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In
the beginning, the gods created the world and all the
creatures that lived above and below it. To man they
gave the Gemstone and mankind used it for generations
to create simple, harmless magic. The demons of the
netherworld tried more than once to grasp the gemstone
and use its power for their own purpose. Eventually,
swarming across the face of the Earth, they killed the
guardians of the stone and seized it. Man fell into
a state of despair. Magic began to fail and the race
began to die out. The demons and their spawn spread,
but they could not harness the power of the stone. In
frustration they attempted to destroy it, but only managed
to shatter it into five pieces, which they hid inside
their underworld complex. You take the challenge of
seeking out the fragments and returning them to what's
left of the human race. You are the only hope.
There
lies the plot for one of the most recent SSI role-playing
games. It differs from other SSI role-playing games
because it plays as a real-time arcade adventure with
strategic elements. The game accepts joystick control,
but as this will still require keyboard interaction
to some extent, it's probably less confusing to use
the keyboard throughout. The instructions aren't as
thorough as in other SSI titles, but they do provide
a keyboard plan allowing you to get into the game very
quickly. Most SSI rules books are bursting with useful
information, but in this book most of the information
dealt with game play on several other machines, which
gave the impression of a lack of imagination.
Amidst
the ruins, skeletons surround our hero.
The
character has a choice of weapons (fireball or crossbow),
an inventory of useful objects (including a quiver of
arrows) and a life force bar, all of which are visible
on the screen. A real-time clock is also displayed,
along with treasure points to aid keeping track of progress
during play. The rest of the screen consists of the
play area itself, which scrolls as the character reaches
its edge.
Apart
from the theme tune used at the beginning, the game
makes good use of sound effects to warn of different
creatures approaching. However, the option to cancel
these effects is just one of a series of redefinable
features of the game. All the control keys may be altered
to cater to personal taste, and a high score table may
be cleared at the player's discretion. All these features
are only accessible at the start of the game.
The
game normally begins with a short graphic sequence depicting
your character's arrival at the temple (from where he
is magically transported to the caves), but you have
the option to commence play immediately. Once the cave
system has been entered, you have to be constantly on
your guard. Monsters come at you from all directions.
Some are disease ridden and require a quick kill to
avoid infection. Others multiply during combat and consequently
make a deadly foe. As you fight with various weapons,
the inventory totals alter to reflect ammunition used.
As
the character explores the dungeons and caverns, he
has the option to search dead foes or examine artifacts
in search of magic items. More often than not, these
are beneficial to his quest. Occasionally however, there
may be traps or evil magic involved, resulting in something
very nasty happening!
I
felt somewhat out of place, reviewing this game. It
seamed as though one of the Garys or Julian should have
reviewed it. With continued play, I began to realise
why SSI were marketing this
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