''Ghouls'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

written by David Hoskins and published in the UK by

Micro Power Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and s ...

. It was released on the

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and

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 ...

in 1984.

Gameplay

Ghouls is a platform game, set in a creepy mansion on top of a hill. The player character has the appearance of a

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

sprite on legs and in a similarity to that game can also eat yellow dots for extra points. The main goal of the game however, is to obtain the treasure which is guarded by the deadly inhabitants of the mansion. The player must make their way through rooms such as ''Spectre's Lair'', ''Horrid Hall'', ''The Spider's Parlour'' and ''Death Tower''. Various in-game objects must be negotiated such as poison-smeared spikes, moving platforms, contracting floorboards, powerful springs and bouncing spiders.

Reception

The game was well received by the gaming press. ''

The Micro User ''The Micro User'' (titled ''BBC Micro User'' in the first three issues) was a British specialist magazine catering to users of the BBC Microcomputer series, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes and, to a limited extent, the Cambridge Z88. It had a ...

'' called the game "simple but effective". They were particularly impressed with the presentation of the game stating "The game is visually successful in creating a spooky setting, and choosing to play with sound effects only enhances the atmosphere". ''

Electron User ''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 1 ...

'' also praised the graphics and "eerie sounds," labeling the game "extremely addictive" and concluding "We've come to expect high standard games from Micro Power and ''Ghouls'' is one of their best!".

References

External links

Gamespot entry for Ghouls (Micro Power)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghouls (Video Game) 1984 video games Amstrad CPC games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 64 games Micro Power games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom