The Evil Dead (video game)

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The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead
Box art of The Evil Dead
Developer(s) Palace Virgin Gold
Publisher(s) Palace Software
Designer(s) Richard Leinfellner
Keith Miller
Platforms Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
Release date(s)
    Genre(s) Adventure, survival horror
    Mode(s) Single-player

    The Evil Dead is a survival horror adventure game produced by Palace Software for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. It is based on the 1981 horror film of the same name.

    Although the C64 version received a full commercial release, the ZX Spectrum version was never released on its own and eventually appeared on the "B"-side of Cauldron.[1]

    The Evil Dead was the first (and for some time, only) officially-licensed video game based on the series. Starting with 2000's Evil Dead: Hail to the King, several other Evil Dead games have since been released, albeit from other publishers and with no direct connection to Palace's 1984 game.

    Gameplay

    File:The Evil Dead 1984 computer game.png
    Screenshot from the ZX Spectrum version of the game

    The game is set at the infamous cabin from the Evil Dead film. The player controls Ash, and must close cabin windows to prevent monsters from entering, while also killing monsters that are already in the cabin.

    As the player defeats monsters with various weapons (shovels, shotguns, and axes), Ash's energy level decreases. Ash must continuously pick up new weapons in order to increase his energy. Once he has defeated all the monsters, Ash must obtain The Book of the Dead and destroy it in order to defeat the evil.

    Reception

    Contemporary opinion and "computer nasties" controversy

    Your Computer magazine's 1984 review noted then-contemporary concerns that gaming spin-offs of "video nasties" (such as The Evil Dead) might spawn similarly-explicit "computer nasties". However, it considered that the game itself allayed any such fears, saying "you might have wondered if home computer graphics were capable of the sort of gory special effects video nasties trade in. The Evil Dead would confirm your doubts [..] there is nothing here to keep even the most unworldly 12-year-old awake at night".[2]

    Despite this, and the game's similarities to Atic Atac being noted, the review was generally positive, considering the graphics "excellent" and stating that there was "enough variety in it to keep the interest alive".[3]

    Retrospective

    In a 2004 retrospective, Retro Gamer stated that while the game was simplistic by current standards, it was "fun to play (for about five minutes anyway)".[1]

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

    External links


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