The Horde (video game)

Infobox VG| title = The Horde


developer = Toys For Bob
publisher = Crystal Dynamics
designer = Paul Reiche III, Fred Ford
engine =
released = April 1994
genre = Strategy game
modes = Single player
ratings =
platforms = 3DO, Sega Saturn, MS-DOS
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input = :"The Horde" redirects here. For other uses, see Horde."

"The Horde" is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn console and computers running MS-DOS. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time. It also featured full-motion video sequences featuring a number of actors including Kirk Cameron as Chauncey and Michael Gregory as Kronus Maelor. Video sequences were reduced to slideshows (with full sound) in some versions.

Overview

The player controls a servant boy, Chauncey, who was raised by a herd of wild cows. In a fortunate mishap, Chauncey prevents Winthrop the Good, King of Franzpowanki, from choking on his meal and is rewarded with a plot of land upon which he may build a self-sustaining town. However, the land is under constant attack by a group of monsters referred to as "The Horde." The Horde consists of a number of destructive and hungry red monsters referred to individually as Hordlings.

The game is played in alternating timed phases. First is a "build" phase in which the player develops a town with the resources at his or her disposal. This includes constructing buildings and walls, setting traps, chopping down trees, and landscaping.

Then comes the "action" phase, where the player must defend the town from an onslaught of Hordlings with a huge sword, Grimthwacker (given to the player by the King), and various magical items. These items are powered by your ATM card ("Automated Transfer of Mana"), which converts gold into usable magical energy. Hordlings occasionally drop money when defeated, which may be retrieved and used. However, the main sources of income are cows and crops, which are also sought by the Hordlings.

At the end of the action phase, the season has ended and the player receives a report on how well the town has been managed. The player turns a profit by protecting the town's resources. The player will then receive messages through a crystal ball from King Winthrop the Good, Kronus Maelor (the "Evil High Chancellor"), or the FNN ("Franzpowanki News Network"). With the exception of certain comic relief messages, these can have direct influence on every aspect of the game.

After four seasons, Kronus Maelor requires you to pay taxes. The player then has the opportunity to save the game and buy special items for the next year. As the game progresses, the player eventually eliminates the Horde presence in a given region and is tasked by the king to move on to another territory. Each new location features the challenges of different terrain and new breeds of Hordling, as well as extras such as unorthodox ways to get items (these could be viewed as side-quests).

Territories

* The Shimto Plains
* The Tree Realms of Alburga
* The Fetid Swamp of Buuzal
* The Kar-Nyar Desert
* The Frozen Wastes of Vesh

Hordling types

* Adolescent Hordling
* Swamp Hordling
* Desert Hordling
* Forest Hordling
* Ice Hordling
* Juggernaut Hordling
* Piranha Hordling
* Shaman Hordling

Legacy

While the gameplay needed work and the abundance of full-motion video sequences was questionable, the game was ahead of its time in some ways and anticipated the genre of real-time strategy games. But the game was probably underrated because of its limited exposure; it was released primarily on the 3DO and Sega Saturn, and neither platform was very successful. Given the favorable response to other games by Toys For Bob, such as Star Control II, one reason The Horde may have failed was simply because it lacked exposure on other popular consoles, such as the PlayStation.

Trivia

* The Hordlings, especially as shown on the front cover, are reminiscent of both the Gremlins movie monsters and members of the Warhammer Orc race. Also, between Diablo and Diablo II, Blizzard Entertainment added a "shaman" monster type that is reminiscent of a Shaman Hordling, lacking only teleportation and an appetite.
* The music was composed by Burke Trieschmann and won Computer Gaming World's Premiere Award for Best Musical Score in 1995.
* The initial 3DO version of the game had a "feature" wherein it deleted all other saved files to make room for The Horde's save file. The publisher eventually recognized this behavior was generally disliked by players, and offered to replace discs with a copy of the game that prompted before deleting other files.
* One of the artifacts in the game is [http://uqm.stack.nl/wiki/Wimbli%27s_Trident"Wimbli's Trident"] , with which the player may summon meteors from the sky. It also appeared in Star Control II.

External links

*moby game|id=/horde|name="The Horde"
* [http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/reviews/horde-1.htm Sega-Saturn.com review]
* [http://www.gamespot.com/saturn/strategy/hordethe/ The Horde for Saturn at GameSpot]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/games2/warpspawn/TH.html Fan-made Collectible Card Game]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue18/creviews/horde.html Review by Matt Brown for Game Bytes Magazine]