The Last Eichhof

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The Last Eichhof
Studio Alpha Helix
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1993
platform MS-DOS
genre Shoot 'em up
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , mouse
language English
Eichhof Barbara beer bottle, similar to the protagonist of the game

The Last Eichhof is a shoot-'em-up - video game , which in 1993 by Alpha Helix for MS-DOS was released.

Game mechanics

The Last Eichhof is designed as a space shooter, but uses a form of presentation that is unusual for this genre: The player controls a beer bottle from the Swiss brewery Eichhof . The opponents mostly consist of other brands of beer and alcoholic beverages.
In terms of the gameplay, Eichhof is comparable to Xenon 2 . For example, the extra weapons system was largely taken over from there. It also pays tribute to the game by naming the most expensive extra weapon "Xenon 2 Cannon". This is also the only weapon in the game that is not a drink.

Backstory

The background story describes the decline of the independent Swiss breweries that were taken over by companies such as Feldschlösschen . The player's task is now to fight against them and to protect the Eichhof brewery from the “empire of big beers”. The first level deals with Feldschlösschen, the second with Bavarian breweries such as Löwenbräu and Paulaner , the third relates to other alcoholic beverages and the fourth level finally deals with a hangover .

Development history

The Shoot 'em up , programmed by Dany Schoch, in the game with the pseudonym Tritone , was released in 1993 by Alpha Helix as freeware for MS-DOS. According to the game intro, a person with the nickname Tweety is responsible for the graphics and Zynax for the music and additional programming. Most of the game's sound effects were taken from film and music as samples . Many of the in-game sound effects and quotes come from Season 1 of the Parker Lewis - The Cool One from School television series (such as "I'll crush the grimace" - Kubiac. Or "You're the $ 2 million winner, yes! ”- moderator when Kubiac wins the award of the cattle magazine).

Since 2003 the source text has been freely accessible as “Do what ever you want with this code”. The source text is now released into the public domain , but not graphics and audio.

In 2015, free ports for Windows 8 and Windows Phones were created.

Reception and influence

The website Home of the Underdogs rates the game as “Top Dog” and describes it as one of the “rare freeware gems” and generally as one of the “most entertaining and original shooters”.

In 2002 the Czech daily IDnes .cz reviewed the game extensively.

In 2004, the Swiss computer magazine PCtipp described "The last Eichhof" in a review as "small, but the humor makes it unique" .

The print magazine GEE: Games, Entertainment, Education 2005 had an article about the game.

In 2012 a Eurogamer article described The Last Eichhof as “great”.

The Italian edition of The Game Machine referenced "The Last Eichhof" in an article in February 2012.

In 2018 a Swiss Review article in a section entitled "The last Eichhof" described the concentration of the Swiss beer market in the 1990s and the role of the game in it.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Intro to the game
  2. ↑ Readme of the source code ( ZIP ; 103 kB)
  3. ↑ The Last Eichhof app for Windows in the Windows Store - A Windows 8 port of the game.
  4. ↑ The Last Eichhof Windows Phone App - A Windows Phone port of the game.
  5. ↑ HotU entry
  6. ↑ The Last Eichhof - opilá hra by Jakub Skočdopole on IDnes .cz (April 4, 2002)
  7. ^ Christian Bütikofer: The Last Eichhof . In: PCtipp . International Data Group . January 27, 2004 .: "Some incorrigible Eichhof beer lovers programmed this game: As a small, innocent Central Swiss beer, show the big players in the industry where hops and malt hang!"
  8. ^ The last Eichhof . In: Games, Entertainment, Education: GEE . GEE Media & Marketing GmbH. 2005.
  9. ↑ Christof Zurschmitten: About the blasted brain shell to the heart: Paragaming (published in WASD - Texts about Games 1: Tasty Trash) ( German ) eurogamer . 2012 .: " " The Last Eichhof is a hybrid: a tough, but amazingly competent and complete shoot 'em up. At the same time, however, it is also a deliberately weird conglomeration of the strange, pure overstimulation, an undisciplined mindfuck. And it's great. " "
  10. ↑ the-games-machine-italia-281 in The Game Machine (February 2012)
  11. ↑ Marc Lettau: Each quarter has its own beer . Revue.ch . March 21, 2018 .: " " The last Eichhof "- The concentration of the beer market indicated by the two episodes was incomparable for Swiss terms. [...] Students at the ETH Zurich launched the computer game “The Last Eichhof”, in which the aim was to prevent a hostile takeover with a lot of shooting. It was of no use. "