A surprise entry into the archives which is thanks to its creator Keith Purkiss. This was a game that was being developed for Alternative Software in 1989 and was created whilst in between projects for Probe Software.
According to Keith, the game was converted from a Spectrum game by Daren White. Originally we believed it may have been some kind of conversion of Demon’s Revenge, but it turned out to be something quite different. It means therefore that the ZX Spectrum version original by Daren is currently missing.
666 is a flick screen adventure, which feels a little bit like Feud with its graphical style (although everything is much smaller). You can move your player around a map with some annoying enemies that drain you quickly – but there isn’t much else you can do at this stage and there is no sound at all. There is a neat book effect when you press T, suggesting some kind of spell making would have been present in the final game.
As a result, we consider this to be unfinished and needing a lot more work – but there is a significant amount of map to explore. Keith could not recall why the game was never finished, but considering the ZX version isn’t out there either, we can only think that perhaps Alternative Software rejected it.
Here it is though – a glimpse at a title we never knew about until a few months ago. If you know anything more about the development (especially the ZX version), then please do get in touch. We don’t believe it was mentioned in the press.
Contributions: Keith Purkiss, CSixx, Jazzcat, Martin Pugh
