| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ SWORDS AND SORCERY (c) PSS SOFTWARE ★ |
Amstrad Action | Amtix | Computer Gamer |
Wandering through the chaos, you adjust your grip on the handle of your sword. Cold sweat soaks the fur beneath the palm of your hand making your grip less secure. On your other arm. a shield of battered metal protects the upper half of your bruised body. You want to rest but know that there is no choice — you must go on. There is a door ahead. Forcing It with your shoulder, it swings open. In the gloom of the room beyond you glimpse the outrageous form of a giant snake with a woman's head. Before you can bring down your sword, a light blinds your eyes and the metal weapons seem too hot to hold. You've failed — this time ... Enter Swords and Sorcery by PSS. Long awaited and even longer proclaimed, the game that says it brings role playing to your keyboard and VDU is here. It's taken a long time but now the idea is that anyone with about ten pounds to spare can travel through a maze of underground labyrinths in search of adventure and fortune. The question is, does the game live up to the claim? The idea in SSS is to journey around four quadrants of an underground maze in search of armour made by the master Armourer Zob. In doing so. your character will encounter a variety of monsters, traps and computer controlled characters — most of whom are intent on thwarting your efforts. In the longer term, more 'add-on' dungeons are in the making for as your character explores and fights, he gains experience. The future dungeons are primarily intended to allow this course to continue. The packaging is in the form of a large cassette case, and a medium sized A5 manual which explains all the intricacies of play and lists the various magic items, monsters and other miscellaneous objects. The screen is split up into five main areas. At the top of the screen is a text window carrying messages telling you what your character is holding or the state of a battle and whether or not you just hit your opponent. Below tnat and on the left another window displays your character's view in animated line graphics. So. as your character progresses down a corridor. you actually see the walls move past. To the right of this is a map of the dungeon quadrant you are currently in. This map also displays your exact location and anything that might be in a corridor. However, it does not reveal anything occupying a room unless you are also in that room.
Below this is a dialogue box where conversations between yourself and anyone else are displayed. Finally, at the base of the screen is a scrolling menu. Actually there are several scrolling menus arranged in a hierarchical fashion. On the main menu, if you selected Talk, another menu would appear with choices like. Greet. Command. War Cry and son on. If Greet was selected, the choice of Friendly. Neutral or Hostile would appear. This control method is somewhat unusual but after playing a while, its logical structure facilitates ease of use. At the beginning of the game, a new character may be created or a default character may be used. To create a new character, the player is given 14 days in which to train with any of twelve masters. Each master specialises in particular skills. The player picks the master (or masters) with the skills that most appeal and thereby gain their own unique balance of abilities. All the masters appear as names on the scrolling menu, the player pressing fire, when the correct master has been selected. No wonder that dragons are extinct because Dragon's Teeth are the main form of currency in the world of Midas. After training has been completed, a character is allowed a certain number of DTs with which to buy equipment. Once equipment has been purchased. the character automatically enters the dungeon. Apart from encountering wandering monsters, each room normally holds a creature or character and each may be dealt with in different ways. If an armoured knight approaches, telling you to stand and deliver, a war cry or threat may be sufficient to send him running. Other creatures may enjoy flinging insults for a few minutes before battle commences. Under certain circumstances, creatures may be interrogated as to the value of an item you have collected on your adventure. However you deal with them, interaction with these characters is a major part of the game. Another major aspect of play is magic. A novice character has only the ability to cast a few Fireball spells. During the game, or after suitable training, it is possible to have an entire arsenal of spells to be used in both offence, defence and as tools. Of course, certain creatures are going to be able to use spells as well. Combat is normally fore-wamed by the sound of a ringing bell. During combat, the map area of the screen is removed to display combat statistics for both parties involved. The only real animation is in the form of a few special effects for spells such as Fireball, when a flash of differing colours hurtle towards the foe. Combat is handled in rounds and each party may pick a choice of attack and defence forms in each round. Also taken into consideration are strengths, armour, weapons and armaments used. In the early stages of the game, should you lose a fight and die, you are usually given an extra life. This benefit does not last for long, however. It is possible to turn and run during a fight but your opponent gains a couple of free hits if you choose to do so. A proper retreat takes time to learn and skill to exercise, therefore such an option has to be earned through experience. During your adventures there are likely to be many pieces of treasure discovered which are not necessary to complete the game. But there is freedom of movement and choice throughout, so the exact nature of the adventure is left partly to the individual. Options for saving and reloading a game in progress are available and will become necessary for completion of the game. That is, unless you have several months to spend on non-stop playing!
CRITICISM
Presentation 92% : Plenty of options, all clearly laid out in both the manual and on screen. Graphics 91% : Very clever use of animation and colour. Sound 72% : No music and only a few simple sound effects. Passable though. Playability 91 % : The menu system is very well thought out but will still slow you down at first. Addictive qualities 93% : An immense dungeon to explore, full of variety and the promise of more to come! Value for money 93% : A massive game for a reasonable price. Overall 92% : A great game that's been worth the wait. Amtix n°9 |
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Page créée en 736 millisecondes et consultée 4158 fois L'Amstrad CPC est une machine 8 bits à base d'un Z80 à 4MHz. Le premier de la gamme fut le CPC 464 en 1984, équipé d'un lecteur de cassettes intégré il se plaçait en concurrent du Commodore C64 beaucoup plus compliqué à utiliser et plus cher. Ce fut un réel succès et sorti cette même années le CPC 664 équipé d'un lecteur de disquettes trois pouces intégré. Sa vie fut de courte durée puisqu'en 1985 il fut remplacé par le CPC 6128 qui était plus compact, plus soigné et surtout qui avait 128Ko de RAM au lieu de 64Ko. |
