Dark Castle

The Good
I loved the Mac version of this game, so was excited to try it out when it came out for my platform of choice, the Amiga. While I was a little put-off by the cover art--it looked rushed and lacking--I was eager to give it a try.

The graphics, while in color--a feature the Mac lacked--were lower-resolution than the Mac version, but the developers used the Amiga's wide range of colors to minimize this shortcoming. The other artwork and digitized sound were carefully ported and--in some cases--completely remastered.

The Bad
The artwork and sound were about the only good things about this port of the game. The gameplay was uninspired and frustrating. My friends and I mastered the Mac version's controls and knew all the tricks needed to pass each level. This version seemed to completely ignore the Mac version's carefully tuned control system. Instead of being able to master Duncan's arm position for one level as on the Mac, the Amiga version's controls seemed random. The player couldn't be assured of a "hit" as he could on the Mac version: it was more or less up to chance. So passing a level relied on frustrating repetition instead of skill, which got old quickly.

I was so disappointed with this port that I quickly gave up on it, despite the $30 or $40 I shelled out for it. I was never able to finish the Mac version due to the lack of access to a Mac for extended periods of time. I was never able to finish this version because it was unbearable to play.

If you want to play the game, play the original Mac version in glorious monochrome graphics. This version has more eye candy, but is ultimately a frustrating experience.

The Bottom Line
A feeble attempt to re-create a classic, ground-breaking game on the Mac. It was clear the developers fell well short of the mark. Instead they created a game for the dustbin of history.

The Good
I worked at a software store when this game came out. Though we didn't carry it, several co-workers and I spent hours playing it and learning the precise controls to beat each level. We loved this game, right from the opening credits with the digitized sample of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to the animation within the game and the humorous death sequences.

Through experimentation, we learned the precise positioning of Duncan's arm needed to defeat the bats in one level and the timing for the boulders in another. The developers used the high resolution Macintosh display to full effect for this game.

The Bad
The only drawback to this game was that--at the time--it wasn't available for any other platform but Macintosh. It also lacked a save game feature, but so did most other video games of the era.

The Bottom Line
Great platformer with innovative graphics and sound for the nearly game-less 80s-era Macintosh.

The Good
Dark Castle is a platform game that relies more on timing and careful planning than quick reflexes and shooting things. It's clever--a thinking man's platformer.

One thing that contributes to this is a completely 360 degree firing direction. When you throw a rock, you can rotate your arm to any angle. This takes time to learn effectively, but after about half an hour, it really helps knock out some enemies threatening to get you.

I don't usually talk about ports, since games should really be evaluated amongst their peers on the same platform, but I feel I really must talk about it: It must have been a herculean effort to port this game to the PC. The entire game was first created on the classic Macintosh, which is a 512x384 1-bit (black and white) screen, while the PC at that time used a 320x200 2-bit (4 colors) screen. All of the playfields and sprites needed to be redrawn and the game logic rewritten to fit the smaller resolution of CGA. But even with those obstacles, the PC port really shines. The game physics feel identical to the Mac, and the solutions to each screen remain the same. In fact, some screens are improved, as they use some color which the Mac didn't have at that time. They even managed to include the same digitized sound.

The Bad
The digitized speech went the opposite direction from the graphics, from 8-bit sound to 1-bit sound through the PC speaker. It is very distorted, but audible.

Some of the areas you need to get through are extremely difficult and frustrating. For example, you can spend 5 minutes getting to a jump that must be timed properly, then missing the jump, then having to do it all over again.

The Bottom Line
Dark Castle is clever and funny. You owe it to yourself to try it out.

The Good
For an early Sega Genesis game, the graphics are okay and so is the sound. The AI isn't that bad either, though it has one flaw.

The Bad
Almost everything in this game is bad. As I said above, the AI has one flaw: some of the enemies might take some time to realize you are close to them. But, that's not all. The controls are bad, the main character is a coward in this port of the game that makes goofy sounds and there is only ONE song that plays during the game. Wait, why do I call it a song when it's just one part of "Toccata and Fugue" that loops? Also, the aiming system used to throw rocks at enemies should have been removed from this version. It doesn't work well on a Sega Genesis. Also, if you jump from a high place, the character might stop moving in mid-air for a second or two, and then keep falling, until he collides with the floor and dies. I forgot to mention that, in the game there is a cute-looking dragon. Isn't this game supposed to be scary? Oh well.

The Bottom Line
The only thing that makes this game scary is the fact that it sucks. The Macintosh port is the real deal.

The Good
I do not recall when or where I played this game, but I do recall I have played the game and that I was still in elementary school when I did. Regardless, I do recall that this was probably one of the "real games" that later defined what PC games came to be...although it seems it was a port.

One distinctive aspect about certain games in this era of gaming was that it was a combination or compilation if you will, of many action games packaged into one neat game. Unlike most platform games where basically most of the gameplay is practically similar from beginning to end, Black Castle introduced different types a little more different style of gameplay for each "level" or in this case "room", with different monsters, different puzzles, different action strategies. This "many action games into one" concept evolved into a similar game called Hillsfar.

The non-linear action game (during that time anyway) made the game quite addictive as you keep trying to find new ways "not to die" and the process of figuring out new areas and the process of interacting via trial and error (e.g. can I climb those ropes) certainly intrigues your curiosity to a certain extent.

The Bad
Although the game provided a major upgrade in gameplay as well as new features, the is not without many irritating features...repeat irritating.

Movement controls were upmost horrible. Walking, especially jumping and walking down the stairs require precise timing but the controls were kind of slow and grogy, often resulting in certain death.

Monsters keep regenerating endlessly, some bigger monsters only pass-out for a short period of time, in addition to your limited number of rocks you can throw makes it a little frustrating, not to mention trying to aim to the direction you want is worse than climbing and jumping combined sometimes.

I don't think I've actually passed any one room in the game, as it was very difficult to complete the level without being knocked by some flying bat or scurry rat. Regardless, it was fun for a while.

The Bottom Line
Nice ol' little classic...with a lot of great new features back then.

The Good
... The rendition of Toccata and Fugue in D minor is good, I guess? But still, you'll probably be sick of it the 30th time it plays.

The Bad
Literally everything else. The controls suck ass, the rotating rock throws, getting dizzy/fainting after falling from 5 pixels, and those goddamn annoying bat sounds. And here's a fun fact: the items to defeat the Black Knight are USELESS. You just need to push a couple levers and THAT'S IT! THERE ARE SPEEDRUNS OF THIS GAME THAT ARE UNDER 3 MINUTES. I'm not making this up.

The Bottom Line
Yes, the same EA that milked FIFA annually published this waste of plastic. The original Macintosh game is good, but if you see the Genesis version, just go ahead and burn it. Don't get me started on the CD-I version too...