The Curse of Sherwood Longplay (C64) [50 FPS]
70Developed by Derek Brewster and published by Mastertronic in 1987.
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When Robin Hood and his Merry Meny weren't busy robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, they also specialised in a spot of demon hunting and exorcism! Sherwood Forest has been overrun by a shady organisation known as the Cult of Sagalia and it's up to Friar Tuck to take on undead skeletons, werewolves and ogres whilst trying to solve the various puzzles around the Greenwood.
The game is divided into a series of interconnected screens, with various monsters and items to be found in each of them. Tuck must collect these items and use them in the correct locations (or give them to the correct people; not everyone in the wood is hostile) in order to banish the demons and to complete the quest.
Tuck is able to carry a maximum of three items in his inventory and one weapon in a separate slot. Walking over an item will place it into the first slot and every other item moves one square to the right. If the inventory is full then one of Tuck's existing items will be dropped to make room for the new item.
Combat in the game is pretty straightforward. Pressing the fire-button will launch a ranged attack using whatever weapon Tuck is carrying, be it sword, dagger or magic. Certain weapons are more effective against certain enemies, although it remains possible to kill any enemy with any weapon, just that it might take more shots than the optimal weapon for that particular type of enemy. This is a much simpler (and less annoying) approach than that taken in Con-Quest, another of Brewster's games.
Although I played this as a child, I didn't ever finish it, nor did I play it that much since I found it a bit frustrating (I used to get hot and bothered trying to kill the werewolf with the silver daggers without getting killed). Having played it again today, it's a remarkably short game that isn't particularly difficult to solve.
In fact, the only thing that stands between you and victory is that bloody swamp where one wrong foot will send you to the murky depths. You can get a map from the hermit that shows you a safe route through, although it's not particularly clear.
It's quite evident when playing The Curse of Sherwood that it's a conversion of a Spectrum game; from the colour palette to the sounds, everything about this is a by-the-numbers conversion. The game appears to be poorly optimised, with frame rates dipping considerably when multiple enemies appear on screen. As conversions go, this is pretty low-rent.
The sound in the game is pretty sparse and is limited to a few pops and squeaks. It sounds as though Friar Tuck has swapped his sandals for a pair of wooden clogs, since this is the only explanation for the maddeningly annoying clattering sound he makes when walking. There is no music at all in this game.
The Curse of Sherwood wouldn't be such a bad game if there was more content (provided that doesn't mean more swamp...), but there's really very little here, regardless of the fact that this is a budget title. On the other hand, Con-Quest proved to be the polar opposite, with endless locations, tons of items and a very poor sense of where to go or what to do.
The Curse of Sherwood had some potential, but the lack of content means that the game's over before it ever really has chance to begin.
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