he attacks a
creature, gasping and grunting with each blow, and then when he runs
away. He drops everything he is carrying, cries for help and then
runs off in the opposite direction! All of the creatures have their
own noises as well, for example the Hell Dogs bark, the enormous
muscular guards go around making sounds like they are saying 'duh!',
which gives the impression that they are a bit on the thick side
(which indeed they are!). One of my favourite sounds in the game is
when there is a very large creature of some kind clad totally in
armour, and each step he takes towards you is accompanied by a
metallic 'clump'.
So what's my conclusion about Barbarian then?
Well, I think that it is most definitely Psygnosis' best game yet,
and it deserves to sell well. The graphics are superb and although
the animation is a little jerky in places, you don't really notice
it. The sound is very good and adds a great deal of atmosphere to
the game.
The packaging is great, as usual, and the novella
that comes with the game is very well written, containing a few
cryptic clues to help you in completing the game. Overall, this is
an excellent game which most experienced gamesters will enjoy
because it is both entertaining and humorous.
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