Wizard of Wor

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Gameplay screenshot from the C64
Gameplay screenshot from the C64

Wizard of Wor is an arcade game from 1980, developed by Midway, and later ported to the Commodore 64 as well as the Atari 800, the Atari 2600 and the Bally Astrocade. The title of the game is often incorrectly spelled as "Wizard of War". The game was released as part of the compilation game Midway Arcade Treasures 2 in 2004.

[edit] Gameplay

Wizard of Wor is an action-oriented game for one or two players. The game takes the form of several maze-like dungeons infested with monsters. The players' characters, called Worriors, have to kill all the monsters.

Each dungeon consists of a single-screen rectangular grid with walls and corridors in various formations. The Worriors and the monsters can travel freely through the corridors. Player one has yellow Worriors, on the right, and player two has blue Worriors, on the left.

The enemy roster
The enemy roster

The various monsters include the following:

  • Burwor: A blue Dragon-type creature. It also looks somewhat similar to a squirrel.
  • Garwor: A yellow Tyrannosaurus Rex-type creature. Has the ability to turn invisible, thus it can only be seen with the radar
  • Thorwor: A red scorpion-like creature. Also has the ability to turn invisible, thus it can only been seen with the radar.
  • Worluk: An Insectoid-type creature.
  • Wizard of Wor: A blue wizard.

Normally, each dungeon starts filled with Burwors. In the first dungeon, shooting the last Burwor makes a Garwor appear, and shooting the Garwor makes a Thorwor appear. In the second dungeon, shooting either of the last two Burwors makes Garwors appear, and so on. Each dungeon has doors at the left and right edges, which connect with each other, making the dungeon wrap around. Whenever these are used by a monster, they will deactivate, making them work as a normal wall. After a certain amount of time, they will reactivate. They can be used by both Worriors and monsters. A player who exits the door can pop back through the door immediately when the Worluk or Wizard is in the dungeon.

The Worluk appears in every Dungeon from the 2nd dungeon onward. Killing the Worluk will create a "Double Score Dungeon" as the next dungeon. The Worluk will often escape out the door ending the dungeon. He does not come in the other side. The Wizard of Wor will appear in or after the 3rd dungeon once the Worluk has been killed or has escaped (depending on how many men you have lost). The Wizard may go out the door and reappear on the other side. After a few seconds the Wizard will disappear and teleport across the dungeon. He will gradually get closer and closer to the Worrior. The Wizard stays and fights until he shoots the worrior or the worrior shoots him. Killing the Wizard of Wor will also create a double score dungeon for the next dungeon. There are 2 special dungeons. The 4th dungeon is called "THE ARENA" and the 13th dungeon is called THE PIT. The Pit is extraordinarily hard because there are no walls to hide behind. These special dungeons give the player an additional worrior. The game also calls the player "Worrior" through dungeon 7, after that, the Player is referred to as a "Worlord". The "Worlord Dungeons" are more difficult because they have fewer walls. Eventually with Dungeon 13, The Pit, there are no walls.

The Wizard of Wor himself is a Cyborg (he has a human face, but robotic eyes and hands) who possesses powers of teleportation and attacks the player with Magic. He lacks visible legs. He uses a speech synthesizer to taunt the player.

In a two-player game, the players are also able to shoot each other's Worriors, earning bonus points but causing the other player to lose a life. Team-oriented players can successfully advance through the game by standing back-to-back (such as in a corner) and firing at anything that comes at them.

[edit] External links

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