Werewolves of London (video game)
Encyclopedia
For the song, see Werewolves of London
.
Viz Design's Werewolves Of London is a home computer
video game releasing in 1987
for the ZX Spectrum
, Commodore 64
and the Amstrad CPC
. It was released on cassette which has the Amstrad version on one side and the Spectrum version on the other (called 'Flippy Flippy'). The game used the same engine as Viz Design's (consisting of Steve Howard and Paul Smith) other game 'Frankenstein Junior' which was released by Codemasters
in the same year. The game was released two years late (and largely unfinished) and was as a budget title, as intended publisher Ariolasoft
went bankrupt (being released by Mastertronic
. It was also release in Spain
by Dro Soft.
The game was set in London, and the plot is to kill each of 8 members of an aristocratic
family who put a curse on you, resulting in a daily transformation into a Werewolf
. The title is possibly a reference to the Warren Zevon
song, Werewolves of London
.
and Hyde Park
), and pick up items which will help the player in certain tasks. When the timer hits midnight, the player character transforms into a Werewolf. The player must then track down each of the 8 enemy characters and kill, and optionally, eat their bodies, while avoiding being shot or captured by the police.
The game involved more strategy elements than the traditional 8-bit 'platform' game, as the game changed difficulty in response to the player's actions. For example, the more people that are attacked by the werewolf, the more active the police become. The Hyde Park location is locked during the night, and a ticket is needed to enter the subway (although you can leap over the gate). When the Werewolf is 'touched' by a police officer with handcuffs you are put in prison (though how an unarmed police officer can overpower a werewolf is not addressed). You are released when the player transforms back to a human character, but can escape by finding a crowbar to escape through the sewers (a torch is needed to see in the dark). Eating family members and NPC
gives extra health, but being shot results in a constant health drop (in the form of a blood-bag icon). Finding bandages can stem the blood flow. If your blood-bag reaches empty, the game is over.
magazine said it doesn't work at all - what was envisaged as an atmospheric arcade adventure ... is just an aimless chase-about. It received a front page spread and a full page preview in an earlier release.
Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song composed by LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon and performed by Zevon. Included on Zevon's 1978 album Excitable Boy, it featured accompaniment by bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.The single was released by Asylum as...
.
Viz Design's Werewolves Of London is a home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
video game releasing in 1987
1987 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...
for the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Commodore 64
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...
and the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
. It was released on cassette which has the Amstrad version on one side and the Spectrum version on the other (called 'Flippy Flippy'). The game used the same engine as Viz Design's (consisting of Steve Howard and Paul Smith) other game 'Frankenstein Junior' which was released by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
in the same year. The game was released two years late (and largely unfinished) and was as a budget title, as intended publisher Ariolasoft
Ariolasoft
Ariolasoft GmbH, later known as United Software, was a German computer game developer, publisher and distributor. It started as the software subsidiary of Ariola Records...
went bankrupt (being released by Mastertronic
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...
. It was also release in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
by Dro Soft.
The game was set in London, and the plot is to kill each of 8 members of an aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
family who put a curse on you, resulting in a daily transformation into a Werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
. The title is possibly a reference to the Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
song, Werewolves of London
Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song composed by LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon and performed by Zevon. Included on Zevon's 1978 album Excitable Boy, it featured accompaniment by bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.The single was released by Asylum as...
.
Gameplay
The game is played from a side-on 45-degree view, letting the player not only move left and right, but up and down. The character can also jump. The player starts off as a human who must roam the streets of London (including the London UndergroundLondon Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
), and pick up items which will help the player in certain tasks. When the timer hits midnight, the player character transforms into a Werewolf. The player must then track down each of the 8 enemy characters and kill, and optionally, eat their bodies, while avoiding being shot or captured by the police.
The game involved more strategy elements than the traditional 8-bit 'platform' game, as the game changed difficulty in response to the player's actions. For example, the more people that are attacked by the werewolf, the more active the police become. The Hyde Park location is locked during the night, and a ticket is needed to enter the subway (although you can leap over the gate). When the Werewolf is 'touched' by a police officer with handcuffs you are put in prison (though how an unarmed police officer can overpower a werewolf is not addressed). You are released when the player transforms back to a human character, but can escape by finding a crowbar to escape through the sewers (a torch is needed to see in the dark). Eating family members and NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
gives extra health, but being shot results in a constant health drop (in the form of a blood-bag icon). Finding bandages can stem the blood flow. If your blood-bag reaches empty, the game is over.
Audio and Visual
The sound in the game consisted of basic sound effects in a single sound channel including footsteps, the dripping of blood, and the sound of crunching as you ate and killed people. There were three pieces of two channel music on the Amstrad CPC and C64 versions; one for the menu, and two for the human/werewolf stages. The music seamlessly blended with each other when the character morphed between stages. The CPC version of the game used 'Mode 0' resolution (160 x 200) and 16 colours, while the Spectrum used the standard 256×192 resolution. The C64 and CPC versions could have up to four characters (including the player character) on screen at the same time, whereas the Spectrum had two. The sprites and backgrounds on the Spectrum were completely different from those in the other versions.Reception
The game didn't receive favourable reviews thanks to the game being presented in an unfinished state. Your SinclairYour Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
magazine said it doesn't work at all - what was envisaged as an atmospheric arcade adventure ... is just an aimless chase-about. It received a front page spread and a full page preview in an earlier release.