Wizard

Wizard © 1980 Atari, Incorporated.

Unreleased prototype where you control a wizard, who must attempt to destroy the swirling star shaped creature. The board layout is a giant maze, which makes it hard to run from the creature and to get a clean shot off. Unfortunately the creature can move through the maze walls, but thankfully it can't shoot through them. Once you take a shot you'll notice that your wizard dims a bit, this means you are recharging, and cannot shoot. Once your wizard is done recharging he will light back up again, and you can take another shot. You don't have to worry about aiming you shots, as you will automatically shoot in the direction of the creature. This makes it easy to run away but still take shots at the creature.

Your wizard starts out with zero damage (indicated by the right number), and will die if the damage counter reaches 99. Each shot you take from the creature causes you two points of damage, touching the creature will also cause you two points of damage. As you take more and more damage your wizard will weaken until he finally dies. In your weakened state you will move slower and take longer to recharge.

The creature's damage counter is on the left side of the screen. Each time you shoot the creature it will take two points so damage and be stunned for a few seconds. This is your chance to get away to a safe distance and hide as you recharge. The creature is normally invisible unless it's shooting at you or it has taken a hit. You can tell where the creature is by listening to the heartbeat in the background. The closer the creature, the louder the sound.

Wizard has a unique two player feature where one player can control the wizard while the other player controls the creature. Since the creature is normally invisible, the second player must move blindly about the maze until he comes in range of the wizard. The second player's creature will automatically fire at the player making his job slighty easier. This interesting twist on the normal two player variation shows some innovation not seen in many games.