'Sharkade Live - Gauntlet II - (1986) [Arcade]'

'Sharkade Live - Gauntlet II - (1986) [Arcade]'
57:51 Apr 22, 2021
'Gauntlet II is a fantasy-themed hack and slash 1986 arcade game by Atari Games.   The players, up to four at once, select among four playable fantasy-based characters: Thor, a Warrior; Merlin, a Wizard; Thyra, a Valkyrie; or Questor, an Elf. Each character has his or her own unique strength and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the best armor and the Elf is the fastest in movement.  Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within a series of top-down, third-person perspective mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortment of special items can be located in each level that increase player\'s character\'s health, unlock doors, gain more points and magical potions that can destroy all of the enemies on screen.   The game is also noted for the narrator\'s voice, which was produced by a Texas Instruments TMS5220C speech chip. The narrator (voiced by Ernie Fosselius) frequently makes statements repeating the game\'s rules, including: \"Shots do not hurt other players – yet\", \"Remember, don\'t shoot food!\", \"Elf – shot the food!\", and \"Warrior needs food – badly!\" Occasionally, the narrator will comment on the battle by saying, \"I\'ve not seen such bravery!\" or \"Let\'s see you get out of here!\" When a player\'s \"life force\" points fell below 200, the narrator states, \"Your life force is running out\", \"Elf needs food\", or \"Valkyrie ... is about to die!\"  The gameplay is very similar to the original Gauntlet, a topdown dungeon crawl supporting up to four players. The biggest difference from the original game is that players can choose identical classes, instead of being limited to a particular one for each joystick; each player is differentiated by color. Thus, instead of having a \"warrior\", \"wizard\", and \"valkyrie\" (for instance), in Gauntlet II there could be a \"red wizard\", a \"blue elf\" and a \"green warrior\". In addition to the new \"class\" system, new level designs were added, including the possibility of encountering them in altered ways by having the play-field turned in steps of 90°. Other new features included the enemy \"It\", which upon contact would make a player \"It\" and draw all enemies towards him/her. The only way to release this curse is by touching another player or entering the exit, turning any level containing \"It\" into a fantasy filled game of tag. Other notable additions include the ability to ricochet shots off walls by means of a special pick-up, acid puddles that caused large, predetermined amounts of damage and a large dragon which would occupy multiple squares and require multiple hits to destroy.' 

Tags: retro , video games , atari , Arcade , Gauntlet II , Coin-Op

See also:

comments

Characters