Nightshade (1985 video game)
Nightshade is an action video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was first released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985, and was then ported to the Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro later that year. It was also ported to the MSX exclusively in Japan in 1986. In the game, the player assumes the role of a knight who sets out to destroy four demons in a plague-infested village. The game features scrolling isometric gameplay, an improvement over its flip-screen-driven predecessors, Knight Lore and Alien 8, all thanks to an enhanced version of the Ultimate Play the Game's Filmation game engine, branded Filmation II. The game received positive reviews upon release; critics praised its gameplay traits, graphics and colours, however one critic was divided over its perceived similarities to its predecessors. Gameplay The game is presented in an isometric format. The player assumes the role of a knight who enters the plague-infested village of Nightshade to vanquish four demons who reside within. Additionally, all residents from the village have been transformed into vampires and other supernatural creatures. Contact with these monsters infects the knight, with repeated contact turning the character from white to yellow and then to green, which will lead to the character's death. The knight may be hit up to three times by an enemy, however the fourth hit will result in a life being deducted. The objective of the game is to locate and destroy four specific demons. Each demon is vulnerable to a particular object which must be collected by the player: a hammer, a Bible, a crucifix and an hourglass. Once the four items have been collected, the player must track down a specific demon and cast the correct item at it in order to destroy it. Once all four demons have been destroyed, the game will end. In order to defend against other enemies such as vampires and monsters, the player can arm themselves with "antibodies", which can then be thrown at enemies. Antibodies can be found in houses around the village, and will slowly deplete once used by the player. Other collectible items include extra lives and boots, the latter of which enables the player character to run at a faster speed. Background and release Ultimate Play the Game was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's wife, Carol, from their headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982. They began producing multiple video games for the ZX Spectrum throughout the early 1980s. The company were known for their reluctance to reveal details about their operations and upcoming projects. Little was known about their development process except that they used to work in separate teams; one team would work on graphics whilst the other would concentrate on other aspects such as sound or programming. When a journalist reviewing Nightshade for Crash asked Tim and Chris Stamper what the object of the game was they responded: "oh, we can't tell you that". The game was developed with the isometric projection game