Citadel - Superior Software

Oh my...how my heart raced when I found this classic.  I remember it from the Acorn Electron, where the memory overflow left a beautiful colour band across the top of the screen, but this version, the BBC B version, did not suffer from the same problem.

Now before you say anything I know the graphics are not the best, but remember that this game was released in 1985, making it nearly 30 years old.  But this is one of those games that is timeless.  It is still challenging today (I only scored 39 points before dying).  The principle is simple, explore the castle and surrounding areas looking for Crystals.  There are 5 of them that are needed to power the teleporter to the final location.

The trick with this game is scoring the maximum of 99 points.  In the days of release, there was a prize for being the first to complete the game.  This was something that was common with all Superior Software games.  

The game falls into the Arcade Adventure category.  You have to solve a number of puzzles to achieve the score and secure the crystals.  While the puzzles are not impossible to solve (most just require a little dexterity and some logical thinking) the game is designed such that you have to collect objects from different locations within the game.  There is no right or wrong order for getting the crystals, but you soon work out a path to follow to achieve success with the minimum of effort.

Most of the creatures in the game are persistent.  Running into them will run down your energy., and when that reaches zero....you are dead.  One of the nice things of the game is that, lose too much energy and you are thrown back to the side of the screen that you entered from.  Which can be a blessing sometimes.  Did I mention that dexterity is a big part of the game?

Jumping on trampolines, avoiding the dangerous items are all in a days work for a hardy adventurer like yourself.  The BBC Micro version contained very basic speech during the loading screen.  And remember, this was nearly 30 years ago.  No multi-million pound budget for Oscar winning performances for digital voice acting.  And while the sound is fairly basic, it doesn't have an annoying music theme.

The game, overall, takes an hour or so to complete.  And it is immersive to a degree.  Yes, compared to today's graphics intensive offerings this is a basic game.  But for gameplay this can still hold its own.  It would be a brilliant mobile game and would have enough to keep people entertained.

The game has to be played in a single sitting as there is no save game function, but that adds to the fun of it.  I remember playing it as a kid, and pausing the game while I went to have my dinner and coming back to it afterwards.  It still brings back those happy memories.