Scapeghost
| Scapeghost | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Level 9 |
| Publisher | Level 9 |
| Senior Developer | Peter Austin |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1989 |
| platform | Amiga , Amstrad PCW , Atari 8-bit , Atari ST , BBC Micro , C64 , CPC , MS-DOS , ZX Spectrum |
| Game engine | KAOS |
| genre | Text adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Keyboard Mouse |
| medium | Cassette, floppy disk |
| language | English |
Scapeghost is a text adventure game with graphics by the British computer game manufacturer Level 9 from 1989.
action
The player takes on the role of Alan Chance, an undercover agent for the Metropolitan Police Service , who was killed during an operation against suspected drug dealers; Chance was blamed for the failure of the mission. To make matters worse, Sarah, Chance's friend, was kidnapped by the drug cartel. As a ghost, Chance returns to the world of the living for three nights, starting in a cemetery at his own funeral. The player quickly realizes that there are almost no physical powers available to him and that only other dead beings can perceive him. The aim of the game is first to increase the player's ability to influence the world of the living, and then to solve his own death and save Sarah.
Game principle and technology
Scapeghost is a text adventure, which means that the environment and events are displayed as screen text and the actions of the player are also entered as text via the keyboard and processed by a parser . In almost all versions, the scenery is shown illustrating, hand-drawn and then digitized still images that occupy the top half of the screen. In the 8-bit Atari and the Spectrum cassette version, the player had to do without graphics due to the limited storage space. As with many Level 9 games, the overall game is divided into three parts, titled November Graveyard , Haunted House, and Poltergeist , which can be played independently. Unlike most other text adventures, Scapeghost is written in a first person perspective.
Production notes
The game name Scapeghost is a portmanteau word from "scapegoat" (German scapegoat) and "ghost" (German spirit). Scapeghost was the last game developed by Level 9. Since the production costs of and sales opportunities for text adventures could no longer be covered, Level 9 stopped business after the appearance of Scapeghost . Designer Pete Austin then worked as a graphic artist for various games in other genres, including Conflict: Desert Storm 2 .
reception
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The ASM praised story, graphics and parser of the game, pointed to the need for advanced knowledge of English and awarded the title of "ASM-hit". Computer and Video Games magazine found Scapeghost had an original story and some very unusual puzzles and called it the most entertaining game in the manufacturer's portfolio. The ACE magazine pointed out that occasionally touches of humor contradict the serious character of the game and that unlike most other Adventures unusual approaches are necessary to master the game. The adventure trade magazine SPAG criticized the first part of the game as undemanding and unoriginal and criticized the less informative room descriptions, but noted that the game in parts two and three would be much more interesting and had an “excellent” atmosphere and challenging puzzles to offer that would only be diminished by a lack of agency. Overall, SPAG rated the game as a “truly classic game”.
Web links
- Scapeghost at MobyGames (English)
- Walkthrough of the game
Individual evidence
- ↑ Review in ACE magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Review in the ASM. Retrieved June 3, 2015 .
- ^ Review in the CVG. Retrieved June 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Review in SPAG magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2015 .