Aztec (video game)

Aztec

Developer(s) Paul Stephenson[1]
Publisher(s) Datamost
Platform(s) Apple II, Atari 400/800, Commodore 64[1]
Release date(s) 1982[1]
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) N/A
Media/distribution 5ΒΌ" disk

Aztec is a 1982 computer game, created by Paul Stephenson and published by Datamost. It was originally developed for the Apple II and later ported to the Atari 400/800 and the Commodore 64.

Contents

Premise

Aztec is a platform adventure game in which the player enters and explores the recently discovered "Tomb of Quetzalcoatl" in search of a jade idol.

The tomb's many levels are filled with traps, dangerous animals, Aztec guards and other hazards. Equipped with a machete, a pistol and sticks of dynamite, the player must recover the jade idol and escape the tomb. The player encounters snakes on occasion as well as a giant octopus if he keeps going to lower levels.

Gameplay

Before beginning play, the game prompts the player to select a difficulty level from one to eight. Increasing the game's difficulty boosts the number and aggressiveness of the enemies the player will face, but also increases the reward they'll gain from retrieving the idol.

Each level in the tomb is shown from the side, with steps often connecting the levels and piles of bones and debris scattered along the floor. Searching these piles, or occasional boxes or chests, may discover and yield useful items such as a pistol or ammunition, a machete, dynamite, health potions, remains of the Prof. Von Forster, or the idol. Once the idol has been found, the player must make it back up all the way, and escape outside. If the player dies, the game allows them to resume from the last level they were in. It also allows them to resume a game from a previous session. Every new game features a different set of random-created levels.

References

External links