Back in 'Ye Olden Times,' it was never easy being a knight, particularly if you were really good at being one! Because being the best of the bunch would mean that you were always picked for the most dangerous missions, and would barely get a moments rest to put your feet up and enjoy a nice cup of mead....
And that's the situation we find ourselves in at the start of this game from Octocom, which was created last year for the Basic 2020 contest's Compiled Basic category.
Y'see, some ancient devil has rallied together the forces of evil and is laying waste to the kingdom where you live, which up until now was a prosperous land of peace... and so the king has decided that you, being his best knight, should be the one to go and put a stop to it, because he's too busy being all kingly and regal and stuff!
What this means in practice, is that you'll be facing nine, one-screen levels filled with beastly baddies, with the last one being where you'll meet the nasty devil who started all this mess!
To defeat the darkness, you'll need to first find two rune tablets that need to be pushed somewhere on the screen. Once pushed, these will reveal pieces of a spell, which when collected will open up the level exit...
Upon exiting the level, you'll have to then run along a corridor leading to the next screen, dodging obstacles that are trying to trip you up by jumping over them. If you manage to beat the corridor without getting hit, you'll get an extra life to help you in your quest.
Other help can be found by collecting various pickups that appear. There's five of these to be found, including one that stops your enemies in their tracks, and another that gives you extra time...
If you're still finding the game too tricky, then there's also a training mode that lets you play the levels and corridors as much as you want, so you can hopefully train up and become an even better knight! Just be aware that doing so will probably mean that you'll never get to that cup of mead and a foot-stool though....
I've been having fun with Devil's Quest. It's a nice simple game that does everything it sets out to do quite well, despite being programmed using only compiled BASIC. It can be damn tricky, but I did find myself getting better with every attempt, although sometimes the erratic movements of the enemies mean its sometimes down to pure luck if you make it past them! Also, sound is pretty minimalistic, but it does the job!
It's still well worth downloading and giving it a go...or two....or five.....as you slowly become addicted to reaching further into the game! The graphics should ooze enough atmosphere to keep you interested during your attempts too!
You can download the game, and all the other BASIC 2020 enties, by clicking the link to the site earlier in this post, although bear in mind you'll also need to find yourself a ZX Spectrum emulator for your PC if you want to play them!
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