Orc Attack


Orc Attack is a fixed shooter video game written by Deal Lock for the Atari 8-bit family and published in 1983. There were versions from both Thorn EMI and Creative Sparks. Orc Attack is notable for its high-level of violence, though the visuals are low-resolution. The game was ported to the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

Gameplay

The player moves back and forth along the top of a castle wall, defending it from an orc horde by dropping rocks and pouring boiling oil. Attackers use ladders to scale the wall. Should one of them climb all the way to the ramparts, the player can kill it with a sword, but this diverts attention from the climbing orcs. An evil sorcerer also sends evil spirits against players.

Reception

Atari 8-bit magazine ANALOG Computing called Orc Attack "easily the most violent and gratuitously satisfying shoot-'em-up on the market today." Arcade Express concluded, "Orc Attack combines fast-paced action with lots of strategy to produce a strong overall program"—8/10.
ZX Spectrum magazine CRASH gave Orc Attack a 91% rating.