83 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
83 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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GOLD OF THE REALM
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GOLD OF THE REALM is a graphics-oriented fantasy adventure. Written by David
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Lindsley and Ken Badertscher, published by Magnetic Images, and with music by
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Dave Thorsen, REALM features over 300 graphic screens, very good sound and
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animation, three levels of difficulty, joystick and mouse control, a game-save
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option, and a MIDI-compatible soundtrack. This review is based on the Atari ST
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version.
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For the most part, GOLD OF THE REALM is okay -- which is to say, colorful, to
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learn and play, and reasonably interesting. There are, however, long stretches
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during which nothing much happens, an emptiness punctuated only by the sounds of
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your footsteps clacking on the stone floors and echoing along the corridors.
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Over 300 (Hard Level) screens to explore make for a lot of clacking and echoing.
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The actual "gold of the Realm" is a hoard of riches accumulated by four princes
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who, long ago, benevolently ruled the Realm. The wizard of the Realm could do
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all things magical except conjure up gold. He gained the complete trust of the
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princes, and they eventually allowed him to move the gold to the Gray Castle.
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The wizard protected the gold with magic, and then promptly overthrew the
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princes, cast out all the inhabitants of the Realm, and summoned demons to kill
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anyone who managed to survive.
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These days, the gold is the stuff of legend. Then again, it can't be too
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legendary...otherwise there would be no reason for GOLD OF THE REALM.
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Your task is to search the corridors and rooms of the Castle(s); correctly use
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the items you'll find; overcome spooks and skeletons and blobs and barbarians;
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locate the gold; and return to your trusty horse, which is waiting patiently
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outside, munching the foliage.
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The ST graphics display consists of separate, 3-dimensional screens, made up of
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brick-lined corridors and passageways, rooms, stairways that lead to upper and
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lower levels, and locked and unlocked doors. On reaching a screen edge --
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assuming there's an exit -- the current screen disappears and a new screen takes
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its place.
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To the right of the play area is a Status Box; below the play area is a
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Strength bar. From the Status Box, you can select for use any of eight items
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(maximum); you can also Pause, Abandon, Save (you'll need a blank,
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previously-formatted disk), or Quit the current game.
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The Strength Bar is red; it shrinks incrementally for each minute of play.
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Encounters with demons and spooks further reduce your strength, although pills
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of reconstitution can be found along the way.
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REALM is controlled with the joystick and mouse. The joystick is used for
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directional movement, as well as for taking, using, and dropping items. Clicking
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the mouse button pauses the game, so you can fool around in the Status Box:
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Since you have to be holding an item -- as opposed to simply carrying it -- the
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mouse-controlled Pause lets you make the change.
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If you have a Casio CZ-101 or a Yamaha DX-7 (a Casio CZ-230S worked, too), you
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can use the ST's MIDI ports for the soundtrack. The game's other sound effects,
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such as doors opening and footsteps clacking and apples being eaten, come
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through the monitor only.
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While neither spectacular nor particularly original -- you'll see the influence
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of other fantasy quests here -- GOLD OF THE REALM is well done. It's not at all
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difficult to learn; once learned, it's not at all difficult to play. The music
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and sound effects are part of the game, rather than gratuitous add-ons. The
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graphics are good, and the animation of certain events -- falling off the
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bridge, for example -- are even better.
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Each newly-begun Hard Level game randomizes events and item locations, thus
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making every game slightly different. The Castle on Easy Level is duplicated on
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Medium and Hard; Medium adds a second Castle, and Hard Level offers a total of
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four Castles and 320 screens.
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As noted earlier, though, there are stretches of aimless meandering along empty
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corridors. You'll encounter sword-wielding skeletons, bearded barbarians,
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airborne stone gargoyles, and diaphanous ghosts, but you won't meet them very
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often: This game isn't DUNGEON MASTER.
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Expect a smooth (though not necessarily action-filled) ride with GOLD OF THE
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REALM.
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GOLD OF THE REALM is published and distributed by Magnetic Images.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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