Arcade / Arcade - Miscellaneous · 1988
Necromancer
Published by Atari · Developed by [n/a]
atarimania.com — atari-400-800-xl-xe-games-necromancer-3672
Information
- Genre
- Arcade - Miscellaneous
- Language
- Machine Language
- Controls
- Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Programmer(s)
- Williams, Bill
- Graphic Artist(s)
- [n/a]
- Sound
- [n/a]
- Year
- 1988
- Publisher
- Atari
- Developer
- [n/a]
- Country
- USA
- License
- Commercial
- Medium
- Cartridge
- Rarity
- 6
- Serial
- RX8108
Votes / Statistics
Rating: 7.9/10 · Votes: 367 · Downloads: 5,950 · Hits: 26,988
Screenshots (3)
Cover Art (3)
Instructions (8)
Book / Magazine Reviews (2)
Electronic Games · October, 1983
The first level of Necromancer gives Illuminar the chance to grow his tree army, while he fights off deadly ogres. Once Illuminar's strength is depleted, he is transported into the larvae vaults where he must use the trees to destroy as much of the spider larvae as possible. Once Illuminar exits level five of the vaults, he descends into the cemetery where he attempts to destroy Tetragron by completely wiping out all of his gravestones.
When Act One begins, the gamer controls Illuminar's wisp with the joystick. Plant your seeds close to Illuminar, making them easier to protect. Try to sow them one at a time and wait for one to grow fully before you plant another. This makes it easier to protect the Saplings from the ogres' deadly attacks. Once the spider appears, try to hit him with the wisp. This increases precious strength, which will keep Illuminar alive longer. If the spider hits a full-grown tree, he poisons it. When you hear the yelp, immediately run your wisp over the tree's crying face, or it will perish. Don't worry too much about running out of seeds because the moment you plant the last one, an eye pod appears. Kill him with the wisp to gain extra seeds. It is important to grow as many trees as possible because they are your army. The more Illuminar has, the stronger he is at the beginning of Act Two.
Act Two requires Illuminar to kill the larvae in the vaults. It is not necessary to kill all the larvae on a level before moving on to the next one, but remember, the spiders you leave in the vaults must be fought in the cemetery. In other words, it is better to kill them when they are dormant than to deal with them at full size.
Once the level begins, start moving your trees and planting over the vaults. Watch the Hands of Fate. If they grab a tree, it is gone forever. If a larvae starts to blink, don't plant a tree over it unless you're already right next to it. That larvae is about to hatch and if it hatches with a tree over it, it will eat the tree. Once the larvae hatches, don't panic. Just keep the wisp close to Illuminar and the trees and the spider will keep his distance. The time to strike the spider is when he is on a ladder or moving left or right and you can intercept him with a diagonal pass of the wisp.
On the first two levels, the spiders move slower than the wisp and are not much trouble. Once you reach level three, watch out! Should a Janitor ring appear, try to get it as Illuminar needs all the strength he can get in order to defeat the Evil Wizard. Once Illuminar hits a question mark and lowers the ladders, he has the option of hitting another for a mystery prize. Hitting it again is not recommended. Two of the three things that may happen are bad (the third gives bonus points).
Once Illuminar walks off the bottom of level five, he goes into the cemetery. Here he faces all the spiders he did not kill or let hatch. He may kill them with his wisp but they have a tendency of being reincarnated.
Once this level starts, go for the gravestones immediately. If the wizard or a spider blocks the way, shoot the wisp out straight ahead. Try to hit the wizard as often as possible since this gives Illuminar 200 strength points.
The second you stop, Illuminar will be surrounded and attacked. In the first two levels of the cemetery, it is possible to gain strength by continuously hitting the wizard and simply outrunning the spiders. Once level three is hit, this is no longer possible as the spiders move too fast. Try to gain as much strength as possible in the first two levels. Once you reach level three, don't bother trying to hit the Wizard because he appears and disappears much too quickly. The same holds true for the spiders. So your best bet is to run for the gravestones as fast as possible.
Necromancer is a game of quick thinking and fast action. It may be quite frustrating at first, but with a little practice, you will be able to restore truth, justice and the American way...
Electronic Fun · September, 1983 · Rating: 3.5 / 4
You're a sorcerer doing battle against some rather voracious spiders. Your weapons - and the spiders' favorite thing to poison - are the trees. Only these are enchanted trees which you control with your magical wisp. Using the wisp you plant the seeds, nurse the saplings to maturity and prevent them from being trampled on by uncouth Neanderthal thugs wearing nothing but large wooden clubs. Later, you take your deciduous army to the next screen where you position them strategically over unhatched spider eggs located in brick incubators. If you're skillful, the roots will erode the brick and the tree will crash down, crushing the egg and killing the fledgling spider inside. If you're sluggish, the spider hatches, eats the tree and comes after you. Leave no eggs uncrushed because they all become spiders which come back to haunt and hunt you in the last screen - the final showdown between you and the Necromancer himself who, unable to find an apartment, has moved in to the cemetery.
Your wisp has more uses than a Cuisinart and is joystick controlled. In the first screen you throw it away from you and, by pressing the fire button, plant your seeds. In subsequent screens, you throw the wisp to magically move your trees to the positions you want them in. The wisp is also useful for destroying spiders and thugs. The only things the wisp cannot do for you are replenish your strength and create ladders. Strength is provided by walking into a small circular object that appears on the screen from time to time. Ladders for climbing lower and lower in the egg hatchery are procured by walking into question marks left by mysterious arms that descend from above. The arms can also spirit both you and your trees away if you happen to be under one of them when it takes a notion to come on down.
All of this action is accompanied by wonderful jazz music - almost as if Dave Brubeck and his band were inside the eggs instead of spiders. The graphics are magical - your wizard has a long-sleeve garment on and thrusts his arm forward authoritatively and the wisp and trees sparkle enchantedly. You walk away from the game feeling as if you could actually point to a broom and make it sweep. You can't.
In the first screen, plant a tree in each corner first and the row of trees you plant between them will be protected. The Neanderthal bullies turn right around and retreat from trees that are bigger than they are.
Comments (13)
Atari A to Z (Pete Davison) — 16 Jul 2022
Necromancer from Synapse Software is... an unusual game, to say the least, but it's a well-established classic in the Atari 8-bit's library. Let's Play! https://youtu.be/GRF1gFZJATA
Wesley — 4 Oct 2017
It's unbelievable and a sad tragedy that this game is not in the top 25 all time. It's not even in the top 100? Those of you not giving it an 8 or better, please take the time to give this one another try!
Punkydudester — 18 Dec 2014
I remember this game being so different but neat. It was a little hard to figure out. This is a really good game.
Gwobby — 12 Dec 2012
Necromancer is an awesome game (and now playing in the High Score Club - link on http://gwobby.webs.com/ Almost eveyone will find Necromancer too hard and not be able to figure things out so it's a game where you really do need to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!! OK Here is a quick summary: SCREEN 1 - Plant seeds, guard them, last out till the end. The more trees you end up with the higher the bonuses: >Level 1 1-4 Trees @ 100pts >Level 2 5-9 Trees @ 300pts >Level 3 10-14 Trees @ 500pts >Level 4 15-19 Trees @ 700pts >Level 5 20+ Trees @ 900pts SCREEN 2 - HOLD fire to move yourself. RELEASE fire to; stand still / move the wand to kill spiders / pick up a tree move it over the holes and press fire to plant it. You must crush the eggs using the trees and then *IMPORTANT: STORE THE TREES BACK IN THE TREE BIN BEFORE GOING DOWN TO THE NEXT DEPTH!* 5 depths 'levels' each with 2 rows of seeds. There is a big bonus for trees remaining when you've completed this! SCREEN 3 - The Graveyard's difficulty is increased by any eggs you left behind & spiders you left roaming on SCREEN 2! Tread on all the gravestones to complete each round. Zombie Spiders and The Salvating Spider from Sith eh?!!! Have fun
Hillsy_ — 29 Oct 2011
Possibly the best Atari 400/800/XL game. Definitely in the Top 5 games. I actually managed to complete this game, and even now I can remember the end sequence. Haunting music, excellent graveyard fight, throwing disc like tron, building trees and trying not to get poison on them. Then later to be greeted with dancing trees...this game had it all. A classic! 9/10
jcat — 26 Apr 2011
Simply put: This was THEE greatest release on the Atari 8-bit series. The difficulty is way high so if your hand/eye coordination is not up to par - stay clear. Very addictive, excellent music - and a technical tour de force. Bill Williams was my idol back then. Rest in peace, Bill.
Wesley Connally — 19 Jan 2008
This game is magical. The music is captivating. The trees sparkle like magic. The plot is cool. I was ecstatic to find it had later been released on cartridge, so I recently bought it.
eppy2000 — 9 Oct 2007
A very magical, dreamlike game that holds up better than most games of today. For a 1982 game, it was ahead in many ways at a time when most companies were making 8-bit games that looked like they were written for the 2600 instead. I also strongly dispute the earlier poster's claim of Williams being under the influence of anything other than having a very strong imagination. Perhaps he's confusing him with someone else?
JSUK — 27 Sept 2007
The irony is, Bill taking theology took him closer to heaven in a literal sense - he moved to a city for the course, and the air made his lungs worse.
Chris M Barlow — 22 Aug 2007
This is the most underrated 8-bit game ever made. Everything about it is 10/10. Once you've mastered the control then it is a delight and pleasure to play. If you can complete the final level you are rewarded with a burst of rainbow colours and the satisfaction of finishing the game, however this game is all about high scores and you just have to play it again. A true original arcade treasure.
J. Maynard Gelinas — 1 Feb 2007
No. There's no indication that Mr. Williams had a drug/alcohol problem at any point in his life. The Wikipedia entry for him does say that he had Cystic Fibrosis and that he decided to give up programming to earn a Masters Degree in Theology. Then, sadly, he died of his illness. I remember playing this game as a kid and loved it back then. Great stuff.
Avram — 13 Jan 2007
Typical of Bill William's work, this is a classic (albeit a little difficult). Shows the same originality as his other essential game, Alley Cat.
Nick Di-Perna — 6 Dec 2005
I don’t approve of games getting better ratings due to questionable mental state of the programmer/s involved - Ninja Golf springs to mind. I will make the exception with this one. I don’t know if its creator was on anything but he was certainly evil! A truly bizarre and highly original concept which requires immense skill to master. It’s a mix of Eugene Jarvis and Jeff Minter with trees instead of Llamas. I would recommend using an arcade stick to get the most out of this game but an Atari 7800 Euro pad with thumb attachment is working just fine for me. An underrated classic 9/10.