![]() My only real grievance about the game from a technical standpoint is how the field of view is really narrow by 115-degree-Quake-pro standards. Dungeon graphics are also quite limited - but the flowing, literary nature of the dialog and abundance of party banter and incredibly meticulous descriptions for everything you interact with makes the game still feel quite engrossing. I will admit that I don't possess any nostalgia for Krondor because I only just played it for the first time back in May, and the 3D view is admittedly rather clunky for a game of its time. Don't feel discouraged by the changing party members between chapters either, as you'll still have access to their inventory items in storage. Although enemies get progressively harder as you travel east, there's a few dungeons and lots of loot you ought to stock up on before getting to Krondor. In games from this era you know that developers make accommodations for those who explore off the beaten path. Maybe people just have different thought processes when it comes to RPGs, but when I first played the game and Locklear said we had to head south to Krondor, I immediately did a 180 and headed up north. ![]() ![]() Owyn has a "detect vessels" spell which you can use to locate chests on the minimap - along with houses and other interactive things granted, so it's most useful when out in the wilderness. There's something behind virtually every other hill in this game, so exploration (even in only the slightest degree) is extremely rewarding. Whilst I'm sure in some ways this can be intimidating or even irritating if you're a neurotic completionist, you don't feel too guilty having to leave behind certain battles or riddle chests either. The beauty of the game world in BaK (especially considering this was 1993) is that most of it is completely explorable from the very beginning (though some shortcuts may not open until later on) - and encounters, quests and the like change between acts of the main quest. You're encouraged to explore the game world instead of immediately advancing the main quest. So, yes, I strongly recommend watching my dad play Betrayal At Krondor.Not to impugn your opinion (or is that appreciated on the Codex), but I think you aren't quite playing the game properly. Well, Jackson went on to shit out King Kong and Lovely Bones, and Spielberg War Of The Worlds and Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, so I guess we were both wrong. Feist pooh-poohed me for even thinking it, saying that Stephen Spielberg was the greatest living director. I, as a huge fan of Heavenly Creatures and all preceding Peter Jackson films (this was when LOTR was announced but unfilmed), suggested he was the man suitable. Feist had dropped hints that George Lucas might be interested. At one point there was discussion of who, should it ever happen, would direct a Magician movie. Feist was a regular contributor to this email list, and replied to absolutely everything. I joined the Raymond E Feist mailing list in 1998, having read Magician. Still, gives me an excuse for a quick boastful aside: I then tried reading Silverthorn and realised that boy oh boy did Feist need to rewrite all his books ten years after he'd written them. Feist, but I think as a result of the game I picked up Magician and really loved it. I played it all before I'd read any of Raymond E. Those huge, bold character icons, the round buttons, the strange blue polygons. I find even the UI remarkably evocative today. I remember my weary father attempting to explain, for the dozenth time, how the turn-based combat worked, positioning his characters on a grid like a game of chess, while I imagined how much better it would have been in the Doom engine. But mostly I watched, enchanted by the enormousness of this RPG, seemingly going on forever in all directions, and open like nothing outside of the Elder Scrolls. Mostly I helped with the riddle-locked chests. Also in that list comes Betrayal At Krondor. I've never played a game of Civilisation or UFO: Enemy Unknown, but I watched my dad play them for hours. And there are games I sat next to my dad and watched him play. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time. Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. ![]()
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