Darkrite

Darkrite is an American action-adventure video game published by Activision, being released on September 18, 1988 for ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, it is designed by Ian Hetherington, music composed by Steve Broughton and programmed by Richard Clifford. The story starts in an alternate 1925, set in an area with a dark and mysterious atmosphere, where the player controls protagonist Dimitri Stephanovich, who is looking for his girlfriend Katerina.
Darkrite was well received by critics upon release, being regarded as one of the best Spectrum games of all time, later followed by its sequel Darkite 2 in 1993.
==Story==
The game takes place in an alternate 1925. Katerina Vasilovskaia, a young woman who works as a journalist, is reported missing by the city of Zlatov, Russia. Dimitri Stephanovich, a local police officer, starts a search for Katerina, aided by his friend Sergei, and he soon realizes that Katerina is on a mission to find out the truth behind the events of Zlatov, Russia. As a police officer, Dimitri realizes that the situation is much worse than he thought, as he and Sergei are killed and buried in an unmarked grave, only to be dug up by their zombie colleagues. Dimitri's body is also buried in the ground and is reborn as an undead monster, and with his resurrection, Dimitri embarks on a quest for revenge.
The story is developed in an alternate 1925 in the game. Dimitri Stephanovich, a young police officer, works in the city of Zlatov, Russia. He is the main protagonist of the game. Dimitri is the son of a wealthy merchant and a noble family, and he is the eldest son in the family.
==Gameplay==
The game is an action/platformer. Levels are based on the 2D and side-scrolling perspective, while there is also a shooting gallery segment in the game. Although Darkrite is a single-player game, the game does not have a pause option; the player can save the game by entering a password at the end of each level. The game is played in a side-scrolling 2D perspective, in which the player can move from left to right, or from right to left (the direction is determined by the side of the screen that is initially viewed).
The player controls a character named Dimitri Stephanovich, who is equipped with a machine gun, as well as having the ability to throw knives. The player's machine gun can fire in three directions: left, right, and the direction Dimitri is facing. The character also has the ability to jump to avoid enemies and pits, but only up to a certain point.
The player's ammunition and knives are limited in number, and must be replenished by collecting ammunition and knife supplies respectively that appear randomly around the levels. The player also has the ability to climb up ladders. Dimitri also has health bars, and the game can be reset if he runs out of health.
==Development==
Darkrite was originally developed in 1986 by British programmer Ian Hetherington, who designed the game and the graphics for the Spectrum version, as well as coding the main game, but the game was never released at the time. The game was resurrected in 1988 by Activision in collaboration with ZX Spectrum magazine ZX Computing and published as a budget title. The graphics for the Spectrum version were designed by Ian Hetherington, while the graphics for the Commodore 64 version were designed by James Bates. The music for the game was composed by Steve Broughton. Richard Clifford was in charge of the programming, while the game was published by Activision in the United States and published by ZX Computing in the United Kingdom.
It was later released in 1990 on the MSX2 and Atari 800 platforms, as well as on the Nintendo Entertainment System. In 2004, the game was re-released for the ZX Spectrum in emulated format on Spectrum+ software.
== Reception ==
The Commodore 64 version of the game received a score of 75% in ZX Computing magazine.
In the book, The 100 Best Videogames of All Time, the game was ranked 80th, with the book's author David Banks stating that the game was a "fantastic game" that was inspired by the Amiga's version of The Great Giana Sisters. In the book, The Game Designer's Bible, the game was rated 9 out of 10 in the book's chapter on Game Design. The game was also featured on a special edition of the Commodore 64 magazine C64 Action as part of a feature on the Commodore 64's "favorite games". The Commodore 64 version of the game was also featured in the book, The Best Commodore 64 Games, which was published by the Commodore User magazine in 2007. 
The ZX Spectrum version of the game was reviewed by David Hayward in a feature in the ZX Computing magazine's January 1991 issue, with Hayward describing the game as a "fantastic" game that was a "great game" that was "as challenging as it was enjoyable".
The Commodore 64 version of the game was reviewed by the gaming website Retro Gamer in their issue 124 of the magazine in January 2007. The reviewer, John Breeze, described the game as "a fun little action game" that was "really challenging" and a "great game" that was "fun" to play.
==Legacy==
=== Fangames ===
In 2002, David Banks announced the creation of a planned fangame of games based on the game, which is a fan-made sequel to the game that is to be released in 2011. In the planned fangame, the player would be able to play as the character of the original game. The fangame is set in a post-apocalyptic version of Russia, in which a deadly disease called The Darkrite plague has devastated the country. 
The disease was caused by a virus that was accidentally released by the Soviet Union in the late 1990s. The fangame featured a young woman named Margo, who lives in a Russian city called Vostok. The city was founded by the Soviet Union, and was used as a secret base by the KGB during the Cold War. Margo is the daughter of the former director of the Vostok research facility, and she discovers that the government is using her as a weapon in the war against the zombies. The series is set in a world where the Soviet Union still exists, and Russia is still a dictatorship.
The fangame also featured a character named Alexei Stepanovich, who was Dimitri's brother. He is the main protagonist of the series. Alexei is the youngest son in the Stepanovich family, and he is also the only survivor of the Darkrite plague. He is also the leader of the zombie resistance, which he formed in order to help fight against the zombies.
Category:Video games
Category:Action-adventure games
Category:Activision games
Category:Action-Adventure
Category:1988
Category:1989
Category:1990
Category:1992
Category:1994
Category:TobySilva77's ideas