Dark Ages: Volume 1 - Prince of Destiny

Dark Ages is one of the earliest shareware platformers published by Apogee, and one that is among their worst.

The plot: you are the prince and heir to the land's greatest kingdom. Garth, a wizard of immense power and greed, banished you as a child to far away while he ran the kingdom with an iron hand. Needless to say, you have grown into a master fighter, and has now returned to your kingdom to defeat Garth and claim your birthright to the throne.

The game, like numerous other Apogee titles, is a side-scrolling platform action game. The difference between Dark Ages and Apogee classics such as the Commander Keen series, however, is that it is much more boring, easy, and very short. It will probably take an average gamer 2-3 hours at most to beat the game; veteran gamers will definitely be able to finish it in under an hour. Lackluster EGA graphics and choppy animations don’t make it better, either.

A very disappointing game in all aspects ... I would have given this a Real Dog tag if not for the one redeeming fact that controls are simple and easy to pick up. Thumbs down for this one.

Review By HOTUD