Shadowfire (video game)
Encyclopedia
Shadowfire is a computer game for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64
, published by Beyond
. It is notable as one of the first games to use a menu-and-icon-driven interface. It was followed by a sequel, Enigma Force, in 1986.
General Zoff is holding Ambassador Kryxix captive in his spaceship. Plans for a new type of spaceship (the Shadowfire of the games title) are contained in a micro-disc hidden in the Ambassador's spine. If Zoff has the plans, the empire will be in great danger, and it is only a matter of time until his inquisitors will discover them. The Emperor has assembled the so-called "Enigma Force", a group of six reckless mercenaries, to take care of the situation.
Players take control of all six mercenaries and have one hour and forty minutes of realtime to rescue Ambassador Kryxix and capture General Zoff. All six characters have different abilities. Syylk is an insectoid and a strong fighter, Zark Montor, the team leader, is an expert in unarmed combat and the only translator of the group - meaning that Kryxix will only follow Montor, Sevrina Maris is the only character who can pick locks, Torik is an avian with thorough knowledge of explosives - and the fastest moving character, Maul is a slow combat droid and Manto is a weak droid, but the only team member that can operate the transporter
that is vital for the mission's success.
Controls are completely icon based and the screen is divided into six sections. The upper screen section is called the mission command screen and displays which character is active, the active character's location and the status of all characters: whether they are moving, engaged in combat, weak or dying or performing certain action such as picking locks. The lower half of the screen changes depending on the situation and shows additional information and all selectable actions.
From the main game screen (Enigma Force screen) players can choose one of the six characters and access four sub-screens:
Character status screen: Shows a character's speed, strength, stamina (health) and carried weight.
Object screen: Shows all objects present at a location as well as all objects carried by the selected character. It can be used to drop or pick up items, equip weapons and items or use special items.
Movement screen: Here, the active character can be moved by clicking on arrows that show possible directions for a character to move.
Battle screen: During battles, characters can scan the location to count and identify their enemies, move, attack with their equipped weapon, defend or retreat.
Shadowfire was unique at the time in that it was released with the ZX Spectrum version on one side of the cassette, and the Commodore 64 version on the other side of the tape. This ensured that Shadowfire rode high in the individual format charts, as both ZX & C=64 sales counted as one, increasing the perceived popularity.
, Enigma Force allowed the player to directly control the reduced list of characters, and play as an arcade game.
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, published by Beyond
Beyond Software
Beyond Software was a video game publisher in the UK in the 1980s. It was set up by the EMAP publishing group in 1983 and published numerous titles on the Commodore 64, Dragon 32, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, but met with very little success until the release of Mike Singleton's Lords of Midnight...
. It is notable as one of the first games to use a menu-and-icon-driven interface. It was followed by a sequel, Enigma Force, in 1986.
Plot
Players take control of all six mercenaries and have one hour and forty minutes of realtime to rescue Ambassador Kryxix and capture General Zoff. All six characters have different abilities. Syylk is an insectoid and a strong fighter, Zark Montor, the team leader, is an expert in unarmed combat and the only translator of the group - meaning that Kryxix will only follow Montor, Sevrina Maris is the only character who can pick locks, Torik is an avian with thorough knowledge of explosives - and the fastest moving character, Maul is a slow combat droid and Manto is a weak droid, but the only team member that can operate the transporter
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
that is vital for the mission's success.
Controls are completely icon based and the screen is divided into six sections. The upper screen section is called the mission command screen and displays which character is active, the active character's location and the status of all characters: whether they are moving, engaged in combat, weak or dying or performing certain action such as picking locks. The lower half of the screen changes depending on the situation and shows additional information and all selectable actions.
From the main game screen (Enigma Force screen) players can choose one of the six characters and access four sub-screens:
Character status screen: Shows a character's speed, strength, stamina (health) and carried weight.
Object screen: Shows all objects present at a location as well as all objects carried by the selected character. It can be used to drop or pick up items, equip weapons and items or use special items.
Movement screen: Here, the active character can be moved by clicking on arrows that show possible directions for a character to move.
Battle screen: During battles, characters can scan the location to count and identify their enemies, move, attack with their equipped weapon, defend or retreat.
Game/Manual inconsistencies
Both the manual and the game are not always helpful towards the player:- Not all of the character descriptions are useful: Torik's knowledge of explosives is of no benefit, as apart from a grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
(which can be used equally well by all characters,) there are no explosives to be found or used in the game, and Syylk's hatred of Zoff never leads him to disobey orders - despite the manual warning that this may happen. - The manual states that there is an invisible monster (Zoff's pet) roaming the ship which will randomly attack the player. This was a bug in the C=64 version which was subsequently fixed, but by then the manual had already been printed.
- The mission objective after rescuing Kryxix is for the player to destroy the Zoff V via a self-destruct mechanism. However if the player arms the device the game then jumps to game overGame overGame Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
with the message "Mission failed - Zoff V not captured" - It is still possible to rescue Kryxix even if Montor is killed. However, this involves sending the relatively weak Manto into a hazardous section of the Zoff V, instead of allowing the offensive and far stronger Montor to retrieve Kryxix.
Reviews
The game was well-received on both released platforms, gaining a 96% Crash Smash for the ZX Spectrum version, and a 91% ZZap Sizzler award for the Commodore 64 version.. The innovative interface, multi-character gameplay and atmospheric music by Fred Gray were also favourably commented upon.Shadowfire was unique at the time in that it was released with the ZX Spectrum version on one side of the cassette, and the Commodore 64 version on the other side of the tape. This ensured that Shadowfire rode high in the individual format charts, as both ZX & C=64 sales counted as one, increasing the perceived popularity.
Sequel
The game was followed up by a sequel in 1986, named Enigma Force which featured a more arcade orientated style of gameplay. Whereas Shadowfire was entirely icon basedWIMP (computing)
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "windows, icons, menus and pointers", denoting a style of interaction using these elements. It was coined by Merzouga Wilberts in 1980...
, Enigma Force allowed the player to directly control the reduced list of characters, and play as an arcade game.