Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax

Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax
Commodore 64 box art, featuring Maria Whittaker and Michael Van Wijk
Developer(s)	Palace Software
Publisher(s)	Palace Software (Europe), Epyx (North America)
Designer(s)	Steve Brown
Programmer(s)	Rob Stevens
Artist(s)	Jo Walker Steve Brown
Composer(s)	Richard Joseph
Platform(s)	Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum
Release	1988
Genre(s)	Fighting game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax is a video game first published in 1988 for various home computers. It was also released as Axe of Rage in North America. The game is the sequel to Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior (Death Sword in North America), which was published in 1987. In Barbarian II, the player controls a princess or barbarian character, exploring the game world to locate and defeat an evil wizard. The game's plot is an extension of its predecessor, although the gameplay is different. While the first game offers two players the opportunity for virtual head-to-head combat, the second is solely a single-player adventure with fewer fighting moves.

Palace Software, the developer of the two Barbarian games, marketed the sequel with the same strategy they used for the first game. They hired Maria Whittaker, a model known for her topless work, to pose on the cover and posters as the princess in the game, attempting to recapture the controversy that had boosted sales. Barbarian II received a mixed critical reception. Reviewers were split in their opinions over whether the game was a refreshing and gory adventure, or a boring and lonely sojourn through a confusing digital world.

Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax is an action video game released in 1988 for various personal computer platforms, such as Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. It is the sequel to Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior (released in 1987), which offers sword fighting action to one or two players. Unlike its predecessor, Barbarian II features only a single-player mode, in which the player assumes the role of either sword-wielding Princess Mariana or the titular savage, who is armed with a battleaxe. Their common quest is to pursue the evil wizard Drax, who has fled to his dungeon hideout after his defeat in the first game. The player characters battle their way through an inhospitable wasteland, a system of caves, and a dungeon before facing Drax in his inner sanctum for a showdown.

Using a joystick or keyboard, the player moves his or her character through Barbarian II's world. Each of the four stages—wasteland, caves, dungeon, and inner sanctum—is a series of interconnected rooms, populated by monsters, traps, and items. The game displays one room at a time in a flick-screen manner: as the protagonist leaves a room, the screen is updated to display the next. The connections among rooms are disjointed: the exit on the left of one room might be connected to the entrance on the same side of another. A compass at the bottom of the interface serves as a directional guide, always pointing to the north. The player directs his or her player through the rooms, seeking the exit to the next stage while avoiding traps and collecting items.