[Ninth]

Great review.
I'm currently replaying Discworld, and I love that game so much it pains me to admit that the rating is completely fair.

It's weird, but I'd say this game is much better when you're replaying it a few years after having completed it (probably with a walkthrough), because then you can enjoy the game and the easier puzzles, which you'll probably have forgotten by them, seeing as there's a incredible amount of gameplay time to being with, without having to worry about the impossible puzzles, because you'll probably remember how to solve those (like the butterfly puzzle).

[chapter11studios]

Good review! I always felt that Discworld had a lot of potential but didn't quite live up to it. Incredible production quality with the graphic design, voices, and humor, but those puzzles... man, they were terrible.

Who has played Discworld 2 or 3? Are they easier/more logical?

[samIamsad]

Nice review. The puzzles in the second game are whacky as well, but easier overall. And the third game is a film noir inspired detective story with pretty unique gameplay and puzzles that fit both the theme and the plot. Hardly any tried and true 2D P&C adventure game™ puzzles (as in: Monkey Island over and over, no matter if it fits the game/plot) here.

[2GooD]

I remember how I really wanted to play this game when I had discovered my liking for adventure games and Pratchett's books. A combination of both must be fantastic, right?

Call me a loser, but it was too hard.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

Who has played Discworld 2 or 3? Are they easier/more logical?

The puzzles in the second game are more illogical, but if I remember correctly, there are fewer objects and hotspots than in the first one, which makes the whole game easier. I liked the style of the first game better, though.

The third one plays like a classical investigation game (think Gabriel Knight 2, for example), with an interesting possibility of using clues (stuff Lewton writes down about the case) as well as items, and a twist of gameplay in the last third of the game. Very original, but graphically a bit too dark for my taste. Plus the french voices are completely and utterly atrocious.

[Ariel Type]

Nice review and the 3.5 grade feels just right.
But the puzzles weren't really that hard. Many
of them were just illogical, and that's a pity
cause it ruined somehow the overall impression
from the game. Also, the fact that in every
chapter you have to find a combination of several
objects annoys, as much as the overal level of
"inventory-only" puzzles. Still the great humor and
wonderful Eric Idle make this a very enjoyable game.

[Igor]

Very good review.. makes me want to finally finish this game. I stoped playing it after puzzles became so insanely difficult it wasn't even funny anymore. Too bad, because humor, graphics and.. well.. Eric Idle, were all fantastic!

Discworld2 on the other hand was and still is, one of my favorites. All the best aspects of first DW are still there, but with much better puzzle design. While wacky, they do make a whole lot more sense..

DW3 is a whole different experience though. It is quite good actually.. better than DW1 (for puzzles alone) but far behind DW2 i think.

[chapter11studios]

I just decided to play Discworld again for the first time in years. Never did finish it, and reading the review has piqued my interest again. Are there any patches or anything I need to download to play it using a Windows XP machine?

[Hiro Protagonist]

I have to agree that coming back to the game definately seems to make it a better experience, but that first time is a doozy...

As for the compatability question, through straight XP i've always had issues w/ it, but I ran through Dosbox when I was playing it again for the review and had no problems with it.

And a Discworld II review should be coming up shortly...

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Hiro Protagonist

Through straight XP i've always had issues w/ it, but through Dosbox I had no problem.

Forgive my ignorance, but... DOS Box?

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

Forgive my ignorance, but... DOS Box?

DOSBox is a DOS emulator that is used by many gamers now to run their old games. the site below has the download and also a list of the games it will run...nowadays it's a must for any retro-gamer...

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Hiro Protagonist

DOSBox is a DOS emulator that is used by many gamers now to run their old games. the site below has the download and also a list of the games it will run...nowadays it's a must for any retro-gamer...

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1

What he said.

[chapter11studios]

Awesome, thank you!

*Rushes off to play Discworld!*

<<STOPS>>

*Prints Discworld walkthrough, THEN rushes back to play Discworld!*

[Trumgottist]

The review describes the music as "serviceable at best, and fairly forgettable". I couldn't disagree more. I like it a lot and can still, years after I played it, sing most of the tunes. I think it's not only good melodies and fun music, but also very fitting. Just take that mining theme! Or the assassin, or the dunnyman, or... (One of the many things where DW2 disappointed me was in the music, where it was pretty much reduced to ambient backgrounds.)

The off-key thing was a bug and a patch was released for the CD version, but not for the floppy one. (I e-mailed Psygnosis about it, and got a bug-fixed CD version in exchange for my floppies - free of charge. That would be a problem today, when Psygnosis no longer exist, so I suggest potential players keep their eyes open for the CD version.)

Dosbox is not needed for it to run under Win XP. VDMSound is sufficient (at least here it is).

Yes, we are talking about one of my favourite games here. Great humour, great music, wonderful background graphics (wonderful foreground graphics just isn't possible in 320x200, 256 colour graphics mode) and... interesting puzzles.

DW2 was a major disappointment, but I liked the third one. It's in a slightly different style (but so are PTerry's later books) but it's a good game.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

The review describes the music as "serviceable at best, and fairly forgettable". I couldn't disagree more. I like it a lot and can still, years after I played it, sing most of the tunes. I think it's not only good melodies and fun music, but also very fitting..

I've heard that from a few people, but for some reason the music just didn't hit me. Different strokes, different folks I guess.

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

The off-key thing was a bug and a patch was released for the CD version, but not for the floppy one.

I'm glad to know that it wasn't just me...that was driving me crazy...

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

Yes, we are talking about one of my favourite games here. Great humour, great music, wonderful background graphics (wonderful foreground graphics just isn't possible in 320x200, 256 colour graphics mode) and... interesting puzzles.

DW2 was a major disappointment, but I liked the third one. It's in a slightly different style (but so are PTerry's later books) but it's a good game.

I'm right there with you. I've lost track of how many times i've played this over the years, and i'm glad to see people haven't forgotten it, and to see some new people interested enough to give it a shot.

[Filmman]

Great Review of Discworld

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

The review describes the music as "serviceable at best, and fairly forgettable". I couldn't disagree more.

Same here.
One of the reasons that made me buy Discworld in the first place was the music during the demo, and I haven't been disappointed by the in-game music. Very eerie, sometimes a bit menacing... great.