"If only he was"

You stand in a small room furnished only with a small round table complete with a candle and skull. This is where the search for your teacher Mordimir has brought you to, a vast dungeon that runs deep into the ground. As you approach the table smoke rises from the candle forming an image of your master, it begins to speak. “Dunric, you have come to save me. I am in the dungeons far below, I know I can count on you.” “Who is Dunric?” you wonder as you leave the room.

The Immortal is a little known adventure game released back in the early days of the Genesis. Very much in the style of the old board game Heroquest, the Immortal features deadly dungeons filled with monsters, traps and a handful of puzzles to work out too.

The dungeon itself is an uninspiring place of brick walls and tile floors uninterrupted throughout. Claustrophobic corridors connect danger-ridden rooms each boasting a new puzzle or monster to overcome. Torches burn away on the walls casting a surprisingly brilliant amount of light around the room. The monotony of the stone labyrinth is only broken by the weird and wonderful creatures that inhabit it. The consistency of the dungeon gives a slight monotonous tone to the game; a little bit of variety would have been nice to give a sense of progression.
Action is viewed from a 3/4 isometric perspective slightly from above; fans of Landstalker and Light Crusader will be used to the way the game looks.
Split into about seven fairly small levels, each level of the dungeon has its own dangers to overcome whilst you try to work your way deeper in search of Mordimir. When each level begins it is sometimes uncertain what you must do, only an investigation of the rooms within the floor will give you foundation to what you need to do. Items found lying around as well as those carried by monsters gradually become apparent as to their uses. Sometimes a little trial and error becomes essential though as little help is given to help you, a few extra clues in any form would of helped in some places.

As well as the puzzles that stand in your way the dungeon is also host to many creatures of varying types. Most of them will kill you instantly, and will do so often, other kinds you have to fight. When you clash with one of these monsters, the view will change to give you a close up of the brawl. Fighting is very simplistic, but the Immortal does not emphasize on combat so little is taken from the game.
Whilst in combat you have two bars for you and two for your enemy. One represents health and the other your fatigue. As you swing your sword your fatigue bar rises and you get slower giving your enemy more chance to attack you, the same works for your foe. You can also evade your enemies attacks, this becomes essential as it gives you time to lose your fatigue and let your enemy gets slower itself.
When you defeat an enemy the wizard will kill his adversary in one of several gruesome yet amusing ways that would impress any Mortal Kombat fan. Decapitation, electrocution, lobotomies, slicing the body in half, stripping of the skin and reducing the body to ashes are all traits of the wizard you play.

Not long into your venture you will soon find that The Immortal features some of the most frustrating gameplay ever to grace a console. The game even goes so far as to giving you a taste of what is to come right in the small space of the first room. A little hole in the floor reveals the message ”It might be a good idea to move” when examined. A slight hesitation to move away from the hole afterwards will result in the wizard being eaten by a worm, - worse is to come.
A shiny coin like emblem can be found within the first floor, when used you are asked if you would like to hold it up to the light and if you would like to read the runes. This will result in all of your life being lost without warning, not even the slightest hint is given of your fate.
The main problem is that games like this should encourage you to try perfectly logical things without being punished in such a severe way. A small health loss would be apt for failing to use an object the wrong way. Because of the way the game works you will often find yourself working back to the point you died at because you was killed trying something you thought would be quite reasonable to do. Thankfully the game does give you a password at the end of each level, it would have been ridiculous without it.

Musically, The Immortal is somewhat dark and ominous sounding fitting in perfectly with the mood of the game. The music reminds me so much of the Shadow of the Beast games that I would say it is the same composer behind them both. Rob Hubbard, the composer for The Immortal also lent his talents to many other Electronic Arts games, but even though the Beast games were released under EA I am unsure if it was the same composer as they were developed by Psygnosis.

The patient gamer who can tolerate the maddening gameplay will uncover a game that at times is pretty good. Even though the game could have been a lot better, it does make you want to keep playing to see if you can get a little further. Sadly the game is hard for all the wrong reasons, but it does give a fairly short game some longevity.

Sitting somewhere between the adventure and RPG genres, this game is pretty unique on the Genesis with only Light Crusader that can really be related to it. Unfortunately, Light Crusader is much better than The Immortal meaning I would only recommend this title if you liked its rival and you want something similar to play. A game you may love or hate, rent it and find out.

Overall - 5

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/02, Updated 08/18/02