Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It was only recently I got a chance to play this fine game, and let me say for fans of console roleplaying games that there are few better options.
Wizardry is an old game, just barely bridging the gap between the old computer text adventure games and modern RPGs.It's light on graphics and story, and heavy on puzzles and strategy, along with a healthy dose of tough combat.Thus, it might not be for everyone who considers themselves RPG fans.This game is more of a simulation.To that end, it mimics its subject matter (Dungeons and Dragons, most probably) very well.
The game is certainly challenging, especially in the beginning.Even the weakest monsters can be a challenge for fresh characters, but if some die you can always create extras or raise them at the temple.Later in the game, the pseudo-3D maze starts to throw tricky puzzles at you.You'll be tempted to bust out graph paper as you start to get lost and worn down by wandering monsters.The last few levels can only be described as a struggle for survival.
The game looks its age, with very little in the way of graphics.The pseudo-3D dungeon effect was truly awesome for its time (so I read) but is severely lacking in interest today.The monster portraits and sound are ordinary, but functional.Just about everything else is white text on black.You get used to it.
This is a game every RPG fan should try, simply because its a masterpiece of its time, that filled the void between two genres of fantasy gaming.I can't guarantee everyone will like it, but if you have a little imagination and thirst for challenge... this game will have you pulling your hair out, and you'll love it for that.
Note: I played the DOS version long before the NES one, and to be honest they seem pretty similar.The only real differences are spell names are listed instead of typed, and you get a smaller reward for winning the game.Also, I like the NES graphics, there's more color than the DOS version.
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Wizardry 1 - Proving Grounds of the Mad OverlordProduct Description: Wizardry began as a simple dungeon crawl by Andrew C. Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. It was written when they were students at Cornell University and then published by Sir-Tech. The first five games in the series were written in Apple Pascal, an implementation of UCSD Pascal, and was ported to many different platforms by writing UCSD Pascal implementations for the target machines (Mac II cross-development).David W. Bradley took over the series after the fourth installment, adding a new level of plot and complexity. Woodhead went on to found the North American anime import company AnimEigo, and Greenberg to become an intellectual property lawyer and contributor to the Squeak open source project. Greenberg also wrote another game series, Star Saga.The earliest installments of Wizardry were quite successful, as they were the first graphically-rich incarnations of Dungeons & Dragons-type gameplay for home computers. The release of the first version coincided around the height of D&D's popularity in North America.
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