Adventure / Adventure - Text · 1982
Empire of the Over-Mind
Published by Avalon Hill · Developed by [n/a]
atarimania.com — atari-400-800-xl-xe-games-empire-of-the-over-mind-1834
Information
- Genre
- Adventure - Text
- Language
- Machine Language
- Controls
- Keyboard
- Players
- 1
- Programmer(s)
- [unknown]
- Graphic Artist(s)
- [n/a]
- Sound
- [n/a]
- Cover Artist(s)
- Haynes, Bob
- Year
- 1982
- Publisher
- Avalon Hill
- Developer
- [n/a]
- Country
- USA
- License
- Commercial
- Medium
- Tape, Disk
- Rarity
- 8 (Tape), 8 (Disk)
- Serial
- 41101 / 41153
Votes / Statistics
Rating: 8.6/10 · Votes: 10 · Downloads: 2,671 · Hits: 25,334
Additional Comments
Missing original tape and disk images!
Screenshots (1)
Cover Art (5)
Instructions (16)
Ads (1)
Book / Magazine Reviews (1)
The Book of Atari Software · 1984 · Rating: C
Empire of the Over-Mind is an all-text fantasy adventure of the same genre as its predecessor, Lords of Karma, but it is much more extensive and complex. There are 87 mappable locations, many of which are totally dark until you call up the means to light an object. The puzzles are tough and often you get to within one move before being wiped out. The object is to find and destroy Over-Mind (a golden sphere), thus winning the love of the enchanted princess, whom you had previously met while trying to cope with the sundry critters and traps. When this is accomplished, the game ends with a bland page of text, rather disappointing after all the work required to get to that point and with all the possibilities for a zippier conclusion. The game itself abounds with many objects, helpful people (such as a dwarf), and several useful magical items. Clues, and the right context in which to use them, are found in the Rhyme of the Over-Mind, detailing the history and objective of the game in verse.
While the Rhyme of the Over-Mind is fairly useful, the instruction sheet provides no guidance - except for an easily missed but important comment that three, rather than two words may often be required. The game responds to the first three letters of a word, with the second word often having to be an adjective. To use an object in one's inventory, the command HOLD for that object must first be entered, or you'll spend 20 minutes trying to fill the waterskin.
Over-Mind is written entirely in assembly language. While it isn't disk interactive, it is slow, taking 5 to 12 seconds between commands. All in all, it is a tough and challenging adventure, but is poorly formatted, slow-running, and with a minimal vocabulary. It does have a save feature at least to cassette. You'll need to save the game at least once if you expect to complete it.
While the Rhyme of the Over-Mind is fairly useful, the instruction sheet provides no guidance - except for an easily missed but important comment that three, rather than two words may often be required. The game responds to the first three letters of a word, with the second word often having to be an adjective. To use an object in one's inventory, the command HOLD for that object must first be entered, or you'll spend 20 minutes trying to fill the waterskin.
Over-Mind is written entirely in assembly language. While it isn't disk interactive, it is slow, taking 5 to 12 seconds between commands. All in all, it is a tough and challenging adventure, but is poorly formatted, slow-running, and with a minimal vocabulary. It does have a save feature at least to cassette. You'll need to save the game at least once if you expect to complete it.
| Overall rating : | C | Difficulty: | A | Originality: | C |
| Puzzle quality : | A | Ease of use: | B | Documentation: | D |
| Text quality: | C- | Vocabulary: | C | Holds interest ?: | A |
| Graphics quality : | N/A | Save/restore: | D | Value for money: | D |