55 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
55 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
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QUARTERSTAFF
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QUARTERSTAFF has a varied history. The first version was very buggy and
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deserved the negative review you may have read here in THE ELECTRONIC GAMER
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(tm). This review is based on the newer Infocom release for the Macintosh (1MB
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of memory is required to play).
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QUARTERSTAFF is advertised as a role-playing game, but it plays much like a
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text adventure with enhancements. There are some shortcuts (macros) that make
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entering the many necessary commands easier, but basically, you play the game by
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typing commands for the characters to follow, and reading the results. The
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enhancements include: auto-mapping; some graphic illustrations of characters,
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rooms, and weapons; multi-player abilities; online help and hints; sound
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effects; and a few role-playing features.
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The characters' attributes increase as their experience levels go up. There's a
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simple combat system, but I was generally disappointed in the role-playing
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features. First of all, you can't create any of your own characters -- they've
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been created and named for you. But more importantly, the role-playing features
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seemed as if they'd been added as afterthoughts, rather than incorporated as
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integral aspects of the game. For example, resting a character in order to
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restore hit points may require knocking the character unconscious!
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If you are looking for a game which is mostly text adventure with well-written
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puzzles to solve, QUARTERSTAFF won't disappoint you: The game works best on this
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level. It demands a lot of time and involves a lot of typing, but the story is
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interesting and non-linear.
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There is not just one way to play QUARTERSTAFF, however. The underground maze
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you enter is large and complex, and you have many options regarding exploration.
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Different choices bring about different results, of course -- not any one of
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them necessarily wrong. And the game can be solved despite the death of
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characters.
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If the puzzles are too difficult for you, you can access the online help files.
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Not all of the puzzles have hints; there are plenty of places where you may be
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stuck and not know where to go or what to do, but such are the hazards of
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gaming! (You can always post a message in The Gamers' Forum for help.)
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The reactions to this game have been very mixed. The interface does take quite
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a while to get used to. There are fans of the game who say they don't like text
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adventures, but they love QUARTERSTAFF because of its enhancements. There are
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those who think the game is long-winded but worth playing, if you can take it.
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And there are others who never quite become accustomed to the interface and give
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up on the game -- mostly role-playing gamers.
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The game isn't easy, but it is unique. It's not quite a role-playing game and
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not quite a text adventure: It's QUARTERSTAFF! If you have the patience to brave
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learning the interface, you may find it well worth your while.
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QUARTERSTAFF is published by Infocom and distributed by Mediagenic.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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