Author: N/A
Category: Computer Games
Company/Publisher: Alien Software Corporation
Cost: N/A
Page count: N/A
Playtest Review by Andrew R. Hind on 08/18/98. Genre tags: none

Neophyte, and it's sequel Neophyte-Koplio's story, are computer games fantasy games designed for IBM computers. Having had a bad history purchasing games which had requirements beyond the capability of my computer, I would be remise if I did not pass along the system requirements. These include Windows 95, 8MB of RAM, SVGA card with atleast 1MB of of video RAM able to support 16 bit color in 640x480, 40 MB of free hard drive space, and DirectX 3.0 or later (wish i knew what half of this means!).

The storyline is somewhat typical of these sort of games, being quest oriented wherin you do a lot of walking and fighting, with some NPC interaction (generally of minor importance) while you look for various items needed to proceed to the next stage of adventure. Still, not being a hardened computer-gamer and therefore not jaded by numerous similiar fantasy games, I enjoyed myself and found myself subconciously thinking about how I could adapt Neophyte to roleplaying.

The game play is seamless and simple, and the animation crisp and smooth (clearly drawing inspiration from anime). No rulebook is provided, but a comprehensive tutorial precedes the game and the simplicity of Neophyte suggests no problems will arise.

I should note that Alien Software Corporation is run entirely by 15-19 year olds. This is quite an achievement, and these young men deserve alot of credit for producing a pair of fine games. For a light diversion from the roleplaying, the Neophyte games are great. Still, nothing beats a handful of six-siders rolling about in your hands....sigh

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)