''Dragontorc'' is an

action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...

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 Graftgold was originally ST Software startin ...

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 ZX Spec ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

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 well received by critics.

Plot

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

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

. 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, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

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

Vortigern Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...

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 well received. ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' is a discontinued monthly magazine, which was published in the United Kingdom. It is about home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It is the first magazine published by Chris Anderson (TED), Chri ...

'' gave it an 86%, ''

Amtix ''Amtix'' (stylized as ''AMTIX!'') is a magazine that originally reviewed Amstrad CPC 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). Overv ...

'' 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 The ''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 ''Dragontorc'', which is more user friendly. The puzzles are well hidden and tricky. If you have never played ''Avalon'', however, start with ''Dragontorc'', it is the better game". A review in '' Crash'' hailed it for "an excellent balance of incentive and difficulty", and praised its "excellent" graphics but had some criticism for the sound despite commending its "great" music and awarded it a score of 92%. In 1991, ''Crash'' staff ranked ''Dragontorc'' as the 99th top Spectrum game.

References

External links

''Dragontorc''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

* {{WoS game, id=0001503 1985 video games Action-adventure games Amstrad CPC games Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages Graftgold games Hewson Consultants 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