Game Review: Werewolves of London (Commodore 64, Mastertronic)

Werewolves of London has an interesting history.  The programming team Viz Design had previously released Bride of Frankenstein via Ariolasoft, and this game was going to be with the same publisher.  Indeed, a limited number of copies of the original Amstrad CPC version got out and are known to exist.  However, Arialasoft soon went bust, meaning the remaining versions were in limbo, and eventually were snapped up by Mastertronic.  Notably, Bride of Frankenstein had already been picked up by Codemasters and re-released as Frankenstein Jr, on their newly formed Cartoon Time sub-label, and the game design between the two is similar, so if you played that first you will know what to expect here. The Commodore 64 version of Werewolves of London was converted by Source, who had previously carried out some conversion work for other companies (Psycho Soldier released by Imagine being one example.)

Gonna Get a Big Dish of Beef Chow Mein

The plot here is that you have a double life as a normal person by day and a werewolf by night, and have a curse placed upon you by some of the other family members.  The only way to lift the curse is to effectively seek out and destroy those members, primarily by munching on them, which sounds gory enough.  Of course, that will not be easy, and navigation around the city of London means going into the sewers, taking to the London Underground (aka The Tube), and avoiding the police that are patrolling the streets.  More on them a little later.  You automatically switch between the normal person and werewolf when day and night changes accordingly and can only munch the public when a werewolf.

Lately, He’s Been Overheard in Mayfair

Once the game loads, with an attempt at a digitised graphic look for the loading screen, the title screen shows part of the tube station you may head down to, and a title screen tune plays.  The opening part of this does at least sound like the main riff from Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London song before it then develops into its own thing.  Pressing fire starts the game, and as it is night, you are the werewolf.  You can walk around and use the fire button when close enough to someone else to try and munch them as a snack.  The key here is that if a cross flashes at the bottom of the screen, they are one of the eight family members you need to munch on to lift the curse.  Munch the correct one, and that cross stays in the status display.  One down, seven to go.

You Hear Him Howling Around Your Kitchen Door

There are several objects which can be collected.  They are either laid on the floor of the streets, parks, or tube stations, or can be retrieved when at night you munch on a member of the public.  These objects are often useful, such as a ticket for the tube, keys for the jail or the park gate, the torch which lets you see in the sewers, and the drain key which allows you to lift the manholes on the streets and go underground that way.  There is also a file which may be handy to use on the windows of the jail too.  The key here of course is knowing which object to use where, and as you walk around the flick screens, in some of them you can go up and out (or down and in) to the next set of screens.  This can get confusing as pressing up can often toggle between the two sets without realising.  You can also do this on the rooftops to get around too, which avoids a risky jump and a fall which means losing energy.

I Saw Lon Chaney Walking with the Queen

At night, whilst it might be feasting time, there are also several police officers patrolling the city.  You can as the werewolf confront them and munch them, but also run the risk of being shot, which drains your energy, or being caught and put into the prison.  You cannot escape the prison unless you happen to have placed an object in the cells during the day, as at night when arrested, anything you have in your inventory is taken off you, and needs to be found again.  This can prove frustrating, more so when you go between one screen to the next and there happens to be a police officer spawning right there next to you as you enter, which does seem somewhat unfair – a little bit of programming to forewarn you and give you time to escape would have been good.  The jail gates only open during the day time so if you get arrested, you must wait until you change back to your normal person.

I Saw a Werewolf Drinking a Piña Colada at Trader Vic’s

If you do locate the tube station, within once you descend is the bandage, which can help you restore some energy back when used.  And this is also another bugbear of sorts.  The inventory is operated using the cursor keys, so left and right toggle the inventory item placement, and then pressing fire collects, drops or uses the item accordingly if in the right place.  This can be awkward as you want to switch to your person icon in order that you can jump when needed (denoted by the jumping icon when switched) but also the fire button to collect an item is much too sensitive, so you end up almost dropping the item straight away if you are not careful.  Having to reach for the keyboard to operate that can mean you slow down to reach when being chased and trying to collect an object, so that can for a different reason being frustrating.

He’ll Rip Your Lungs Out, Jim

If you do manage to progress much further, navigating your way around the park and sewers are key to locate the remaining family members to munch on, as well the different tube station entrances and the passageways within.  Once you have mapped the game out, it does at least become easier, and whilst still having that annoyance of the over-aggressive police, you do get further and see more of the game.  The status display at the bottom shows if it is day or night, along with the inventory collected, the crosses you have, and the energy meter – if that drains away then it is game over, so using that bandage at the right time can help prolong the game if you need to.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Werewolves of London are large and mostly reasonably well defined – with a good use of colour that stems from how the Amstrad original looks.  The backdrops are all well drawn and does look the part, including spotting the roundel for the tube stations.  In addition, the odd blood effect when you munch the public is present but not over the top gory either.  The animation is reasonable too and shows some thought.  The music in-game (one piece for day, one for night) can be switched for sound effects using the cursor up/down keys, which you may need to do, as some original cassette versions have the night music of out sync and that makes it sound horrible, which is a shame as it does put you off a bit.

Final Thoughts

There was potential for Werewolves of London to be a good game, and certainly the premise is all there to munch your way to salvation with a little blood and gore.  The arcade adventure elements are simple but well executed, even if the inventory system can be confusing with the use of the cursor keys.  Sadly, what lets this game down especially compared to the Amstrad CPC original, is that the over-aggressive nature of the police when you are a werewolf at night means repeated visits to the jail and having to wait until daytime to carry on the game.  Losing the objects I can take, but the fact you will be here all too often can lead to frustration rather than enjoyment of the game, and that is a shame, as there is potential for a good game to be here.   My advice?  Play the Amstrad original and you will see what the game could (and should) have been like when converted.

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