Cheap Ultimate Wizardry Archives (Software) (Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows Me) Price
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For the uninitiated, the Wizardry series began in 1978 with the release of Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, and that game, along with the six sequels that followed, is included in this collection. All of the games are presented in their original format, meaning the first four use simple text and stick figures to represent the entire gaming universe. Dungeons in the first few games consist of straight white lines bounding pure black walls.
Only purists and game collectors will appreciate the first five titles in the series, but nearly anyone who enjoys crawling through dungeons hacking up monsters should like Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Crusaders of the Dark Savant (along with its enhanced version, Wizardry Gold). The graphics in these games are vastly improved over those in their predecessors (though of course surpassed by modern games), and the keyboard interface of the older games was exchanged for an easy-to-use mouse interface. Just looking at the evolution of the series is a treat, as it shows how much computers and games have changed in 10 years, but the real pleasure comes from the addictive hack-and-slash gameplay this series has been delivering for over two decades. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- A great way to see just how far game technology has come
- Wizardry fans can finally fill all the gaps in their collections
- Will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment--if you can take the graphics and interfaces of the older titles
- Older DOS-based games won't appeal to the average gamer
- Some of these titles don't run well on modern systems
| PLATFORM: | Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows Me |
| AGE GROUP: | 5 years and up |
| CATEGORY: | Software |
| MANUFACTURER: | Interplay Productions |
| ESRB RATING: | Everyone |
| TYPE: | Fantasy (FRPG) |
| MEDIA: | CD-ROM |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| ACCESSORIES: | |
| UPC: | 040421002702 |
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Customer Reviews of Ultimate Wizardry Archives
revolutionary! Some players to whom graphics is all important should not bother with this game, with extremely few exceptions, every wall in this game looks the exact same. that can lead to some confusion so the automap feature which was included in wizardry gold was a huge bonus. the neat thing about wiz 7 (the greatest rpg of all time) is that your maps become more detailed as your character's skill in mapping goes up.
these are the most extensive rpg titles ever created. to this day none (well maybe one or two) titles offer the extensiveness of character development offered by wiz 6 and 7. there are plenty of races to choose from, and plenty of proffesions to enter, in the end it offers immense replay value as each party of 6 characters can be compromised of any proffesion you choose. you may choose from fighters, samurai, ninjas, monks, thieves, bards, valkyries, lords, rangers, bishops, alchemists, mages, priests and psionics. each race has different strengths and weaknesses and is more inclined to enter certain proffesions than others. each proffesion also has a plethora of skills to learn, from four classes,weaponry, physical, academic, and personal.
combat is unique, you assign commands to all your party members and then start the round. it requires you to have a strategic mind to be succesful... should i Slow this group and Blinding Flash this one, or the other way around? the spells as well are quite numerous, i beleive there are a total of 96. each spell can have up to six power levels (seven in wiz 7) allowing you to tailor the spell for what size or strength monster you are fighting.
the storyline is nothing short of amazing and highly engrossing, and completely non-linear. it is possible to 'lose' at the grand finale of the game, its also possible to semi-lose or semi-win. i beleive there are 5 endings. if you play through wiz 6 you can import your party into wiz 7 and get a special beggening and i beleive three special endings.
a great feature of the game is that there is no level limit for your characters, even in higher levels the game is still challenging. monsters do not simply get more hp and lower armor class as you go up in levels, they actually get smarter and some may have more special abilities to counter your party's. combat is beautifully balanced out so that it is not too tough, but certainly not too easy! even towards the end there are plenty of extremely (but not impossible) battles to be had.
another of the game's challenges is the acquisition of equipment. you EARN better equipment, for some it may be discouraging how hard it may be to get better equipment but others realize that it is beautifully balanced with how powerful your spellcasters become. when you find a treasure chest it usually contains well earned items, though only after disarming a tricky trap. this is where your thief/ninja/bard comes in. as they gain skill in skuldgerry they make it easier to ID components of traps.
the monsters are extremely numerous, i've played the game since its original release and still haven't encountered all.
the game does have flaws however, though none which marr the gameply much if any. one of the main flaws is that in wiz 6 every wall in the game looked the exact same, even if you were in the middle of a swamp or a castle. this makes it easy to get lost so the strategy guide complete with detailed maps (included in the game) is a MUST have. wiz 7 made a leap by including different wall tiles for different environments. yes, every town looks the exact same but at least trees are actually trees now! the only environmental effect in the game is night/day cycles but don't despair, if something happens or if there is anything out of the ordinary on a wall the game will tell you.
the combat realism of the game may upset some, especially when their level 1 fighter is averaging six misses per hit or when their level five mage attempts a seventh level fireball that backfires and incinerates the party. your characters build up their skill levels through practice and level ups (levels are hard earned and precious!)therefore don't expect combat to be a walk through the park. in your very first fight your mage may very well run out of magic and pick up his stick to start beating some froggy plants senseless.
character creation may very well be a very frustrating for even experienced rpg'ers. you must select a sex and race and then the computer generates a random number of bonus points with wich to boost your initial stats (strength, speed, dexterity, vitality, intelligence, piety, and charisma). if the bonus points don't allow your character to raise his stats to the minimum entrance requirements for a class, your outta luck, try again. you want that felpurr samurai or faerie ninja? hope you got patience...
wizardry is an extremely well balanced and must play game for true rpg'ers. it provides hours and hours and hours of gameplay (just a single title!). the world you are free to explore from day one is immense and offers quite a few surprises which are not included in the game's strategy guide! from a tyrannosaurus rex to hidden treasure, there is plenty to discover. so polish off your breastplate, oil your boots, fork up 30 bucks and get out there and explore!
They can do better
I'm one of those people who grew up playing the original Wizardry (Proving Ground of the Mad Overlord) and wanted to have to same thing on my IBM computer. I was really disappointed because the graphics were worse than the old apple version, i can't figure out how they could do that but they did. Overall it was more difficult to use and just didn't have the same mystique that the original apple version possessed. The CD i bought didn't come with any instructions or anything so i didn't figure out how to play the other game so i can't comment there. I wouldn't go looking for this disc unless you liked the entire series. Fortunate for me i still have a working Apple II GS so i can play the original Wizardry.
Quick Review
I'm an RPG nut. I grew up with the early keyboard-interface games with CGA graphics and fell in love with the style of game. As far as I'm concerned, the games could still play like that or could even still be on pencil and paper. The graphics don't matter to me that much. I like collections. I also have all the Ultima games in a CD-ROM collection and the King's Quest Series. It's worth it to get all the games at once. I bought this collection because I played Dark Savant. In my opinion, that is one of the BEST RPGs ever made. It takes at least 6 months to complete and is so detailed and so wonderful. This set of games is worth it for that one game. The other ones are still awesome. Of course, if all you care about are graphics and sound, you might not find their charm. But, they are all great RPGs.
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