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Crystal Castles | align=center colspan=2|Crystal Castles | | lign="center" colspan=2| | | a href="/encyclopedia/Video-game-developer" title="Video game developer">Developer: | Atari | | a href="/encyclopedia/Video-game-publisher" title="Video game publisher">Publisher: | Atari | | a href="/encyclopedia/Game-designer" title="Game designer">Game designer: | Franz X. Lanzinger | | elease date: | 1983 | | a href="/encyclopedia/Computer-and-video-game-genres" title="Computer and video game genres">Genre: | Retro | | ame modes: | Up to 2 players, alternating turns | | abinet: | Standard and cocktail | | ontrols: | Trackball, 1 button | | lign="center" colspan=2|Monitor | | rientation: | Horizontal | | ype: | Raster, standard resolution (Used: 256 x 232) | | ize: | 19 inch | | lign="center" colspan=2|Notes | | olspan=2|Isometric graphics | Crystal Castles is a 1983 arcade game by Atari. The game is somewhat inspired by Pac-Man, but takes place in an isometric world with more varied opponents. Game play The player controls the main character Bentley Bear who has to collect gems in three-dimensional castles. Crystal Castles uses a trackball for controlling the main character's movements. Gems are collected by simply walking over them. The jump button can be used to make Bentley jump over opponents, which will also serve to stun some of them. Crystal Castles makes good use of the three-dimensional setting. There are stairs, elevators and even tunnels that the player can use as shortcuts. When all gems in a castle have been collected, the player moves on to the next castle. The game has 10 levels with 4 castles each, other than the final level, which features a single castle. After clearing this one, the game ends. The player can skip some castles — and also acquire additional lives, greater than the three otherwise allotted — by using secret warps, which require the player to jump at special locations (this can only be done if the last player to use the machine had successfully cleared at least one castle on that level, and only within a certain time frame). Unlike similar games, not only the player can collect gems, but the opponents can as well. The only difference is the lower score, as the player only gets points for the gems that he collected himself, plus an extra bonus for finishing a castle that will be granted if the player collected the last gem. While collecting, there is a number of opponents that try to stop Bentley Bear. If he touches any of them (with two exceptions, detailed below), he will lose one of his lives. Slow-moving (crystal) balls roll slowly towards the player and eat all gems they roll over. Walking trees behave like the balls, but move faster. If the player jumps over one of them, it shrinks and is temporarily stunned. Green gem eaters walk around the castle, trying to find gems that they can eat. They move relatively fast until they find their gems and slow down to eat them; if Bentley Bear runs over a gem eater while it is in the act of eating a gem, the gem eater is destroyed and disappears from the board. Gem eaters can be stunned by jumping over them as well. Most castles have a honey pot that Bentley Bear can eat to gain an extra bonus, but if the honey is not consumed quickly a swarm of bees will appear and pursue him. The bees will also appear if the player takes too long to clear the board, even if the honey had been consumed. Ghosts and skeletons are moving obstacles in some levels. They ignore the player and move randomly, but touching them is still deadly. And finally there is the evil witch Berthilda, who appears on the fourth castle of each level. Berthilda can be killed by touching her while wearing the magic hat, which can be found in most castles and makes Bentley Bear invincible for approximately five seconds. One of the more amusing features of the game is the fact that Bentley Bear "cries out" when a life is lost in a distinctive manner, based upon how many lives remain. This is done by the use of "balloons" similar to those used in cartoons published in newspapers: For the last lost life (which ends the game), he says "#*@&" (so as to imitate an obscenity); if one life still remains, the quotation is "Ouch;" if two lives are still left, it is "Oh Do!," and "BYE" if three or more lives remain. Ports Crystal Castles has been ported to the following home computers and video game consoles: - Apple II - Simpler graphics, but the gameplay is quite close to the original.
- Atari 2600 - Because of the technical limitations of the Atari 2600, the game has been simplified. The port is still known as one of the better 2600 games.
- Atari ST - Graphically the best port and the gameplay is close to the original. It is still disappointing, as the ST would have been capable of a near-perfect port, but all graphics have been repainted, making it look quite different from the arcade version.
- Commodore 64 - Simpler graphics, but the gameplay is quite close to the original.
- Acorn Electron - Good graphics, close to the original
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