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8 Stars IFReview Rating Dungeon of Doom

IFReviewed by Adam Myrow on 2006-05-06 02:14 

Game Profile

Author
Dan Knezek

Idiom
English

Authoring System
Eamon

Release Year
1986

IFR Overall Rating
8 Stars IFR Overall Rating
Separator

MAIN PGM Version: 4 (heavily modified)

Extra Commands: DRINK, HELP, OPEN, READ, RUN, STATUS, USE, KEY, BELL, SOUND, RESTORE, QUIT

Deleted Commands: WAVE, FLEE (replaced by RUN)

Special Features:
sound effects, key click, prompt bell, (all can be turned on and off) 80-column version accepts lowercase input, unlimited heal and power spells, can heal other monsters, can save up to 3 games, can restore at any time.

Playing Time:
2-4 Hours

Reviewer Rating:
8.0

Average Rating:
8.0/4

Description: "Dungeon of Doom is not a game for undeveloped characters. Weak characters will be eliminated quickly. It is suggested that your character have some armor expertise and that they know the 'heal' spell...

"Dear adventurer: You have been chosen by the A.A.A. (Adventurers Association of America) as the only one capable of the following task:

"You are to enter the dark recesses of the dungeon of the great dragon Shantieka in search of the black sword. It has been said that Shantieka herself guards the sword, deep in the dungeon's lower level. You are to find it and return it to the A.A.A. (by making it out of the dungeon alive.) If you should make it back with the sword, great wealth and fame shall be yours. And now, you are teleported to Shantieka's dungeon. Good luck

Comments: Above is all of the intro except for the notes on the commands. Here we have a classic "kill and loot" game with several bells and whistles with some good puzzles thrown in for good measure. The first puzzle you encounter is a medium-tough riddle that when solved, allows you to proceed to the lower level. The dungeon itself is huge with tons of bends, t-intersections, and 4-way intersections.

The intro isn't kidding about the game being tough! There is loads of combat with a large variety of monsters. The unlimited heal spell is absolutely necessary and the fact that you can heal your companions is something that I have always missed in older Eamons so I'm glad to see it included.

This is the most ambitious Eamon (in terms of features) I have ever played based on the old version 4 DDD. The sound effects are not great but add some fun to the game.

Another nice feature is the status command which prints the information about your character that you can normally only review from the Main Hall. This is good as the power spell can mess with your stats and also, you can decide if a weapon you find is worth keeping. The help command merely lists all commands.

I'd peg the difficulty around 7. A few hints: pay attention to the advice you are given just after you get to the second level. Don't read any writing on the second level as one inscription holds a nasty surprise. It's not a death trap but it does set you back a bit. Also, ProDOS users should run the "Eamon.117.INTRO" program to resume and DOS 3.3 users should run the "DUNGEON OF DOOM" program. Otherwise, the sound routine won't get loaded and you'll end up getting dropped into the monitor.

Overall, I liked this Eamon. My only complaint is that although the puzzles were good, there weren't enough of them. I'm a big puzzle fan. I would recommend this game to anybody who likes combat and likes unusual game features.

Used with Matthew Clark's kind permition.
Original review available at Eamon Adventurer's Guild Online website.

    Adam Myrow Profile

    Name Adam Myrow
    Gender Male

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