Orc Attack
Orc Attack is a fixed shooter video game written by Dean Lock for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1983 by Thorn EMI. The game was re-released, along with Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum ports, when Thorn rebranded as Creative Sparks, and later at budget price by Sparklers and Top Ten. In Orc Attack, the player protects a castle wall by dropping boulders on ladder climbing orcs. Though the visuals are low resolution, Orc Attack has a high level of violence.
Orc Attack
- Date
- 1983
- Publisher
- Orc Attack was published by Creative Sparks.
- Genre
- shoot 'em up · action game
- Held by
- Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
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Documentary summary
Orc Attack is a fixed shooter video game written by Dean Lock for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1983 by Thorn EMI. The game was re-released, along with Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum ports, when Thorn rebranded as Creative Sparks, and later at budget price by Sparklers and Top Ten. In Orc Attack, the player protects a castle wall by dropping boulders on ladder climbing orcs. Though the visuals are low resolution, Orc Attack has a high level of violence.
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wikidata · Q7100143 · wikipedia · Orc Attack
In this article
The object
The object
Publication is recorded by Creative Sparks. The recorded date of publication is 1983. It is associated with United Kingdom. Recorded genres are shoot 'em up and action game. It is recorded in the collection of Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.
Key facts
Key facts
• Publisher — Thorn EMI Creative Sparks Top Ten • Designer — Dean Lock • Programmer — Atari 8-bit Dean Lock ZX Spectrum Phil Snell Commodore 64 Chris James • Released — 1983: Atari 1984: C64, Spectrum • Genre — Fixed shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — The player dropped a rock on a ladder with two Orcs (Atari 8-bit). The player moves back and forth along the top of a castle wall, defending it from orcs below which shoot arrows at the player and others which use ladders to scale the wall. The player can kill orcs and destroy ladders by picking up rocks from the left and right sides of the ramparts, then dropping them. Should an orc climb all the way to the top, the player can pick up a sword instead of a rock and kill it. After a while, the rocks are replaced with boiling oil. Dropping oil starts a fire at the bottom of the screen which engulfs the orcs and ladders, ending the round. The number of orcs killed during the round is counted up. As the game progresses, Ninja Orcs appear which can climb without a ladders. A sorcerer sends evil spirits against players.
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Places
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- United Kingdom
Named but not plotted · 1
Orc Attack is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Reception
Atari 8-bit magazine ANALOG Computing called Orc Attack "easily the most violent and gratuitously satisfying shoot-'em-up on the market today (although 'drop-'em-down' might be a more accurate label)." Arcade Express concluded, "Orc Attack combines fast-paced action with lots of strategy to produce a strong overall program"—8/10. ZX Spectrum magazine CRASH gave Orc Attack a 91% rating.
Primary material
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reference work
- “Orc Attack”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7100143: Orc Attack
General reference · Wikidata
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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