Werewolves of London was an innovative addition to the C64 games armory. I remember playing it aged 11 and being pleasantly surprised by some of its quirky touches and (at the time) sheer bloodthirstiness. It is not specifically based on a film, although, there are clear allusions to films of that genre. It will be a treat to C64 enthusiasts with an interest in lycanthropy.
The basic premise is that you have been cursed to roam the streets of London as a werewolf.
Your job is to run about London scaled down version of the real city tracking down the ruthless individuals that placed the curse on you. The game rapidly cycles through day and night-during the day you take the form of a human-identifying your prey, whilst at night you transform into your hideous alter-ego to eat your victims. Sounds easy? The entire city of London police forces are hot on your tail and armed with silver bullets are quick to take you down! Great.
All of the characters- central character, police and victims are cartoon like, but were very reasonable for the time. The poorly animated man-wolf transformation sequence is an amusing highlight of the game as is the process of devouring victims. The choice of backdrops city
streets and parks are a great representation of the capital and reminiscent of films of this genre. The underground station is amazingly intricate (again considering the standard of graphics generally at that time) and was a favorite of mine.
The sound for this game was very standard for ‘80s C64- it certainly does not detract from the game.
Very obvious, directions controlled by joy stick, the ‘fire’ button, pressed repeatedly used to devour victims! In stages! Control however was not the smoothest I have seen on a C64 game, by any stretch, but was not awful. They are particularly difficult when trying to outrun the lawmen and dodge bullets.
Werewolves is a very enjoyable game for several reasons- the cycling through day and night and corresponding transformation of the central character feels novel and unique meanwhile the London backdrop provides an interesting environment to explore with the added appeal of your nemeses i.e. the cops appearing around every corner. This really adds to the excitement of this game. The victim eating sequences are also great. At the bottom of the screen there is a health status indicator which is rapidly depleted by falling on electric tube lines and being shot.
I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a game with a novel and refreshing approach to an unusual theme.
