Enemy - Tempest of Violence

Enemy - Tempest of Violence is a computer game for Commodore Amiga that was published by Anachronia in 1997. It is an action adventure game for one or two players. In December 2013, a sequel called Enemy 2 - Missing In Action was released.

Game design

Game world

There are a total of 34 levels to be mastered. The player takes on the role of different characters and has to fulfill a list of specific tasks in each level. The game environment consists of spaceship sectors, which in turn are divided into individual, screen-sized rooms. The use of scrolling has been omitted. The player works or fights his way from room to room, solves tasks and fends off attacks from alien creatures. He has to keep an eye on the often tight time: if the countdown runs out, the mission is deemed to have failed. Before and after each level he is guided through the further course of action by an information text.

main features

While the graphics are kept rather simple, Enemy stands out due to its richness of detail: cartridge cases and splinters flying around, rotting dead aliens, different races of aliens, each with their own character and weapons, shadow effects that create a 3D effect, as well as a musical background that reflects the current one Adjusts to what is happening. The action continues from level to level and becomes more complex. Enemy can be played alone or as a couple in team mode. A joystick is required for each player. Some tasks have been changed in team mode so that they can only be mastered by cooperation between the players.

technology

From a technical point of view, the game was designed in such a way that it would run on all Amiga models with at least 1 MB RAM. The screen resolution is limited to 320 × 200 pixels with mostly 16 colors. A Motorola 68000 is required as the processor , the minimum configuration of the Amiga family.

control

Rather unusual paths were used to control the character: Although a large number of movements and actions are possible, a standard joystick with a fire button is sufficient for control . The actions that can be carried out with it are: run, sneak, slide, jump up, far and down, aim, shoot, change weapons, crouch, arm grenades, drop grenades, pick up ammunition, weapons and other objects, operate devices on the wall , Enter passageways, give instructions to other protagonists, provide the injured with medication and help the injured up. The keyboard is only required to abort the game, to call up the help system and to activate the pause function.

action

prehistory

Enemy is set in a near future. After the discovery of three strange objects in flight near Mars, a research mission will be launched in 2031. Two hundred scientists enter the strange, apparently long-abandoned spaceships. But these turn out to be a deadly trap: reptile-like creatures mercilessly attack the crew. Only one of the security squadrons survives. It is now up to this six-man troop to carry out a large-scale rescue mission on their own. People are not only faced with a terrible and merciless superiority. Time also works against them. The three ships activate their engines and the rescue ship sent by the people has increasing difficulty following them.

Levels 1-10

The player is first given the task of looking for missing scientists and providing them with medication. The first firefights with the aliens soon increase in intensity. In further missions, the engines of the foreign ships must be sabotaged so that the rescue ship hurrying to help is not detached. Unexpectedly, one of the alien beings turns against its fellow species and helps people. At the end of the episode there is a tragic turn: during the evacuation of the scientists, the rescue ship is shot down. Now people are stuck on the foreign ships.

Levels 11-20

The last hope of the people now rests on the strange defector. With his help, it was possible to free a new race held captive on the ships and thus secure further allies. After an attempt to negotiate with a leader of the enemy fails, all survivors hide in a sector and make a makeshift fortress. The allies manage to send out a call for help: A new ship is now on the way, new hope of rescue is growing. The task now is to make all the guns of the foreign ships unusable.

Levels 21-34

The called ship reaches the scene and docks on one of the strange ships. However, people soon discover that the newcomers are pirates. Initially, three different parties fight each other, but then a pact is made with the newcomers. The alliance now sets out to capture one of the enemy ships. Fierce battles ensue, with one side and the other gaining the upper hand. Eventually the people manage to get one of the ships into their hands. But no sooner has this happened than a gigantic new spaceship reaches the scene, the fate of the people remains uncertain.

Role models and inspiration

The concept of traversing a nooks and crannies of unknown world room by room with a character and mastering tasks and problems was inspired by the Amiga classic Prince of Persia . The division of the rooms into different platform levels was also taken over by this game. The model for the increasingly tougher firefights in long, narrow corridors was the Amiga game Persian Gulf Inferno (known in Germany as North Sea Inferno ). The classic Another World was the inspiration for the idea of telling an actual, progressive story over the course of the levels, which takes place in a strange world .

The game also features elements from the films Alien and Aliens - The Return Again: Alien eggs and queens, as well as hostile aliens suddenly breaking out of the ceiling.

Reviews

“Although Enemy is only an acceptable mediocrity in graphical terms, you quickly become captivated by the course of the game. Each level contains new tasks, sometimes firepower decides, but sometimes tactics and skills. This is what well-made entertainment should look like! "

- Oliver Preißner : Amiga Games

Individual evidence

Web links

Anachronia Homepage of the manufacturer with information and download area
Hall Of Light entry in the "Database of amiga games"
Test report in Amiga Games 9/97
Amiga-Arena.de: Enemy - Tempest of Violence ( Memento from February 1st, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
Entry in TheLegacy

[1] ttp://www.anachronia.ch

[2] Report in Amiga Games 9/97