''Chaos Strikes Back'' is an expansion and sequel to '' Dungeon Master'', the earlier 3D

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

. ''Chaos Strikes Back'' was released in 1989 and is also available on several platforms (including Atari ST,

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 with ...

PC-98 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more ...

FM Towns The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...

). It uses the same engine as ''Dungeon Master'', with new graphics and a new, far more challenging, dungeon.

Gameplay

Although ''Chaos Strikes Back'' describes itself as an

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or a ...

, the original '' Dungeon Master'' is not required. Whereas the first game saw the player following a fairly linear path through the adventure, with the completion of each flat level marked by a staircase leading down onto a new slightly harder level below, ''Chaos Strikes Back'' features a choice of paths which twist back and forth over all levels. The puzzles are far more convoluted, often demanding quick mastery of the control system to deal with intense combat, along with brain vexing riddles and room layouts. The game is therefore pitched at a much higher difficulty level than its predecessor. The player can choose from a selection of moderately high-level characters or can import characters from a ''Dungeon Master'' saved game. In an indication of the game's uncompromising toughness, the player's very first task is to get out of a dark, enclosed room filled with ferociously toothed man-eating giant worms. The game is made a little easier by the inclusion of a separate program which dispenses cryptic hints based on the player's current saved game. Another new, useful feature is an ingame real time map of the dungeon, which makes use of the GOR magic glyph (It had no use in the first game though it's said it was used to create FUL bomb attack potions, which wasn't kept as a spell for the released game) The original had countless guides but the much harder sequel did not, perhaps due to the game itself having an inbuilt map as well as the 'oracle' hint feature, even so though a shorter game it is a lot harder. The player's task is to collect four pieces of corbum, a magical material from which the eponymous Lord Chaos draws his power. This requires the traversing of four separate paths each leading to a piece of corbamite and each themed around one of the disciplines open to characters in the game. These disciplines are fighter,

wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book sup ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp ...

Champion Editor

''Chaos Strikes Back'' comes with a utility for editing the portraits and names of the four-character party. This utility allows custom character portraits to be created for both ''Chaos Strikes Back'' and for ''Dungeon Master''. For users who do not want to draw new characters, but who would like more powerful looking versions of the existing characters (to better represent the higher levels), the game's utility disk also comes with "enhanced" versions of the game's prepackaged character art.unknown author, "Chaos Strikes Back" Manual,

FTL Games FTL Games (Faster Than Light) was the video game development division of Software Heaven Inc. FTL created several popular video games in the 1980s. Despite the company's small size, FTL products were consistently number-one sellers and received t ...

, 1989

Reception

“Computer Gaming World stated that "With the release of ''Chaos Strikes Back'', FTL still has one foot in the winner's circle." The game was reviewed in 1991 in '' Dragon'' #171 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.

Niko Nirvi Niko Nirvi (born 16 February 1961 in Jokioinen, FinlandMalin, AarnoNiko Nirvi on suomalaisen pelijournalismin pioneeri, jonka olemassaoloa moni ehti epäillä – kameran karttamisesta tuli pakkomielle ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' 16 February 2021. Acce ...

reviewed the game in MikroBitti and gave 98 points (out of 100) calling the difficulty level insane and mentioned a disappointing ending but nevertheless called the game "bewitching" and "classic".

Reviews

*''Play Time'' (Apr, 1991) *''

Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 ...

'' (Jan, 1990) *''

ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) ''ACE'' (Advanced Computer Entertainment) was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and later acquired by EMAP. History ACE launched in October 1987, roughly the same time as ...

'' (Feb, 1990) *''

The One The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung ...

'' (Feb, 1990) *''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usu ...

'' (Apr, 1991) *''

'' (Feb, 1990) *''Power Play'' (Feb, 1990) *''Enchanted Realms'' (Mar, 1991) *''

Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister ...

'' (Apr, 1991) *''

CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''V ...

'' (Feb, 1991) *''

Atari ST User ''Atari ST User'' was a British computer magazine aimed at users of the Atari ST range. It started life as a pull-out section in ''Atari User'' magazine. From March 1986 onwards it became a magazine in its own right, outliving its parent by a nu ...

'' (Apr, 1990) *''

'' (Apr, 1991) *''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling '' ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format ...

'' (Apr, 1991) *''

ST Action ''ST Action'' was a video game magazine published in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s that covered the Atari ST, platform. Some news coverage was also given to the Atari Lynx and Jaguar in the later stages of its life. ST Action wa ...

'' (Mar, 1993) *''Joker Verlag präsentiert: Sonderheft'' (1992) *''Amiga Joker'' (Jan, 1991) *''

ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) ''Aktueller Software Markt'' (literally ''Current Software Market''), commonly known by its acronym, ''ASM'', was a German multi-platform video game magazine that was published by Tronic-Verlag from 1986 until 1995. It was one of the first magazine ...

'' (Jan, 1990) *''

Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future plc, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. Philosophy ''Amiga Power'' had several principles which comp ...

'' (May, 1991) *''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published '' CRASH'', '' Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head w ...

'' (Apr, 1990) *''

Jeux & Stratégie ''Jeux'' (''Games'') is a ballet written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" (literally a "danced poem"), it was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the ...

'' nouvelle formule #5

Legacy

Notable reception received ''"CSBWin"'', an Atari ST version based

reverse engineered Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comment (computer programming), comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a Computer program, p ...

reconstruction by Paul R. Stevens around 2003, which led to many ports for modern platforms like

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

and

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...

References

External links

''Chaos Strikes Back''
at

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''Chaos Strikes Back''
at Atari Mania
''Chaos Strikes Back''
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