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Originally Posted by Chaotica
Dast said almost everything I wished to say, and he put it in a way I never could have! But if I may, these are some additional reasons of mine why Gods is my favourite Amiga game, in addition to Dast's:
The graphics are beautiful, and in some instances I feel they rival that of the Beast games. Not only this, but they are so painstakingly detailed; you can tell some poor artist was at his computer for a very long time, putting in so much effort. The wooden doors, the chipped and decaying bricks, the flickering candles, the lighting seen through the windows which changes as you ascend or descend in a level, the many gems and items you pick up, the beautifully coloured interiors and backgrounds. The sprites are so well drawn and animated, never blocky or jerky - even the plume on Hercules' helmet moves as he walks, if I recall correctly. The sense that you are entering and interacting with the ancient Greek era is inescapable, due to these beautiful and startlingly detailed graphics. The second world - the labrynth - is the best example of this. For an Amiga game, and for a platformer in general, the immersion is quite amazing.
As Dast has said, the AI in the game is groundbreaking - the game rewards you if you are progressing well, either by finding secrets, maintaining health, or progressing speedily through the game. The game also helps you out if you are not doing so good, giving you some powerups, health, and even an extra life when you are struggling. I honestly think Gods had one of the best computer AIs in Amiga gaming, if not the best.
The inventory system - a small detail, in how you pick up special items by crouching on them, and allocating them a spot - but to be honest, I have never seen anything like that in Amiga gaming.
The message bar at the bottom of the screen - sometimes helping you out, sometimes giving you cheeky, cryptic clues, and at other times warning you of imminent danger. All fitting neatly into the game world, not sticking out and ruining the experience like many other bars in games. Excellent.
The speed of the game was just fun for what it is - a more serious platformer, where exploration and adventure is the name of the game, not speed. Dast is right - if people want speed, they should play Mario or Sonic, platformers I honestly never enjoyed much. I also do not know how people can call the pace and animation of Gods jerky - I feel that it is one of the smoothest rides on the Amiga. I can never pick a single frame visibly sacrificed...even though the graphics of the game are so beautiful.
The game also contains so many various weapons. Projectiles which spread fire, or narrow fire, which pass through enemies and objects (such as doors), projectiles which do not, projectiles which can destroy selected scenery, such as bricks, weapons which fly through the air, hover in the air, home in on enemies, or bounce along the floor.
The bosses - really, really cool bosses, that are gorgeously drawn and animated, and put up a decent fight, but which are actually beatable without cheats. I'll never forget the first time I met the first boss; how I entered a large room, saw and heard the door slam shut behind me, and then (after stressing at what was going to happen during a brief loading time!) having to face the Centurion.
And finally, what can only be described as the game's balance - there are lots of secrets to be discovered, but you don't have solve all of them if you don't want to. Most of the secrets are testing, but not to the point where you are tearing your hair out in frustration. The only real challenging secrets are the ones that can be disregarded.
Dast commented on the sounds, so I won't say much, except that they are very crisp and very appropriate to the game. The sounds of traps shutting far off is a favourite, as are the sounds of the spikes slowly, menacingly, rotating. In particular, I love the sounds coming from the main sprite - the "thud thud" as he walks, the groans when he is hit, or when he jumps, as well as his tormented scream when he dies. This death animation is also very well drawn, and perhaps the most original death animation I have seen in any game.
I have always felt that Gods is easily the best the Bitmaps had to offer (Speedball II and Chaos Engine coming close, though), and that it was one of the best games the Amiga 500 era produced. The gorgeous graphics, sharp sounds, balanced gameplay, sheer detail and groundbreaking AI make it an absolute masterpiece in my eyes. A masterpiece, all on two disks, with barely any disk swapping if you didn't have a second disk drive.
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