The Horde (video game)

"The Horde" redirects here. For other uses, see Horde.

The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn console and computers running MS-DOS. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time. It also featured full-motion video sequences featuring a number of actors including Kirk Cameron as Chauncey and Michael Gregory as Kronus Maelor. Video sequences were reduced to slideshows (with full sound) in some versions.

Overview

You play the servant boy Chauncey who was raised by a herd of wild cows in a fantasy medieval world. In a fortunate mishap, you rescue the King of Franzpowanki from choking on his meal and he rewards you by giving you a plot of land on which you can build a self-sustaining town. The only problem is that the land is being overrun by a variety of nasty creatures referred to simply as The Horde. The Horde consists of a number of destructive and hungry red monsters referred to individually as Hordlings.

The game is played in alternating timed phases. First is a "build" phase in which you develop your town with the resources at your disposal. This includes constructing buildings and walls, setting traps, chopping down trees, and landscaping.

Then comes the "action" phase, where you must defend your town from an onslaught of Hordlings with your huge sword, Grimthwacker (given to you by the King), and various magical items. These items are powered by your ATM card ("Automated Transfer of Mana," not "Automatic Teller Machine"), which converts gold money into raw magical energy. Hordlings occasionally drop money when defeated which you can immediately pick up and use. However, your main sources of income are cows and your town's crops, which naturally are what the Hordlings are attempting to eat.

At the end of the action phase, the season has ended and you see how well you managed the town. If you protected your sources of income from the Horde, you likely turned a profit. Randomly, you may now receive messages through a crystal ball from King Winthrop the Good (whose life you saved), Kronus Maelor (the "Evil High Chancellor"), or the FNN ("Franzpowanki News Network"). With the exception of certain comic relief messages, these can have direct influence on every aspect of the game.

After four seasons, Kronus Maelor requires you to pay taxes. You then have the opportunity to save the game and buy special items for the next year. As you work your way through the game, you eventually eliminate the Horde presence in a given region and are tasked by the king to move on to another territory. Each new location features the challenges of different terrain and new breeds of Hordling, as well as extras such as unorthodox ways to get items (these could be viewed as side-quests).

Territories

The Shimto Plains
The Tree Realms of Alburga
The Fetid Swamps of Buuzal
The Kar-Nyar Desert
The Frozen Wastes of Vesh

Hordling types

Adolescent Hordling
Crocodile Hordling
Desert Hordling
Forest Hordling
Ice Hordling
Juggernaut Hordling
Piranha Hordling
Shaman Hordling
Tyrant Hordling King

Legacy

While the gameplay needed work and the abundance of full-motion video sequences was questionable, the game was ahead of its time in some ways and anticipated the genre of real-time strategy games. But the game was probably underrated because of its limited exposure; it was released primarily on the 3DO and Sega Saturn, and neither platform was very successful. Given the favorable response to other games by Toys For Bob, such as Star Control II, one reason The Horde may have failed was simply because it lacked exposure on the popular console of the time, the Sony PlayStation.

Trivia

The Hordlings, especially as shown on the front cover, are reminiscent of both the Gremlins movie monsters and members of the Warhammer Orc race. Also, between Diablo and Diablo II, Blizzard Entertainment added a "shaman" monster type that is reminiscent of a Shaman Hordling, lacking only teleportation and an appetite.
The music from the game was composed by Burke Trieschmann and won Computer Gaming World's Premiere Award for Best Musical Score in 1995.

External links