Tom and the Ghost

Tom and the Ghost description

Conceptualisa arcade game, quite unfairly forgotten by the absolute majority of players.

Seven-year-old Tom and his mother are on tour in the old Scottish castle. Suddenly, an evil wizard appears and steals the mother. Tom is completely alone in a huge castle. But here it is the Ghost of a knight, sir Reginald Archer, who says that, it turns out, this thing (the wizard) once in five hundred years kidnaps a woman to sacrifice her to the devil, and the last time the victim was his favorite, and he was killed by a sorcerer. But now it's time to end this. And spectral knight with a boy go on a journey through the mysterious dark corridors of the castle.

Tom and the Ghost – the game is not for children, as it may seem at first glance. It's clear already though, because you have to manage not Tom as sir Reginald. And the gameplay of the game involves two aspects, battles with monsters and solving puzzles on the one hand, and concern about the Volume on the other.

With battles and all other things, in General, is clear: the knight can run, jump, Crouch (!), collect and use various items (including combining them) and, of course, fight with different weapons (among which there are very unusual, for example, the Magic harp). But it – still a small child, which needs to be taken and which need to be protected.

Care about Tom is feeding him burgers and milkshakes, which are collected during the game, maintaining the morale of the Volume (sometimes he can complain that he is bad, then we need to find a Teddy bear and give it to him, he was for some time calm down) and monitor its movement (That usually goes next to you, but sometimes may lag on the way and lost, in this case you need to whistle to call it).

Incidentally, we note from: Tom – boy, very courageous, patient and willing to do anything to save his mother, so he WILL fight monsters with you. But his conduct in the battle you need to watch very, very carefully: his health is not so much, and if he is killed, the game immediately ends. So much better to cover it by yourself in battles.

Battles, by the way, the game – the castle is inhabited by horrible monsters, servants of the sorcerer (the black knights, snakes, and even witches, hypnotizing at a distance). There are traps and lots of puzzles, without which no progress in the story (often associated with finding something), and secret doors that hide a lot of bonuses and valuable items.

Graphically, the game probably looks somewhat worse than other platformers of the time, but as you progress through this somehow did not notice. Yes, the backgrounds are monotonous, but is in an old castle should be any beauty? But the fact that the game is made not in the dark colours (mostly grey, plus the green bar, the interface does not occupy a very small part of the game screen), not so happy, but it is understandable that a game with such a plot is not necessary to do quite so dark.

Verdict – excellent. Not a perfect score, but very close to it. First, because this game is amazing and touching, with all its foreign violence (Yes, there is animation of blood), kind and gentle, evoking the soul of the best feelings. Secondly, because finally there was proof that in the arcade genre to create something truly original. By the way, a recommended game in the first place, playing arcade games, and old adventure.

Have you ever wondered what kind of video games were played in the good old days? Try playing Tom and the Ghost online now and we are sure you will not stop playing again.

Source: Archive.org, Mobygames.com