They always say that true love runs deep. It would have to to get me to go down into those dark gloomy dungeons. Still, I expect that Romeo would have done it for Juliet, so what are you waiting for? Get on down there and rescue your maiden - When are they going to release a game that lets me rescue my fella? Savage is a game for athletic people or those who always wished they were but aren't. It is based on a Rambo type character hell bent on getting out of a castle and the labyrinth beneath it only to find that he has been tricked and has left his maiden to be imprisoned forever. Sucker! In a mad fit of remorse our Savage tries to find his way back into the castle. Unfortunately his sense of direction appears to be as good as mine and the path he chooses takes him to a locked entrance. But, like all heroes, our friendly savage has another trick up his sleeve, or rather a bird in his shoulder, in the form of his pet eagle. This he, or should I say you, sends into the castle to find out his magical powers so that he can once again attempt to rescue his maiden. Clever bird eh!
Savage consists of three separate levels. The first being the labyrinth. Savage has to battle his way through ghosts, ghouls, and other nasties. On his travels he can collect jewels, weapons, extra energy etc. All collectible items appear as the bad guys are knocked-off by our hero collecting these monster droppings docs wonders for his game score. It is possible to play levels two and three of the game without having completed the first level but, unfortunately you are only given one life. Needless to say that's the way that I had to play levels two and three.
Level two takes place in the Valley of Death. Enter if you dare. In this section of the game you are given a 3D view of your surrounding area. Your aim is to try and plot your way back to the castle. I say try, because whichever way you turn you are bound to come face to face with an evil totem pole, touch one and you'll find yourself splattered over the playing area and one life down.
Should you succeed on this 3D dodgem track then you'll get the code word for level 3. Alternatively, like me, you can try level three out with just one life. This third level isn't for bird lovers or those with a weak stomach. Savage gets his eagle warrior to do his dirty work for him and help in rescuing his maiden. Unfortunately there are things out to stop the eagle (surprise, surprise!). If the eagle gets zapped or stuck by something he'll hit the floor and give a very good impression of a strawberry jam spillage on the M25, rather pleasant! If you persevere I am sure that you will succeed, though I'm sure that you'd strive harder if you could see the maiden that you were fighting for.
I really enjoyed this game, though it is quite difficult. With practice you do seem to get further into the game. The game music, though excellent, can become a little monotonous after playing for a while. Fortunately you can switch this off and listen to just the sound effects.
There is a rather natty introduction to the game, though once you've seen it you can start the game without having to go through it again I can't help thinking that if software houses did away with such memory consuming/time consuming intro's then more would be available for use in the game. The only way that I could find of getting out of the intro to Savage was to turn off the machine and start again - a little frustrating. The graphics in the game are excellent, as you have no doubt come to expect from the Amiga. A nice touch is being allowed to play the later levels without completing the first - even if you do only get one measly life.
All in all Savage manages to combine fast action, good sound and a touch of that just one more go that is missing from so many games today.
This game has been set up to work on modern Windows (10/8/7/Vista/XP 64/32-bit) computers without problems. Please choose Download - Easy Setup (3.45 MB).