Feud for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Little Dullford, a village lost in time, witnesses the epic battle between Learic and Leanoric, two sorcerer brothers. The former, cursed by the latter with an aging spell, has just one day to defeat his twin before dying.
Feud is a unique exploration game where you must gather various herbs scattered across a vast landscape to mix in your cauldron to craft offensive and defensive spells. However, your opponent does exactly the same and will hunt you down to annihilate you once they have enough enchantments.FEUD
Posted by:Bulldog Software, 1987.Gender: Adventure / Arcade.
Extra: 1 player, joystick.
GAME SCREEN
The top of the screen shows the movement of Learic (the protagonist) in the stage, where the herbs are also located -which you will always find in the same places; Leanoric (our enemy) and other characters.At the bottom left, like an inventory, there is a magic book with the twelve available spells and the 24 herbs needed to make them. In the center, there are two figures that represent the energy of the sorcerers: Learic (left) and Leanoric (right). Finally, on the right there is a compass that points to the current location of our opponent.
GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS
We must wander around the town, which consists of a cemetery, a garden, a village, a stream and other locations, in search of the plants. To make our task easierWe have this map, which shows the location of all the herbs; as well as the different paths.As we locate the pairs of plants, we must return to the cauldron to combine them into spells. With the enchantments ready, we will look for Leanoric to attack him and repel his attacks. You win the game if you manage to finish off the enemy's energy before he finishes off yours. Keep in mind that contact with Leanoric is enough to lose valuable energy.
Other characters also take away your strength, however most will only hinder your movements.
CONTROLS
Use the joystick to walk in four directions.Stand in front of the plants and walk up to pick them.: The respective name will change from lead to red. When you have both ingredients for any spell, you can return to the cauldron to mix them together.
To mix the ingredients: Stand in front of the cauldron, press the fire button and without releasing it, move the joystick to the right or left to turn the pages of the magic book. Once on the page that contains both plants, move the joystick down and release the button. You will know that the spell is ready when its name changes to red.
To cast a spell: Press the fire button and move the stick to the right or left until you locate the ready spell on the pages of the magic book. Move the stick up and release the fire button to activate/cast the magic.
Finally, the Option key allows us to activate/deactivate the background music.
HERBS AND SPELLS
There are a total of 24 herbs and flowers to collect and craft 12 spells:1. Teleport- Dandylion and Burdock. This spell will teleport you back to the cauldron from anywhere. Unlimited.
2. Protect- Piperwort and Ragwort (Eriocaulon and Hierba de Santiago). It will make you invulnerable for a short time. You can use it two (02) times; even if you get frozen.
3. Sprites- Snapdragon and Toadflax (Heartgrass and Linaria). It is a missile spell.
4. Zombie- Devilsbit and Bones. Will turn the nearest villager into a slow zombie, which will follow you. If Leanoric is on screen, the zombie will attack him, draining his energy.
5. Swift- Speedwell and Mad Sage (Veronica and Salvia). Doubles your speed for a short time. You can use it two (02) times.
6. Freeze- Bind Weed and Bog Weed (Bell and Bog Weed). If Leanoric is on screen, he will prevent you from moving.
7. Doppleganger- Fox Glove and Catsear (Foxglove and Hogweed). Will spawn a replica of you that will distract Leanoric's attention.
8. Lightning- Cud Weed and Knap Weed. This is a missile spell.
9. Invisible- Chondrilla and Hemlock. Makes you invisible.
10. Reverse- Thistle and Skullcap. Will cause Leanoric to move in the opposite direction, confusing him temporarily.
11. Heal- Balm and Feverfew (Toronjil and Matricaria). You recover part of your energy. You can use it two (02) times; even if you are frozen.
12. Fireball- Dragonteeth and Mousetail. It is a missile spell.
STRATEGIES
• Always look for herbs that form missile spells like Fireball, Lightning and Sprites, as they are the most effective. Keep in mind, however, that they can only be used on the enemy on the same screen.• Some spells can be used only once, while others can be used multiple times - such as Teleport.
• Most enchantments act automatically; however, others require some control to be effective - such as Lightning and Zombie.
• Likewise, some spells can be used simultaneously - such as Invisible, Freeze and Fireball.
• With practice, you can dodge missile spells (Sprites, Fireball, Lightning).
• You can only teleport when other characters are not on the same screen; and you always teleport in front of your cauldron.
• You can use the Zombie spell only on villagers: they will walk in the same direction as Laeric but will not leave the boundaries of their own territory. It is useless on travelers or against the garden guardian.
• Several of the herbs are found in a garden, guarded by a gardener. Although slow, he is also capable of dealing damage to Learic.
EVALUATION
Graphically, Feud offers a complex landscape and notable elements - albeit with a limited color scheme. Animations - in particular, character movement - are decent; and enchantments work adequately.The music is another matter: while the melody fits well with the medieval theme and contributes to generating an atmosphere of tension, it becomes repetitive after a few minutes. Fortunately, we can turn it off and stick with just the sound effects.
Finally, the gameplay can quickly become boring for impatient players - especially those who are easily disoriented by the vast surroundings or cannot stand the pace of the protagonist's movements. However, the rush to find herbs and prepare spells makes up for the tediousness of traversing the village.
We must confess that, unfortunately, we were never able to finish off Leanoric: in particular, because - apparently - the enemy can pick up plants and use spells in an unlimited way; and he doesn't need to be on the same screen to attack us.
CURIOSITIES
• In almost all versions of Feud it is impossible to pick up the Knap Weed herb that is required to cast the Lightning spell. Fortunately, Paul "Mr Fish" Fisher sharedThis corrected version of the game on the AtariAge forum• Feud was released as a low-budget game in the UK, specifically encoded for use on PAL video systems. The NTSC version has fewer audio channels.
• There is a version with theTexts translated into Czech
• The text on the cassette version's label is written in a sort of Old British (possibly Western) English accent: it relates that "some two or three summers ago, Leanoric turned Learic into a toad", giving the residents of Little Dullford "a week's peace".
• Hesecond episode of the ChinnyVision video channelcompared versions of Feud for Atari, ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga and IBM.
According to the Giant Bomb website, all versions were similar; except the C64 one, where Leanoric appears randomly on the screen.
• In theWindows version, Leanoric will often inexplicably get stuck on some open path. He will also cheat, walking through solid walls and other obstacles.
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