Onslaught
| Developer: Realms | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Hewson | Sound: |
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| Year: 1989 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Action-platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
4/10 | |
You didn’t know Destiny Warriors was released on the Amiga?
The formula’s the same: it pretends to be a strategy game by showing a map with territories to conquer, alongside the grotesque mugs of enemy warlords, sprinkled with a few numbers to make it all look official.
In practice, the military campaign boils down to running alone, against hundreds of soldiers, through a succession of battlefields, mashing the button like a maniac until you grab the enemy banner. Each “battle” wraps up with a duel against the local warlord. A duel … of telepathy … materialized by some sort of psychedelic shooter over an animated background. They just can’t help themselves…
“Confusing.” That’s the word that best sums up the game. Let’s start with the interface at the bottom of the screen. Those crest-like icons that anyone would assume are health bars actually symbolize the progression of the opposing army. They fill up in blue as more foes slip past you. Once they’re full, you’re forced to retreat (back to the previous stage).
Your character’s health is represented by the two little figures in the middle; one blue (mental energy) and one red (physical energy). If either one turns completely white: bam! Watermelon!
Finally, the icons in the black bar above indicate the piles of items in your possession. There’s an option that automates their activation; I suggest leaving it active.
The gameplay itself is utterly chaotic: enemies appear everywhere, all the time, way too fast. I’m sure there’s a “tactical” intention behind the variety of weapons and magical scrolls available. Unfortunately, you’ve got no time to look at them, often no time to pick them up, and certainly no time to press the right key to use what you think you need (that’s “F1” to “F8”, for the record). Hence the appeal of the “let the computer handle it” option, which only adds to the chaos by randomly switching your weapon every five seconds!
The hero’s sluggish movement doesn’t help either—it feels like pushing a wheelbarrow full of frogs through a minefield.
But the game’s biggest issue is how repetitive it is. You’ve pretty much seen it all by the end of level one. Assuming you’re still alive by then.
Note: to save or load, press “F10” when the map is displayed, then “S” or “L”.
There’s a Sega Genesis version, which is less of an eyesore during boss fights, but I’m afraid it’ll be your ears that suffer instead. Your choice.
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