The Carebears made a game!
We are Kurgan, a magician who dresses like a weird-looking Santa! He must retrieve the lost magic from the lands of Damiran and battle all kinds of cutesy creatures over five levels to restore things back to how they were. However, this is one of the hardest platformers I have ever played and it's how the game ultimately fails but, let's continue on.
We all love a challenge but this is ridiculous - the mechanics are so unforgiving and makes everything a chore without any enjoyment. Just wait until you meet those jumping critters or the spiders, which are often annoyingly placed just off-screen, thus will suddenly appear when you get close and zap away your precious energy. Did they playtest it?
Level one looks incredible but is also incredibly tough. However, I guess it does a neat job of introducing you to the game’s wicked mechanics. TBH, I struggled to complete it and only got to see the technical delights of the second stage by using a cheat. Sadly, this level is hampered by more unfair mechanics and therefore needs to be played over and over, if only we had more lives. Argh, I found myself unable to play for long which infuriated me for a variety of reasons!!
I consider Enchanted Lands a showcase product. Developed by the legendary Carebears who show the world just what our 16-bit computer is capable of when in the hands of people who don't make excuses. The game is almost a demo designed specifically to show off the Atari ST. They just forgot the gameplay!
Do you want to see a screenshot? No? I understand. How about an animated GIF to enjoy the lush visuals...
Well, the immense talent that went into the game's development is astounding!
Aesthetics
Visually, this platformer is a Christmas cracker and I wish every game I booted up looked this gorgeous!! I mean, it really is like a playable demo with hundreds of beautiful colours on screen at once. The landscapes are stunning and are complemented by equally gorgeous sprites (they will cause all the headaches that a gamer dreads). A stunning game!!
TCB certainly can program! To a level most software companies can only dream of. Did I mention everything scrolls along at an eye-popping 50fps scrolling? Beautifully programmed with jaw-dropping visuals.
The Audio is every bit as impressive as the graphics. Musically, it is breathtaking with tunes (and sound effects) that are perfectly suited. My ears can find no faults with everything Mad Max produced. Magnificent tunes.
You might say that this is our Shadow Of The Beast. A lovely showcase product but not much gameplay...
Let's hop from cloud to cloud looking for more deadly places to die!!
The CryptO'pinion?
Enchanted Land looks and sounds perfect but it's immensely tough and desperately demands using a trainer. Even then, you will spend aeons trying to master the game's cunning temperament. I personally think the difficulty level could sink the Titanic!! It's this overkill that spoils what could have been an outstanding platformer. Sigh.
These guys certainly knew their stuff. Technically, it's a masterpiece but it's supposed to be a game and not a demo. And a game without much enjoyment, or an enjoyable challenge, isn't something I desire. I would definitely say this is our Shadow Of The Beast and something you load up to show friends. Look and listen but don't expect much to actually play.
There are better platformers for the Atari ST and I'm gutted to write that. Truly, I'm absolutely gutted.
8BitChip has a hard disk installable version.
The floppies can be found via Old Games Finder.
The floppies can be found via Old Games Finder.
Okay, it's time to cheat your way through this cruel platformer:
On the title screen type in, "TCB RULES FOREVER"
The screen will flash...
The screen will flash...
Now you can press keys 1 - 5 to pick a different level.
Also, pressing F2 - F10 for lots of different effects. Enjoy!
