''Dragontorc'' is an

action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

developed by Steve Turner's

Graftgold Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms. History The Hewson Era The studio Graftgold was formed in 1983, whe ...

and released for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the S ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

Hewson Consultants Hewson Consultants were one of the smaller software companies which produced video games for home computers in the mid-1980s. They had a reputation for high-quality games which continually pushed the boundaries of what the computers were capable ...

in 1985. It is a sequel to 1984's '' Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie.'' The hero of ''Avalon,'' Maroc the Mage, returns to defeat an evil witch and save Britain. The game was very well received by critics.

Plot

Maroc the Mage has defeated the Lord of Chaos. Now he must stop Morag the Shape-Shifter, the Witch Queen of the North, from inheriting the terrible power of the legendary Dragontorc of

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in th ...

. To reactivate it and achieve her evil ambitions, Morag needs to gather the five crowns of the kingdoms of Britain. She has manipulated the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

to fight against the kings so she can steal the five crowns, and has already caused the death of King

Vortigern Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

and seized the crown of

Dumnonia Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...

. To save the realm, Maroc sets out to seek out and destroy the remaining crowns, infiltrate the citadel of Morag to find and kill her, and free the Merlyn, his mentor who has been enchanted by Morag.

Reception

The game was overall very well received. ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publi ...

'' gave it an 86%, ''

Amtix ''Amtix'' (stylized as ''AMTIX!'') is a magazine that originally reviewed Amstrad computer software in the mid-1980s, published monthly by Newsfield Publications Ltd. Unlike '' Zzap!64'' and '' CRASH'' (its more successful sister publications ...

'' gave it a 91%, ''

Popular Computing Weekly ''Popular Computing Weekly'' was a computer magazine in the UK published from 1982 to 1990. It was sometimes referred to as ''PCW'' (although that abbreviation is more commonly associated with ''Personal Computer World'' magazine). Overview T ...

'' gave it five (for the original Spectrum version) and four (for the Amstrad port) TV sets out of five, and ''ZX Computing'' gave it five stars out of five. Clare Edgeley of ''

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

'' wrote: "''Avalon'' fans will love ''Dragon Torc'', which is more user friendly. The puzzles are well hidden and tricky. If you have never played ''Avalon'', however, start with ''Dragon Torc'', it is the better game." A review in ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch s ...

'' hailed it for "an excellent balance of incentive and difficulty," acclaiming it for "excellent" graphics but noting regarding the sound that "music is great but there’s little else," and awarded it a score of 92%. In 1991, ''Crash'' staff ranked ''Dragontorc'' as the 99th top Spectrum game.

References

External links

''Dragontorc''
at

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*{{WoS game, id=0001503 1985 video games Action-adventure games Amstrad CPC games Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages Graftgold games Single-player video games Video games about witchcraft Video games based on Arthurian legend Video games based on Celtic mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Hewson Consultants games