Caltrops - Devil Whiskey - Re: Wizardry worth playing?

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by Ice Cream Jonsey 01/28/2005, 10:57am PST

whydirt wrote:

Jonsey, aren't you the one who's all about these and the Bard's Tale games? Any tips if I decide to take the masochistic trip down this path? Are the BT games better or worse?

I have Wizardry 8, but never got round to playing it. Zseni was telling me how good it was. I guess I mostly bought it because Sir-Tech was going out of business and I freak out when I think there is going to be a shortage involving a game.

Yes, I absolutely love games with that interface. The Bard's Tale games are quite easy to find -- here is a quick take on them:

Bard's Tale 1: Tales of the Unknown You can't save anywhere in this game. You have to go back to the original tavern. And, I mean... OK, it's one thing when Resident Evil 4 makes me look for typewriters, because I reason that nobody is going to leave one outside, so when I enter an area that is completely outdoors I am automatically five minutes away from being able to save. (OK, admittedly Rafiki informed me of a button on the Cube that I did not know existed, and you can call up a map that lists save spots. BUT STILL.) With BT you will, at one point, have to go to the bottom level of a dungeon and port over to a tower that uses up a one-time magic object you get from killing this one guy. So just to get to the new monsters it takes a fair bit of effort, and then you're at least an hour away from saving. Maybe some of the emulators that are out there for STs and Amigas can save game state, dunno.

Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Wand: Great fucking game all the way around. Save wherever you want. New classes, ranged combat, nice graphics for its time, runs fast, real-time puzzle rooms which are actually fun... great game. This is the one I'd go with if you wanted a free game to mess around with.

Bard's Tale III: The Thief of Fate: My main contention is that the game already demands you have a bard in your party, now they seem to indicate that you're going to need a thief as well. That's a good portion of your team used up by guys tripping over each other. Plus, everyone in town is dead, so getting around is a chore. This is for people who really bought into the franchise.

Devil Whiskey: This is in the Bard's Tale style, but it's not an official sequel or anything. Great game if you like this sort of thing. I spent the better part of a week last year playing it from the moment I got home until the moment I went to sleep -- it can be horribly addicting. You can also play in bite-size chunks and feel you've accomplished something because your guys level up fairly quickly. One of the top-five games I played last year.

Wizardry 8: Everyone with an informed opinion that I respect likes this game. Intimidated by the dozens of hours of gameplay, I've installed it and killed a spider, but haven't been back to it. I will, someday.

I did pick up Wizardry 7 and it seemed like furry shit to me. Someone can correct this gross mis-statement if that's what it is. Wizardry 1, 2 and 3 were great fun, insanely difficult, but a real blast to play in like 1988.

the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!