Underwurlde
Underwurlde | |
---|---|
Single-player |
Underwurlde is a 1984
Reviewers recommended the original ZX Spectrum Underwurlde release. They noted its expansive game world and appreciated the parts where Sabreman travelled by bubble. Later critics commented on the game's frustrating difficulty. While the Commodore 64 version was similar to the original, reviews were mixed—one critic thought the title had aged poorly in the year between releases. Your Sinclair placed Underwurlde within its top 20 for the ZX Spectrum, though their readers put it near the bottom of their top 100. The game was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.
Gameplay
Underwurlde is a
As a change from earlier games by the developer, Sabreman is invulnerable to enemies and is instead knocked back in a bounce by their touch. However, Sabreman will fall to his death if knocked off a precipice.
Development
Little is known about the development processes of
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Crash | ZX: 92%[3] |
Computer and Video Games | ZX: 35/40[1] C64: 34/40[7] |
Sinclair User | ZX: 8/10[13] |
Zzap!64 | C64: 69%[5] |
Reviewers recommended the original ZX Spectrum Underwurlde release.[6][1] Critics noted the game world's size and appreciated the parts where Sabreman travelled by bubble.[6][1] Retro Gamer described the game's near 600 flip screens as "colossal".[2] At the time of its release, Computer and Video Games said it was likely the most expansive world on the platform.[1] Later reviews noted the game's exceptional difficulty.[14][4] Crash magazine recommended the game as "A Crash Smash".[15]
ZX Spectrum magazine Crash considered Underwurlde to be "excellent" and Ultimate's best game. Each of the magazine's three reviewers appreciated different features of Sabreman's navigation within the game, but mainly liked riding volcanic bubbles and being carried by birds. Another reviewer compared Sabreman's jump to that of Bugaboo (The Flea) and added that the game's single difficulty level was adequately balanced. All three Crash critics noted that the QWERT keyboard controller mapping worked well in this game, though it was awkward in others. They also praised Underwurlde's detailed graphics and sound. One reviewer additionally noticed that the game lacked a score leaderboard, but surmised that this was a trade-off for the game's expansive world.[3] Unlike Crash, Computer and Video Games did not like the controls, which was the reviewer's main criticism of the game.[1] Another ZX Spectrum reviewer, Chris Bourne (Sinclair User), said that the game was fast, colourful, and akin to a "vertical Atic Atac".[13]
Commodore 64 magazine
Legacy
In the early 1990s, Your Sinclair rated the game within the top fifth of their top 100 ZX Spectrum games. Stuart Campbell wrote that Underwurlde was the most simultaneously loved and hated game of its era—though Sabreman's invulnerability to direct damage was novel, Campbell also recalled the game's "stratospheric level of frustration".[14] The magazine's readers, however, ranked the game near the bottom of their top 100 games for the platform.[16] Underwurlde was later included in the 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation Rare Replay, wherein critics rated it among the worst of the 30 titles by Ultimate Play the Game and its successor, Rare.[17][18][19] Kyle Hilliard (Game Informer) wrote that Ultimate's early games, such as Underwurlde, fared the worst in the package, though he was glad they were included.[18] "By today's standards," began New Zealand newspaper The Nelson Mail, "the likes of ... Underwurlde are so clunky and archaic that they are almost laughably impenetrable; strange relics from a bygone era that serve only to illustrate how far the industry has progressed."[19]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Computer and Video Games 1985.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hunt 2010, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d e Crash 1984, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d Zzap!64 1985, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d Zzap!64 1985, p. 19.
- ^ a b c Crash 1984, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c d Computer and Video Games 1986.
- ^ Hunt 2010, p. 24.
- ^ Carroll 2012.
- ^ Hunt 2010, p. 27.
- ^ Personal Computer Games 1984.
- ^ Schofield 1984.
- ^ a b Bourne 1985.
- ^ a b Campbell 1992.
- ^ Crash 1984, p. 17.
- ^ Your Sinclair 1993.
- ^ Kollar 2015.
- ^ a b Hilliard 2015.
- ^ a b The Nelson Mail 2015.
References
- Bourne, Chris (February 1985). "Underwurlde". ISSN 0262-5458.
- Campbell, Stuart (January 1992). "The YS Top 100 Speccy Games of All Time (Ever) - Part Four". ISSN 0269-6983.
- Carroll, Martyn (July 2012). "On the trail of Mire Mare". Retro Gamer (105). Imagine Publishing: 34–39.
- "From cave art to Mona Lisa in 30 years". The Nelson Mail. 18 August 2015. p. 9 – via LexisNexis.
- Hilliard, Kyle (3 August 2015). "Rare Replay: A Rare Occasion". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- Hunt, Stuart (February 2010). "The Ultimate Hero: A Complete History of Sabreman". ISSN 1742-3155.
- "Let the People Decide! The Results". ISSN 0269-6983.
- Kollar, Philip (4 August 2015). "Rare Replay Countdown: 30 Rare classics ranked from worst to best". Polygon. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- "Ultimate Storm The Charts". Personal Computer Games. No. 14. VNU. January 1985. p. 22. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
the release of Knight Lore came just before the charts were compiled. Louise Stamper of Ultimate said ... 'We hope Knight Lore will also go to number one'
- Schofield, Jack (13 December 1984). "Futures (Micro Guardian): Gathering winter duels/Computer games for Christmas". The Guardian – via LexisNexis.
- "Software Reviews: Underwurlde". ISSN 0261-3697.
- "Software Reviews: Underwurlde". ISSN 0261-3697.
- "Underwurlde". ISSN 0954-8661.
- "Underwurlde". ISSN 0954-867X.
External links
- Underwurlde can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
- Underwurlde at MobyGames
- Underwurlde at SpectrumComputing.co.uk