Ork

STORY / GAMEPLAY
You control a Heyadahl named Ku-Kubal. Heyadahls are a breed of peaceful, genetic engineering chaps that can be remotely controlled via a computer. You are a captain and, controlling Ku-Kubal, you need to take the final test to make sure that you are cool and prove yourself worthy of Leadership. Ku-Kubal is pinned down on a planet called Ixion to test numerous puzzles and fight its way through levels inhabited by mutant and strange alien species. Well that's the odd story. The basic walking mode for Ku-Kubal follows the usual 8-direction action platform moves: You can walk, jump onto platforms or even fly using built-in jet packs but of limited fuel. You main weapon is a rapid firing twin laser. Many of the targets that Ku-Kubal has to neutralize, will be controlled by an extensive computer complex. You can access parts of that computer by finding terminals and then upgrading your infiltration capabilities by deactivating security systems and bypassing enemy defenses. The gameplay, apart from killing everything that moves, includes some simple puzzles of the same manner: Find the key(s), open guarded doors, get gold and pay tolls (!) in certain spots. Ork is one of those games that looks nice. However, it lacks last-ability as its gameplay is rather boring and too difficult.

GAPHICS / SOUND
The ST version's visuals are good, having around 30 colors on-screen, probably with the use of the color-dithering technique. But the background scrolling has many framerate drops when the screen is crowded, rendering the game quite difficult to play. The backdrops are nice though but there are a few details missing compared to the Amiga original (this is Psygnosis, remember?) On the other hand, the sound on the ST is good, including the original intro tune and a variety of sampled sound effects (but no in-game music)!

GAMEPLAY SAMPLE VIDEO
On our video below you may watch both the Atari ST and Amiga OCS versions of the game