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Games of mindless violence seem to be all the rage among
the computer software world, so Melbourne House have
released an equally aggressive 'follow up' to the highly
successful Way of the Exploding Fist in the form
of Fighting Warrior. Unlike Fist though,
Fighting Warrior actually has a scenario . .
.
Set
in ancient Egypt, the story revolves around two separated
lovers. The hero of the piece is the fighting warrior
of the title and he has fallen head over heels in love
with the princess Thaya. Unfortunately she has been
kidnapped by an evil Pharaoh and locked away within
a remote temple. Understandably, the fighting warrior
is somewhat miffed at the Pharaoh's actions and so decides
to set off across the wastelands to find, and eventually
release, his beloved.
The
route to the temple is a hazardous one, plagued with
many mythological demons and demi-gods. And as he's
so brave, the warrior's only weapon is a sword. The
creatures of the desert are set upon defending their
territory as were those slain many years ago. To defeat
them it requires a great deal of accurate sword strokes.
The
authentic Egyptian scenery of pyramids and the like,
scrolls slowly past as the warrior progresses. Both
he and any opponents have a limited amount of stamina
and victory must be achieved without exhausting himself.
For each blow successfully landed, the victim's energy
bar, displayed beneath, is depleted by a notch. Once
these are exhausted, the player's life is lost and on
losing all five lives the game ends.
There
are many different beasts to be fought and these vary
quite a bit, although in general they are humanoid with
weird heads. This kind of monster is equipped with the
same type of sword as our hero and wields it in a similar
way. Overgrown pussy rats and dragon-like beings are
best approached with caution -- especially the latter,
because although unarmed, they have a rather nasty line
in crippling body kicks. And hitting back isn't that
easy, as the beast wraps its leathery wings around itself
in defence. The cat merely mauls.
As
the warrior gets nearer to his goal, the nasties get
nastier and many of the different attackers use slightly
different tactics.
When
a beast dies and its bones disintegrate to mingle with
the desert sand, a pot-like object materialises. These
are rumoured to possess mystical powers and are activated
by giving them a good whack with a sword -- though it's
not guaranteed that any effect will be beneficial. Missing
the pot always results in a decrease of stamina.
If
the warrior finally reaches the temple, he must contend
with the Pharaoh's magicians -- in the habit of draining
intruders of their energy. Only when these evil beings
are defeated and the princess is free of her bonds,
has the fighting warrior accomplished his mission. The
reward for failure however, is death.
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