IndigoGaming

Magic & Mayhem: Julian Gollop's Hidden Masterpiece

Added 2018-01-15 17:38:43 +0000 UTC

Julian Gollop, the creator of X-COM has been alternating between making new iterations of two games: Laser Squad (whose concept later formed into UFO aka X-COM), and Chaos: Battle of Wizards.

Chaos was a 1985 wizard-battling strategy game for the ZX Spectrum. Though well before my time, it has been remade in spirit several times. Once in 1990 with Lords of Chaos, and again in 2015 with Chaos Reborn. But there was another iteration that took bigger risks with the Chaos formula, sadly missing from the pages of history. One of my favorite strategy games of the 1990's: Magic & Mayhem.

With dozens and dozens of spells, anything from lightning storms to summoning dragons, the beauty of the game came in its diversity of strategy options as well as its simulation-like physics engine. Fire would naturally spread and destroy flammable terrain, gravity could crush units if falling from enough height, and flying creatures could be ordered to stand on ground or float in the air indefinitely.

Despite a FANTASTIC soundtrack and beautifully crafted claymation cinematics and figures, it was hampered by dated engine and graphics technology, but it doesn't stop the game from being a blast to experience even today.

In my next video of the Not Forgotten series, I am going to explore the history of the Chaos series, what led to the creation of Magic & Mayhem, and its oft-forgotten and contentious sequel. This isn't a perfect game, but it is one that had such complexity hiding behind a veil of simplistic gameplay, that it is one to remember.

Stay tuned for updates!