| Thanatos | |
|---|---|
Burninating the countryside in the ZX Spectrum version of Thanatos |
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| Developer(s) | Mike Richardson |
| Publisher(s) | Durell Software |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Arcade adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media/distribution | Cassette |
| System requirements
48K RAM |
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Thanatos is an arcade adventure videogame which was published by Durell Software in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum,[1] Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC
Contents |
Thanatos was written by Mike Richardson,[1] with music by Julian Breeze and title screen art by Jane Richardson.
The player adopts the role of a dragon, Thanatos the Destroyer, who must rescue a sorceress, Eros, from imprisonment by an evil Lord of the underworld. Once she is recovered from the first castle, Thanatos must take her across the sea to find her spellbook, then carry her to a cauldron so she can complete a spell which will bring enlightenment to the land.
Thanatos has two resources: Flame and Heart. Flame is expended by breathing fire. This attack is required to burn down the gate of the castle and may be used to burn foreground objects – knights, horses, soldiers and rocks. Flame may be recovered by eating witches, who may be found tied between stakes. Heart is depleted as Thanatos is attacked by knights, other dragons and rockfalls. Heart level may be recovered by landing and walking slowly or staying still.
Thanatos may also attack enemies by picking up an object in his claw and dropping them from a height.
Once Eros is rescued, she clings to Thanatos's neck, and rapidly turning may cause her to fall off.
Thanatos was critically acclaimed. The ZX Spectrum version was Popular Computing Weekly's "Pick of the Week",[2] received a "CRASH Smash" accolade from CRASH,[3] a "Megagame" award from Your Sinclair,[4] 4 out of 5 stars from Sinclair User, and [5] 8 out of 10 from Computer & Video Games,[6]
The size of the protagonist was highlighted in these reviews, the dragon sprite taking up a third of length of the display. On the animation of the dragon Jim Douglas commented that "the graphics really come into their own when you see the dragon flying over the landscape. The wings flap with superbly convincing swooshing sound effects, and the dragon waves his head around too.";[5] CRASH said "The movement of the main dragon is very smooth and realistic";[3] C&VG found that Thanatos "is a big, nicely animated character who performs neat turns and landings on request."[6]
The parallax-scrolling background was also praised, as was the overall atmosphere and satisfaction of controlling a traditionally villainous creature.
There were minor criticisms; CRASH felt that Thanatos was "a little too hard"[3] and PCW concluded "I'm not 100% sure that it would keep you hooked for weeks on end."[2]