The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The disclaimer: Okay, here goes: my very first review for RPGnet, so any and all constructive criticism is highly appreciated. It might save me from a lot of comments if I'd be honest and tell you that English is not my native language and any and all typos should be blaimed on my highschool teacher ;)

The game: The game is set in the world of Midkemia which was created by Raymond E. Feist. I have to admit that I haven't read any of his books (yet), but since the good man decided some years ago to write a book based on this game (Krondor: the Betrayal, the link will take you to the relevant page at amazon.com) it must be consistent with his other books.

The game starts with Locklear (one of the main characters from the books) escorting a Moredhel dissident called Gorath to Krondor. Along the way he was wounded by assasins. When a young man with a gift for magic called Owyn tends his wounds another assasin attacks them, but is stopped by Gorath. This is when intro stops and the player takes control over the three men.

The game is played from a first person point of view, which looks just fine (No, there is no 3D card support or anything. This game is from 1993 remember?). When entering a large town or when engaging in conversation with an NPC, the game switches to a 2D view. Most NPC's are represented by photo's of actors all dressed up like with your typical fantasy outfits. Although I got the distinct impression that the actor playing Jimmy the hand was wearing a bathrobe they usually look rather good. Conversation is done by clicking on keywords which then results in a conversation between one of the PC's and the NPC. It's standard, but it works, so why change it?

The story is devided in 9 chapters and will take you from Krondor to Sar Sargoth to a distant world that's been messed up by the Valheru, to name only a few of the more interesting locations. You're usually allowed pretty much freedom in the way of going where you wanna go to and there are numerous varied sidequests, so you won't get bored soon.

Oh, did I mention that in several chapters you'll get to play other characters, including (but not limited to :)) Locklear, Jimmy the hand and even Pug?

Of course, no CRPG would be complete without a bit of combat and there's plenty of it in BaK. Combat is done on an isometrically viewed field of hexes and luckily both balanced and not without a bit of realism. For instance: mages can cast a lot of spells and some of them are truly devastating, but they can't cast when hostiles are in front of them so they can still be beaten. When hurt a lot, both PC's and NPC's will miss more often and will not be able to move a lot and NPC's are really beat up they will usually try to flee.

Of course there are also a few problems with the game. The music for instance ain't that great (though I don't have a problem with it) and there are a few bugs.

Both of those problems can be cured however. The first by buying the CD version of the game (if you can still find it) which has much better music. The latter by downloading and installing the patch (though that doesn't correct all of the bugs, but they're not that desturbing anyhow)

The conclusion: All in all, this is a pretty good game and what the heck? IT'S FREE!!! So what are you waiting for? Download it now!

The distribution channels: Anyone interested in playing this game this freely download it at http://www.sierra.com/demos/preview/1,1690,104,00.html. You may want to download the patch too. It can be found somewhere at the same site.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Betrayal at Krondor (BaK)
Author: Too many to list Category: CRPG Company/Publisher: Sierra Line: Krondor series/Betrayal series Cost: Free! Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a SKU: Dunno Playtest Review by Jan-Willem van den Broek on 01/20/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	The disclaimer: Okay, here goes: my very first review for RPGnet, so any and all constructive criticism is highly appreciated. It might save me from a lot of comments if I'd be honest and tell you that English is not my native language and any and all typos should be blaimed on my highschool teacher ;) The game: The game is set in the world of Midkemia which was created by Raymond E. Feist. I have to admit that I haven't read any of his books (yet), but since the good man decided some years ago to write a book based on this game (Krondor: the Betrayal, the link will take you to the relevant page at amazon.com) it must be consistent with his other books. The game starts with Locklear (one of the main characters from the books) escorting a Moredhel dissident called Gorath to Krondor. Along the way he was wounded by assasins. When a young man with a gift for magic called Owyn tends his wounds another assasin attacks them, but is stopped by Gorath. This is when intro stops and the player takes control over the three men. The game is played from a first person point of view, which looks just fine (No, there is no 3D card support or anything. This game is from 1993 remember?). When entering a large town or when engaging in conversation with an NPC, the game switches to a 2D view. Most NPC's are represented by photo's of actors all dressed up like with your typical fantasy outfits. Although I got the distinct impression that the actor playing Jimmy the hand was wearing a bathrobe they usually look rather good. Conversation is done by clicking on keywords which then results in a conversation between one of the PC's and the NPC. It's standard, but it works, so why change it? The story is devided in 9 chapters and will take you from Krondor to Sar Sargoth to a distant world that's been messed up by the Valheru, to name only a few of the more interesting locations. You're usually allowed pretty much freedom in the way of going where you wanna go to and there are numerous varied sidequests, so you won't get bored soon. Oh, did I mention that in several chapters you'll get to play other characters, including (but not limited to :)) Locklear, Jimmy the hand and even Pug? Of course, no CRPG would be complete without a bit of combat and there's plenty of it in BaK. Combat is done on an isometrically viewed field of hexes and luckily both balanced and not without a bit of realism. For instance: mages can cast a lot of spells and some of them are truly devastating, but they can't cast when hostiles are in front of them so they can still be beaten. When hurt a lot, both PC's and NPC's will miss more often and will not be able to move a lot and NPC's are really beat up they will usually try to flee. Of course there are also a few problems with the game. The music for instance ain't that great (though I don't have a problem with it) and there are a few bugs. Both of those problems can be cured however. The first by buying the CD version of the game (if you can still find it) which has much better music. The latter by downloading and installing the patch (though that doesn't correct all of the bugs, but they're not that desturbing anyhow) The conclusion: All in all, this is a pretty good game and what the heck? IT'S FREE!!! So what are you waiting for? Download it now! The distribution channels: Anyone interested in playing this game this freely download it at http://www.sierra.com/demos/preview/1,1690,104,00.html. You may want to download the patch too. It can be found somewhere at the same site. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Betrayal at Krondor (BaK)