Gods
Step through the gates of an ancient temple as a mythical hero striving for immortality. Gods is no ordinary platformer, it is tactical action where the enemies are not stupid sprites but adversaries driven by a thoughtful artificial intelligence that reacts to your behaviour. This game expects you to think, not just to mash jump and shoot.
Gods was created in 1991 by the British studio The Bitmap Brothers, masters of the 16-bit era known for their characteristic metallic style. The Atari ST version was released simultaneously with the Amiga one and again demonstrated how high the studio could set the bar of production quality. The music was composed by Nation 12, a project connected with John Foxx of the band Ultravox, which gave the game an unusually atmospheric sonic accompaniment.
The player passes through four extensive worlds divided into levels, jumps across platforms, throws weapons at enemies and solves a host of ingenious puzzles with hidden rooms, traps and treasures. The key to success is the economy: you collect treasures which you then spend at the merchant for better weapons and upgrades. The aforementioned enemy AI is cited to this day; the adversaries can retreat, lie in ambush and adapt to the way you play.
Gods became famous for its high difficulty and depth, which set the clever player apart from the one who merely forces his way forward. Visually it relied on a sombre, monumental palette of antiquity with an emphasis on detail, as was customary with The Bitmap Brothers. It was not a title for everyone, but those who gave it time were rewarded with one of the most thoughtfully designed action games of its era.
The game collected strong reviews and became another of the respected titles in the studio's collection. It saw ports to further platforms and it holds a firm place in the community of 16-bit computer fans as proof that an action platformer can be clever.
Why play: For the combination of stylish action, clever enemy AI and depth that rewards the thoughtful player.
Game 10 of 72 for Atari ST
The same title elsewhere (1)
Bitmap Brothers developed Gods primarily on the Commodore Amiga, and it shows: that version offers smoother parallax scrolling, a richer colour palette and a dense soundtrack played through the Paula sound chip that gives the temple corridors real atmosphere. The Atari ST version had to make do with the noticeably weaker YM2149 sound chip and lower overall performance, resulting in simpler music and occasionally choppier animation. The differences aren't drastic — gameplay and the enemy AI stay identical on both machines — but anyone wanting to experience Gods at its period best should reach for the Amiga version, generally regarded as the definitive one.
