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| Welcome
to Game of the Week! Each week there will be a
new featured game on this page. The game may be good,
average or diabolically bad, it really doesn't matter!
Just look at the pics, read the text and enjoy the nostalgia!
:-) Game of the Week! is open to contributions so if you
would like to contribute
a game article for this page you're more than welcome
to! Every article we receive will be considered! |
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Law
of the West
1985 Accolade
Programmed
by Alan Miller
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text of the present article comes from the review published
in the twelfth issue of the British C64 magazine ZZAP!64
(street date: March 13th, 1986). |
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LAW
OF THE WEST
US
Gold/Accolade, £9.95 cass, £14.95
disk, joystick
only
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Life in the good ol' Wild West sure was tough, what
with all them bank robberies and shoot-outs and evil
Hombres running about the place causing havoc. Accolade's
Law of the West gives you the opportunity of
finding out just now wild the West really was. As Sheriff
of Gold Gulch, a small but by no means peaceful town,
it is your duty to protect the innocent, quell the very
naughty, and generally keep law and order until sundown.
Confronted
by a drunken doctor, our hero (pictured far left) attempts
to justify the recent spate of killings.
There are eleven different situations to put your integrity
and efficiency as a lawman to the test and each takes
the form of a brief encounter with a particular character.
Your problems start outside the saloon with the appearance
of a burly gunslinger who strolls casualty out onto
the street and asks: 'You the Sheriff of this stinkin'
town?' to which you can offer one of four replies, shown
at the bottom of the screen, ranging from pleasant and
sycophantic to authoritative and aggressive. The choice
of reply affects the mood of the character in question
and it is best not to cross the nastier types, for you
may find yourself eating a main course of lead with
dirt for desert.
However,
you are provided with a suitable weapon -- a powerful
six-shooter is at your disposal, should you wish to
use it, along with a seemingly infinite supply of ammunition.
Useful for preventing the occasional bank raid or stage
coach robbery. If you do resort to gunplay though, it
is wise to have the Doctor on your side as he can turn
an inconvenient flesh wound into a terminal case of
death with a quick sip of the bottle and slip of the
scalpel. Other townsfolk include the iniquitous Miss
Rose, the 'hostess' with the mostest who works behind
the bar in the local saloon, and the Mexicali Kid, who's
very keen to shoot up the local Sheriff if given the
chance. Oh, there's also little Willy, a boy with a
secret that he won't tell unless suitably persuaded.
When
your stint as Sheriff finally comes to an end, through
either loss of life or daylight hours, a full evaluation
of your prowess is given, detailing how well you maintained
your authority and fared romantically amongst other
things. You are also told your overall score.
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Beneath
the very pretty and instantly appealing graphic
exterior of Law
of the West
there lies little in the way of lasting challenge.
Though some pleasure was derived from the first
few plays, I soon became bored due to the limited
and repetitive nature of the game. It's a nice
idea that has been well executed, but unfortunately
it doesn't hold anything other than short term
interest, with effectively so little to do. There
is an excellent atmosphere generated when playing
the disk version, but this is lost using cassette
as it takes time to load individual scenes. Law
of the West
is essentially a good game, but only for a short
while.
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Presentation 76%
Some pleasant touches but generally nothing outstanding.
Graphics
85%
Four superlative backdrops and
some well defined sprites, but little else.
Sound
79%
A variety of jolly tunes and a
few sufficient FX.
Hookability
90%
Initially very absorbing to play,
although loading from cassette does ruin the excellent
atmosphere generated.
Lastability
71%
Despite a large range of
responses and the challenge of improving upon
your score, the game soon proves boring to play
as the situations get sussed.
Value
For Money 72%
It has instant visual appeal, but
the lack of depth makes it a bit over the top
in price.
Overall
78%
A highly atmospheric and initially
enjoyable game with exceptional graphics, but
lacking in sufficient variety and true depth to
enthral for any great length of time.
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Htmlized
by Dimitris
Kiminas (27 Jan 2005)
Other
"Games of the Week!"
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