Defender of the Crown (Commodore Amiga)

Cinemaware is a company that had quite a reputation back in the day. Well, actually, they had two reputations... one was as a company that produced very ambitious, highly polished games with tremendous production values, in an attempt to make games that captured the essence of classic Hollywood. The other reputation that was held in some quarters was that they were overrated, producing nothing more than a series of dull mini-games held together by ropey plots. Seems a bit harsh...


Ladies and gentlemen, please bear witness to the arrival of Sir PaulEMoz.

I've only played one Cinemaware game before today, and that was Rocket Ranger. It just so happens that that game is one of my all-time favourite Amiga games. Not having owned an Amiga in its halcyon days, though, meant that I never got the opportunity to sample the rest of the Cinemaware catalogue. The first of their games, and the one that served to hype their name to the heavens, was Defender of the Crown. Finally, twenty-five years after its release, I've managed to play it.

Defender of the Crown is a strategy game, with action sequence mini-games. You find yourself in Ye Olde England, in the time of Robin Hood. And in fact, you're one of his mates. But he's decided he's past all that heroic rubbish, and is leaving it up to you to wrest control of England (and Wales, I guess, as you can have that bit o' land too) from evil hands. That said, he does agree to come to your aid up to three times, should you require it. Mighty generous of him.


I love Eugene Jarvis. Oh, wait...

Once the game starts, you're presented with a map of England and Wales (well, most of it... the map stops at Yorkshire. Racists!). There are six castles on the map, one of which is yours! But you can't just sit in your stately home, Lording it over all and sundry. The crown is missing, and you have to not only retrieve it, but also defeat the other five usurpers and earn the right to the throne.

Many of our land's counties are not under rule to begin with. That's how the game starts, with you taking turns to mop up strategically useful pieces of land. You'll earn money off this land, and this can (and must) be used to build your army. This isn't complicated, or especially deep. The only units you can buy are soldiers, knights, catapults and castles. You'll need catapults to attack the other castles. Knights and soldiers should be gathered in nicely proportionate numbers to ensure effective fighting.


My counties are displayed in light blue. Looks like it's going alright, so far.

Once you have an army fit for a prospective king, you can go and set about one of the other pretenders to the throne. It's probably best to take some of their other counties first, lessening their forces in number before laying siege to their stronghold. You don't get to control fights, but you do get to have a go at smashing the castle. If you can correctly judge the strength at which to hurl each boulder from the catapult, you'll smash a big enough hole in the wall for your army to flood through, and that will be one foe conquered! Or at least, you hope it will... you're never aware how many opposing soldiers lie beyond those walls...


Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries. Now go away, or I will taunt you a second time.

It's then a case of rinse and repeat for the rest of the game. Which makes it sound boring, which is to do it a disservice. And there's a little more to it than that. For instance, at times, tournaments will be called. All the contenders will be summoned to one location where they (and you) will joust, for fame and possibly for land.

On a more serious note, there's castle raiding. This can happen in two ways... off your own bat, or to avenge a damsel from foul Normans. Either which way, you'll break into a castle, do a bit of swordfighting, and if all goes to plan, have your way with a lovely maiden. Get it wrong, and you'll be captured, and will have to part with some of your hard-earned funds in order to secure your release.


Alright lads, we're in! You take this lot, I'll get the wench!

These bits all sound like fun, but the problem is, I can't win any of the mini-games. At all. Well, that's not strictly true... I can knock down the castle walls easily in a siege. But the jousting and swordfighting are proving to be impossible for me. Now, you can win the game without them... I did, on my first try... but where's the fun in it if you're not dominant in everything? You want to win the joust. You want to win the swordfights and rescue the damsels. Of course you do. I feel like a bit of a limp-wristed fraud.

Still, as a groundbreaking bit of strategy-lite, Defender of the Crown is something of a triumph. And I would go so far as to say that, even today, it would be a good introduction to the genre for anyone that's a bit wary (or even scared) of the more dense strategy games. You can count me in that number.

Rocket Ranger (Commodore Amiga)

This is my 200th post in the blog! For a long while there, it didn't look like I'd get that far. So in order to celebrate, I've played something that I absolutely loved in its time - Cinemaware's Rocket Ranger.

Cinemaware.

The name brings to mind that horror of gaming past - the interactive movie. And indeed, Cinemaware did stray some way down that path. But rather than actually attempt to make interactive movies, they made videogames with a movie feel to them... subtle difference. I don't think many people had a bad word to say about their ambitious efforts, back in the day.


You can shake that fist all you like, I'm still coming to knock your block off...

Rocket Ranger, for me, was the ultimate Cinemaware game. It took inspiration from 1950s sci-fi matinees, blended a fantastically mental plot with appealing mini-games that didn't outstay their welcome, and wrapped the lot up with presentation that was totally atmospheric and gripped you right from the loading screen. It got everything right.

I said "mental plot", didn't I? Here goes: In 1940, the Nazis won World War II. They discovered an element on the moon called Lunarium, which allowed them to make huge technological advances and therefore win the war. The planet has since suffered a century of darkness and oppression. This can be reversed, however; scientists FROM THE FUTURE have invented a time machine, and using this, they have sent you, in 1940, the equipment you will need to single-handedly take on and defeat the Nazi forces. These items are a rocket pack, a radium pistol and a secret codewheel. Use them wisely, and alter history...


And I'm off! Eventually... you should have seen me crash just before this.

I always loved that premise, and Cinemaware pulled out all the stops to do it justice. It really looks the part, and in fact if you've ever seen The Rocketeer, you could easily think that they took some inspiration from this game! Similarly, the dramatic music leading into setpieces adds a hell of a lot to the atmosphere. That's really what this game is about... atmosphere. The illusion is never broken.

As for the gameplay... well, any detractors of Cinemaware games would point to the limited gameplay as a flaw. Using your network of spies, you must uncover the locations of key Nazi strongholds. Once you have found one, you must fly there and defeat whatever awaits. This leads to a variety of mini-games, all of which are pretty enjoyable. These range from shooting down squadrons of Nazi planes to fistfights with Nazi guards to standoffs at ancient temples. The way everything is linked together makes for a totally cohesive experience.


What a welcome! I'm going down like a lead balloon with this lot.

And for me, that's what Rocket Ranger is... a great experience. Playing it repeatedly is not boring... much as I can watch a favourite film several times and enjoy it every time, even though I know what's going to happen, I can do the same thing playing Rocket Ranger. Except... I've never finished it yet. That's something to aim for... and something I will have great satisfaction in achieving.