Stocking up on garlic bread from the local Pizza Shed, whittling sticks and brandishing makeshift crucifixes, the SF crew finally feel brave enough to take this cart from its box.

The legend of the vampire stretches back centuries. There are tales of the terrifying creatures across Europe and beyond. But the ultimate of these creatures is the infamous Dracula!

The Prince Of Darkness has always been a symbol of evil and a few heroic champions have tried to kill him. None have succeeded so now it’s up to you!

The game takes place in the foggy streets of 19th century London. The Lord Of The Vampires (how many pseudonyms has Drac got?! —Prod Ed) has travelled to England in search of new blood!

You take the role of Dr Social, a renowned paranormal investigator. One night, a message from your ouija board tells you evil’s near and you’re to travel to the river Thames immediately.

Setting off, you’re shocked to hear a murder’s taken place near your destination. Could this be the work of the fanged fiend himself?

On your way, you encounter hypnotised minions of Dracula – vampire bats, rabid dogs and zombies. Dotted around the streets are floating ghost heads that contain useful items. Collect guns, bombs, swords and axes to help you defeat evil!

So battle through five levels of chilling action as you race to find the Black Prince (argh! — Prod Ed) before he strikes again!

LOWER THE STAKES!

Axe
Get down to some serious hackin’ an’ slashin’ with this monster of a weapon. One of the best weapons to have in battle!
Bomb
These can be thrown quite a distance for an explosive effect! Useful for tackling annoying enemies from a safe distance.
Garlic
Eaten in large amounts by the French and stinks a lot! Er... not very useful against your foes — but it does get you extra points.
Gun
Obtain this and pick off even the hardest bad guys with ease! Press up and fire to use your gun but keep an eye on your ammunition supply.
Hammer
At first glance, this might not seem the most useful item to have when faced with the forces of darkness but its long reach is useful.
Crystal
This very useful item is scarce, so use it wisely! Touching the crystal causes all enemies onscreen to be destroyed. |
Knife
Bog-standard weapon that you start off with. Not very useful. If you have a good weapon, try not to pick this up again.
Potion
This restores your health if you’ve been hit. These are scattered all over the levels so you’ll have to search for ‘em.
Sabre
Another weapon with a long reach. Roughly as powerful as the hammer when fighting. Be careful when your waving that thing around!
Boomerang
A long distance weapon that really packs a punch! You only have a limited amount of these so fling ‘em wisely!

Mat screams... ‘SPOOKY’

The lights are getting dimmer in Game Freak Alley. There are rumours of strange beings lurking in the shadows. With a cloak wrapped tightly round me, garlic cloves round my neck and stake in hand, I ventured into the world of vampires!

Yes folks, this is your chance to do an excellent Hammer horror impersonation! Lots of scary moments, thrills, spills and buckets of blood are on offer in this MS game.

And quite a good little game it is, too! Not bad but not brilliant. There are five levels of platform action to tackle and loads of bad guys to kill.

Each level has three sections and a guardian to defeat at the end. Work your way through each section, destroying vampires, collecting useful items and finding your way out alive!

Bats swoop from the ceilings every so often so stay on your toes! Most of the enemies are easily defeated but some, like the dogs, are downright annoying!

The graphics are pretty good for the MS, except for a few sprite flickers. Each level has a spooky Gothic feel to it, as you wander through dark and damp London streets. A scary tune bounces along merrily in the background and creepy sound FX add to the appeal.

Get ready to sink your teeth into this one real soon!

MAT 83%

Paul wails... ‘NOT TOO BAD, VLAD!’

Vampires loose in London! And the only person who can save us is Doctor Social! Well I’m sure he’s very flippin friendly but that ain’t gonna stop the Drac Pack!

At first glance, Master Of Darkness looks good. The intro’s well nice, overall presentation’s good, the sound’s atmospheric and the controls are fairly easy to use. Problem is, it’s a tad repetitive .The first level’s great, a good old platform romp with an end-of-level baddy and the usual ability to change your weapon.

But the next level’s virtually the same — and it gets blinkin’ hard as well, flying chairs and knives coming from nowhere (it’s like a row with my girlfriend!). I got really annoyed as I kept getting splatted by a dining table!

Master Of Darkness isn’t bad, though. If you want a half-decent platform game it’s definitely worth a peek. But like me, you might reach for the power switch and go and do something less boring instead.

Right, I’m going out for a quick bite! (Ha ha!)

PAUL 74%

SF Rating

Presentation
63% - Long-winded intro sequence fills in the storyline: between-level sequences
Visuals
80% - Detailed sprites move well and spooky backgrounds add atmosphere
Sonics
73% - Ghostly tune and sound ettects are put to good use
Playability
82% - Controls are sometimes a little slow but patience gels you through most levels
Lastability
78% - Only five levels to tackle but they’re tough! Not too easy to complete

79%

A challenging platform game with some scary thrills!

Producer
Sega
GG
n/a
MD
n/a
Memory
256K
Players
1
Price
£32.99
Rating
79
Reviewer
Sega Force magazine
Region
UK
Scans
Sega Force - Issue 12

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