• Completed
& Reviewed by Neil Collins
Beyond Dark Castle Activision is the follow up to
Dark Castle by Mirrorsoft. It's a vast improvement on
the original in my opinion, but still as confusing. It's
a game that many will have given up on and ignored,
which is a shame as it's not too bad once you get into
it...
The
game structure is similar to the original, but there are
more levels to beat. This time you can only access the
Black Knight levels once you have recovered all the orbs
and placed them on the plinths in the hallway. This
means there is not short route to beating the game. It
plays and looks very much like the original, so it takes
practice to get anywhere as the control method is
awkward and very fussy. Duncan still gets dazed and dies
from the slightest thing which is very frustrating.
I quite
enjoyed playing this as there's a lot more to it than
the original. You even get to fly around in a jetpac on
one of the later levels. The aim of the game is the same
at the original - find and defeat the evil black knight.
If you have some time on your hands, this game is worth
checking out. It looks and plays badly on the surface,
but there is a half decent game underneath if you can
get your head around it. Feel free to get in touch if
you need any info, as there's not a lot to be found on
the internet about the Dark Castle games...
Time to kick some
ass...
He's out for the
count!
"1,2,3..."
"By the power of
GREYSKULL!"
"Oooo... my head is
spinning!"
"WTF - AAAAAAAARGH!"
"NINJA!"
"What's behind the door Miss Forbes?"
The End.
HOW WAS IT COMPLETED?:
I played it from start to finish with no cheats on the
advanced skill level. I just saved my progress as I
worked my way through the levels.
SO WHAT HAPPENS?:
The Black Knight is found at the very top of the final
level sitting on his throne. He gets to his feet and
throws spears at you if you get too close. He also holds
a shield to protect himself from your fireballs, so you
need to aim your shots at unprotected parts of his body.
A dragon also appears from time to time, which you need
to destroy with your fireballs. After a few well placed
shots, he dies and collapses onto his throne. There is a
fireplace next to the throne, which acts like a door if
you pull the hidden lever, which is one of the torches
on the wall. You then see Duncan spin around to the
other side of the false wall through the secret
fireplace passage. A blue flash appears above his head
and moves down Duncan's body. Duncan is then transformed
into the new black knight and can be seen wearing a full
suit of armour. The game then ends and you can enter
your name into the high score table.
Beyond Dark Castle
