ONCE upon a time there was a Viking boy called Brian. Brian was a quiet child who worked for his master in a small village. One day his master instructed Brian to visit the planes beyond the forest to fetch herbs and plants for him. It was a long walk to the area where the herbs grew but Brian walked on, it was a beautiful day.
Whilst out on his mission a great storm brewed over the village. Thunder and lightning crashed and a huge cyclone ripped through tearing houses from the ir foundations.
When Brian returned to the village he could not believe his eyes. He stood and stared at the destruction, amazed. He enjoyed nature and often went walking in the forest and woodland surrounding his Viking village, for such was his occupation. The village had been completely destroyed. It's population fled or captured.
Oh, good grief! How I hate cute baby stuff. Arrrrggggh! But Prophecy 1 is a bit more than a pathetic childish story of doom, destruction and a heroic nine year old - it's about having fun, solving puzzles and poking nasty creatures with your stick.
Viking Child is Prophecy 1, the first ina series of Prophecy's from Wired, a label dreamt up by Imagitec Design and the European Electronic Zoo. The Viking Child in question is Brian, a mild mannered kid who's vowed to release his captured parents form the evil clutches of the gold Loki.
From the start, you know that Prophecy 1 is going to be a colourful, visually and audibly pleasing game. Brian's story is told in the form of a scroll with pretty illustrations. The music is imaginative and enjoyable and you get a real feel for what is to come.
So Brian sets off with nothing more than a stick as weaponry. The village has been infested with evil mutants - trees that lob acorns at you are a common sight. But, as you soon discover, poking mutants with a short stick is tricky business - you'll need a longer stick.
But longer sticks aren't easy to come y, in fact they don't exist, but various other arms do. Most of the mutants seem to have some loose change in their pockets so kill as many as you can and rob them of the coins which fly up as a result.
With your newly found wealth you can visit shops to kit yourself out with the latest beast blasting gear. Considering this game is set in Viking times, some of the gear isn't exactly sophisticated. But magic soon alters that and homing fire bombs, smart devises and other additions make Brian's life a lot easier.
If you thought some of the mutants were a bit 'ard then just wait till you get a load of the creatures you find at the end of the levels. These range from huge, mean dragon crossed with Rhino type creatures to maniac teddy bears kitted out with armour and bloody big axes. Still there's a technique to slaying all of these, it just takes a bit of working out. In fact the whole game is riddled with puzzles, the one that will bug you most is the first in the Village. Where the heck is that exit? Sorry, no clues here.
There are some 16 different levels to this stunning maiden game. If that's not enough there are also 22 different original tunes to accompany your game, most of them are light hearted. But with so many colours, cute, detailed graphics and real gameplay, Prophecy 1 needs no fancy music - still you've got it so don't complain as the sound effects are not much cop.
Wired are planning further games in the Prophecy series. I only hope that sequels are every bit as good as the first.