Ork
Author
ST Graveyard has written 62 additional reviews
- Son Shu Shi March 21, 2021
- Live And Let Die January 13, 2019
- Lethal Weapon December 28, 2018
- Frogs December 4, 2018
- Manic Miner November 6, 2018
- Spy Who Loved Me, The August 18, 2018
- Licence to Kill August 16, 2018
- Parasol Stars August 14, 2018
- Anarcho Ride August 7, 2018
- Crash Time Plumber July 1, 2018
- Escape 2042 - The Truth Defender June 23, 2018
- Ozone May 28, 2018
- Supa Zazai Da January 21, 2018
- Fascination January 8, 2018
- Super Stario Land January 4, 2018
- Titus The Fox - To Marrakech and Back December 18, 2017
- Blues Brothers, The November 17, 2017
- Epic November 13, 2017
- Arachnophobia October 22, 2017
- Crapman March 5, 2005
- Driventure December 8, 2004
- Bold October 12, 2004
- Battle Zone July 20, 2003
- Terminator 2 - Judgment Day May 23, 2003
- Joust March 15, 2003
- Weird Dreams February 25, 2003
- GodPey December 28, 2002
- Superfly December 15, 2002
- Karate Kid Part 2 December 8, 2002
- Xenon November 15, 2002
- Pang November 6, 2002
- Great Giana Sisters, The August 13, 2002
- Team Yankee August 3, 2002
- Spindizzy Worlds July 16, 2002
- Leisure Suit Larry 1 - In the Land of the Lounge Lizards July 6, 2002
- Voyageurs Du Temps, Les - La Menace June 8, 2002
- Bomb Jack May 30, 2002
- Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker May 22, 2002
- Robocop May 14, 2002
- Disc April 27, 2002
- Wings of Death April 4, 2002
- Beyond the Ice Palace March 31, 2002
- Zool January 27, 2002
- Super Cars II January 18, 2002
- Addams Family, The December 30, 2001
- Battlehawks 1942 December 28, 2001
- Arkanoid 2 - Revenge of Doh December 23, 2001
- Vroom December 14, 2001
- Crazy Cars 3 November 27, 2001
- Crystal Castles November 20, 2001
- Buggy Boy November 13, 2001
- Turrican II - The Final Fight November 4, 2001
- Return to Genesis November 3, 2001
- Goldrunner November 1, 2001
- IK+ August 30, 2001
- Ikari Warriors August 8, 2001
- Arkanoid August 6, 2001
- Fire and Ice August 1, 2001
- Super Cycle July 8, 2001
- Star Wars July 2, 2001
- Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior June 18, 2001
- Xenon 2 - Megablast June 17, 2001
AL Mobile
Did you know Atari Legend is fully responsive and mobile ready? You want this site to behave like an app on your phone or tablet? Simply open the site in your favorite browser and look for the 'Add to homescreen' button. In Safari on IOS, first press the 'share' icon, then the "Add to home screen" pop-up appears. In Chrome on Android, you press the button at the top right, and select 'add to homescreen'. Once you have done this, the famous Atari bee fits nicely on your homescreen and you can enjoy AL with the tap of a finger.
Written by ST Graveyard
June 27, 2001
The intro picture...This is where the great atmosphere starts.
Duck and cover!
One of the many enemies that you'll encounter on your quest. Don't worry about this one though...His days are over!
Comments
I always thought I'd seen about everything on the ST games scene. As usual, I was wrong. I've been playing games on this system since 1986, been buying magazines since 1992, yet had never heard of a game called "Ork". So when I read about it a few weeks ago on the net, I thought I'd check it out. I've been hooked ever since. Playing this little gem every time I found some free time. At the moment I'm completely stuck, still I think I've seen enough to help immortalize this title with a review. It was released by Psygnosis, a company that was responsible for some of the best games on the ST. I was (and still am) impressed by this "hidden treasure"...
Graphics
The graphics reminded me a lot of the ones seen in the "Shadow of the Beast" games (also released by Psygnosis). This is a good point. I really love the graphical beauty of the game. I like the style that is used. At first it might seem all a bit colorless, even a bit sombre. But that's all part of the great atmosphere. This has to be one of the best platform games in creating a real "outworldish" feeling. Just take a look at the pictures on this page.
This game is filled with strange creatures, and they get weirder as we progress. Landscapes are painted with carcasses. Even the cute "lemmings" make a cameo, only this time they're converted into fierce killers. There is also lots of variation in level design. We start above sea level, with nice blue backgrounds, only to end up in the fiery underworld. Nothing but praise on the graphical part of this review!
Sound
Instead of in-game music, an ambient sound sample is constantly looped in the background. This might sound pretty dull to some, but it really worked for me. It helped in creating a nice atmosphere. The sound effects are good. Just press the fire button to make your machine gun roar...It sounds great. Also worth mentioning is the intro and outro music. We get some really great sampled tracks. The outro when your ork gets killed, is actually touching...
Gameplay
Don't be expecting an all around platform game like your used to. This is a bit of a cross between the classical platform genre combined with lots of puzzle elements. You have to find keys and other items to open gates and get further into the game. Searching for these things can sometimes be very frustrating, some of them are very well hidden. But that's the challenge of it all...
To help you complete your quest, your ork is equipped with a machine gun to get rid of all the dangers. You won't be able to go on a killing spree though, cause you have a limited number of rounds to go with, so only shoot when necessary! Later on in the game you will even be able to fly. You'll find little platforms on several places within a level where you can activate your "jetpack". This is very handy for reaching those hard to get places. Remember to turn off the engines occasionally, cause your fuel is limited. You'll also find computer terminals on several places in a level. Here you can save your position, look at level maps...
Controls can really be jerky sometimes. I yelled more then once when I got killed by some of those hordes of flying enemies. You have to get used to it. Ork is a pretty slow game too, don't be expecting a "killing game show" or something like that (the main characters do look alike), this is more of a challenge for the mind. You do get to meet some great enemy bosses though. So do prepare yourself for some great action!
There is one big let down. I haven't been able to complete my quest yet. I'm stuck at the end of level 3. But when the "game over screen" appears, I get the message that I completed 95% of the game. I really hope I'm mistaking here, cause that would make this gaming experience pretty short...And I know when I'll finally pass level 3, I will be hungry for more! (ed. "Ork" has 5 different levels!)
Conclusion
How could I have missed out on this in the first place? It's really addictive. I turned of my computer more than once...enraged! But I just couldn't help starting over every time to try and solve that tough puzzle. A real recomendation for every fan of the genre!
Score
- Graphics: 9
- Sound: 8
- Gameplay: 7
- Overall: 8
Zone Warrior
February 12, 2023 by AtariCrypt
Once again, pesky aliens are giving us Earthlings lots of grief. We previously fought them off but they managed to pinch a time machine so are using that to alter history and wreak havoc by taking crucial hostages from each period in an attempt to halt their influence. From the invention of the wheel in prehistoric times to England's King Arthur uniting Britain! And where would any of us be today without Japan and its technical wizardry? Yep, we cannot allow this - the fight is on!
Son Shu Shi
March 21, 2021 by ST Graveyard
What an accomplishment this game is. Created with such a small team, the result is really amazing. The game oozes creative passion. While the gameplay is really well balanced, it is a tough cookie, very hard from time to time with its moments of sheer frustration. As of level 3, timing becomes key. You will need to practice and learn the levels to complete this game, there are so many bad guys on screen it sometimes gets a bit hard to take.
Blood Money
April 4, 2020 by Morcar
Graphically, it's also nice on the eyes with well-defined graphics and animation. You really get the feeling that the developers put some thought and love into the game. Remember what I said about the large levels? Well these are wonderful and are very different to each other, they also scroll fairly smooth in all four directions.