Wizard of Wor

1981 brought the title Wizard of Wor to American arcades, combining maze movement with tense shootouts against strange underground monsters. The player, or a pair of players side by side, moved through a network of connected rooms full of enemies and had to dodge both their fire and invisible threats that appeared only for a moment. A defining feature was the radar display showing the location of monsters even outside the player's view, which set the game apart from simpler maze shooters of the time and forced the player to keep the whole level map in mind, not just what was currently visible on screen.

As the levels progressed, not only the speed and aggressiveness of enemies increased, but stronger types of monsters also appeared, including a final showdown with Wor himself, the wizard the game is named after. The two-player cooperative mode brought an interesting dynamic of both rivalry and cooperation, since points and special bonuses were limited and players effectively had to divide them among themselves, making each session a somewhat different social experience depending on who played with whom.

Wizard of Wor became one of the recognizable titles of the golden age of arcade machines, and its visual style and the underground wizard motif stayed in players' memories thanks in part to later home ports on the era's 8-bit computers and consoles. It is still remembered today as an example of a game that turned the tension of an unseen enemy into its central game mechanic.

Why play it: For tense maze action where an opponent can lurk even where you can't currently see, and for the unmistakable character of the wizard Wor.