Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon

Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon is a 1987 action adventure computer game developed and published by Cinemaware. It is set in a fantastical Arabian Nights-esque world. The player assumes the role of Sinbad the Sailor, and is commissioned by The Princess to rid the land of the Dark Prince. The game was designed and programmed by Bill Williams for the Amiga, who also wrote Mind Walker for that platform.[1]

Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon
Cover art
Developer(s)Cinemaware
Publisher(s)Cinemaware
Designer(s)Bill Williams[1]
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Commodore 64
Release1987
1988 (C64)
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Like many Cinemaware games, Sinbad draws its inspiration from Hollywood, with a large influence from films such as Jason and the Argonauts as well as the seven other Sinbad films made throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Description

Gameplay alternated between an open-ended world map, action sequences, and dialog, where the player would engage other characters and further conversations and relationships, in which the choice of things said altered the future of the game. (Cinemaware's title The King of Chicago relied heavily on this format.)

Using the world map, the player was free to sail to any location, which would trigger the dialogue or action sequences. (For example, The Princess would always be willing to talk at the Palace, while sailing through rough waters would probably initiate a shipwreck.) In cities, you could hire men for your crew, while in the deep forests, you could talk with shamans and Gypsies about magic and potions.

Action sequences
  • Sword fighting - After an on-screen prompt of "Pick Up Thy Joystick!", Sinbad battles with wild animals that have come upon his camp, stone idols that had come to life, other pirates, and the Black Prince himself.
  • The Cyclops - Occasionally, when in remote areas, a cyclops will raid the camp and steal away some of the player's crew. Using a slingshot, the player has to blind the cyclops while avoiding the rocks thrown at him.
  • The Shipwreck - Coming across pieces of a broken ship in rough waters, Sinbad must steer his boat through the waves, avoiding rocks and picking up drowning sailors, who will eventually join the crew.
  • The Earthquake - Sinbad falls into an opening chasm in the earth, and must escape in this quite typical platform sequence.

Reception

Computer Gaming World stated that the Amiga version of Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon was a "brilliant tribute to those masterful films. Unfortunately, STF is also a very uneven product". It praised the audio and some of the graphics but said that the game's attempt to combine arcade, adventure, and strategy was not completely successful, and concluded that it was "light, entertainment fare, at best".[2]

References
  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. Lee, Wyatt (June–July 1987). "The Interactive Voyage of Sinbad". Computer Gaming World. p. 46.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.