Narzod might be the most addictive Vectrex game. The detail in this game shows what Vectrex programmers were able to achieve in the latter 1980’s years of Vectrex game design and coding. Again, a very original game which puts you in the shoes of a the ‘only remaining honourable wizard’,in a time when magic reigned and all souls possessed special magical powers and battled for rule of the earth.
Little accessible background information was easy to come by for this shooter which is like a cross between Galaga and sought of a Sci Fi. other worldly Pinball game. The pinball element comes from the wizards’ hover craft’s ability to shoot bullets which ricochet off the side walls of each of the lower, middle and upper roadways, which are the stomping ground for the enemy wizard’s henchmen.
The lower roadway sees firstly ‘Doomgrabbers’ then later ‘Tarantulas’ and ‘Ghouls’ pitting their evil ‘Spikers’ against you in order the protect the evil wizard’s fortress. Once the player has progressed through the first stage, where the hover craft exits through a hidden passage, the backdrop is reversed and Narzod’s men become more vicious through shear speed and deadlier accuracy.
In the latter roadways ‘Warbirds’ appear which can be used as a shield once you have downed them but the player must be wary as their Spikers may split in two and make it ever so hard avoid them. Once the upper roadway has been successfully transcended the ‘Mystic Hurler’ appears and his skill far surpasses that of even the warbirds. I’ve yet to pass him!
Fortress of Narzod goes for anywhere from $40.U.S. to $80.U.S. on ebay and is considered one of the rarer titles. Cool.
Score 8/10
Review written by Daniel Foot
Instruction can be found at:
http://www.digitpress.com/library/manuals/vectrex/fortress.txt
