Orc Attack is a
fixed shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
video game written by Dean Lock for
Atari 8-bit computers
The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...
and published in 1983 by
Thorn EMI
Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI in October 1979, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituen ...
.
[ The game was re-released, along with ]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 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. ...
ports, when Thorn rebranded as Creative Sparks, and later at budget price by Sparklers and Top Ten. In ''Orc Attack'', the player protects a castle wall by dropping boulders on ladder climbing orc
An orc (sometimes spelt ork; ), in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin".
In Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevol ...
s. Though the visuals are low resolution, ''Orc Attack'' has a high level of violence.[
]
Gameplay
The player moves back and forth along the top of a castle wall, defending it from orcs below which shoot arrows at the player and others which use ladders to scale the wall. The player can kill orcs and destroy ladders by picking up rocks from the left and right sides of the ramparts, then dropping them. Should an orc climb all the way to the top, the player can pick up a sword instead of a rock and kill it.
After a while, the rocks are replaced with boiling oil. Dropping oil starts a fire at the bottom of the screen which engulfs the orcs and ladders, ending the round. The number of orcs killed during the round is counted up.
As the game progresses, Ninja Orcs appear which can climb without a ladders. A sorcerer sends evil spirits against players.
Reception
Atari 8-bit magazine ''ANALOG Computing
''ANALOG Computing'' was an American computer magazine devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almo ...
'' called ''Orc Attack'' "easily the most violent and gratuitously satisfying shoot-'em-up on the market today (although 'drop-'em-down' might be a more accurate label)."
References
External links
*
*{{lemon64 game, id=1853, name=Orc Attack
''Orc Attack''
at Spectrum Computing
1983 video games
Atari 8-bit computer games
Commodore 64 games
Fantasy video games
Fixed shooters
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set in castles
ZX Spectrum games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Thorn EMI video games
Video games about orcs