03-06-2005, 12:05 PM | #1 |
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Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness Review
I've only been playing Sierra games for about seven months now, but I've played enough of their games to consider myself an expirienced Sierra gamer. And every Sierra gamer has their favorite "Quest" series. If you were to ask these strange breed of individuals their favorite series, the name Quest for Glory will obviously come up more than once. And if you dig deeper, you prying basturd, and ask them their favorite game in said series, the fourth installment, Shadows of Darkness, is probably going to have solid support. And after playing the game, I can safely say that the name comes up for good reason.
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness came out almost immedeatly after the third chapter in the series, Wages of War. This was because of the very mysterious ending that QG3 left us. People wanted to see how this ending would play out, and also the overall improvments that was needed. QG3 was too easy, too short, and above all, though it was a good game, a weak point in the QG universe. Sierra, however, promised, that through Quest for Glory IV, they would deliver a deep, immersive, and intrueging expirience. So, did they deliver that? That... and more. You begin your tale as you awaken in a cold, dark chamber that seems to be made of bone. You have no idea where you are or how you got here or why you're here. You've lost all the items and weapons that you collected in Tarna, the last place you remember being. This leaves you with so many questions. Where are you? How did you get here? Who brought you here? How do you get out of this cave? Well, you eventually solve the fourth problem and find your way to the town of Mordavia. It seems you are not welcome here, as the townsfolk have been having problems and don't trust strangers. You learn of the towns people's individual problems that have been causing grief. You learn of the flood that has blocked Mordavia from the oustide world. You learn of the dark history that Mordavia and that cave holds. You learn of the strange castle and monistary that you've been warned not to go near. But most interestingly, you learn of the fear of vampires and other monsters that the town holds. It seems like this place needs a hero. I wish I could say more, but anything else would be spoilers. Not only is this the best story Sierra has ever written, it's also fit to be a classic piece of horror literature on par with Bram Stoker's "Dracula". You'll run into very interesting monsters, and as you uncover the story, you'll meet new friends and enimies and might even run into old ones. Though production hasn't changed much since QG3, but the game is still pretty impresive and has great backgrounds and hand drawn characters. The settings fit the dark and dreary story perfectly and all set the mood well. This game also features some of the best color in a Sierra game. Even the fighting sequences are improved graphicly. The combat moves and special skill moves are much more detailed than before. Though it's true that graphics have hardly changed since the last game, it's still pretty to look at. As stated, production has not changed much since QG3, but one huge improvement is the feature of voise acting. I didn't have much hope for the quality of these actors, but I was wrong. The audio is exceptional and very good for 1993. Forget the laughable acting of King's Quest V. This is done by professional actors and it shows. The narrorator's voice is perfect for the game and adds a lot to the humor. A lot of the actors do some hilarious adlibing and adds a perfect combination of suspenceful drama and comic relief. There's so much to talk about in terms of gameplay I don't know where to start. The interface is a little more complex than QG3, as you have more abilities this time around. If you have acrobatic abilities, you can jump to certain places. If you have magical abilities, you have your spells that you can cast in certain situations. You also have a life, stamina, and mana bar at the top of the screen so you don't have to open up your character sheet frequently. Like every Quest for Glory game, puzzles open up depending on your class of character. Every puzzle, no matter what you choose, are well thought-out and enjoyable. There are always many ways to solve puzzles depending on you experties. There's no end to ways you can solve these puzzles and it's worth playing the game four times to do it. This is obviously the most open ended adventure game ever created. Conversations play a huge part in the game and character interaction is vital for finishing the game. None of these get tidious, however, and add much depth to the story. Knowelge from other Quest for Glory games also play a big part. Recognizing thief marks or creatures from previous games are crucial for soving puzzles. Remember to build up skills frequently, or you'll surley parish in this strange land. The biggest improvement is defonatly the combat. Instead of a behind-the-back camera angle, there is now a side-to-side view so you can really get invloved with the action. There are tons of new moves that are effective on certain creatures, yet the same moves might be ineffective to others. I don't know about anyone else, but I always thought combat in previous games were way too easy. You could just keep hacking the monster with a dagger and they'd be out like a light. Not this time. Strategy plays a huge part here. You have to be presice about your dodging or hits. The AI is very smart and won't go out without a fight. Yes, this game is incredible. And would be flawless... without the major bugs. Yeah, unless you're playing on a fairly old PC, you won't get very far without the game coming to a screeching hault. So many "out of hunk errors". It's enough to make a man mad. Luckly, most of it can be fixed with programs like Turbo. Still, it's got more bugs than your backyard. Not only is this one of the greatest adventures of all time, it's right up there with the top RPGs as well. Adventure gamers and RPG gamers alike cannot argue. Though because of terrible bugs, it escapes perfection. Still these bugs are a small price to pay for expiriencing this deep, immersive, and intrueging game. 9.6/10 Last edited by SamNMax; 03-07-2005 at 09:52 AM. |
03-07-2005, 02:19 AM | #2 |
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While agreeing with your great review SamnMax, I would like to add that most of the bugs of the game may be fixed thanks to the unofficial patches by NewRisingSun.
This is one of the best AGs that I have ever played. There's no doubt about this. The only turn-off, may be for these peoples out there who don't like action at all in AG. But that's not my case! Important note: The narrator voice is none other than John Rhys-Davies, best known as Sallah in Indiana Jones movies or recently as Gimli the Dwarf in The Lord of the Rings!!!! |
03-07-2005, 04:33 AM | #3 | |
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03-07-2005, 07:09 AM | #4 | |
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03-07-2005, 09:50 AM | #5 | |
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Tim Curry and Mark Hamill, just to make a couple of names. (You missed the spot, MDMaster! ) Last edited by Hendroz; 03-07-2005 at 10:00 AM. |
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03-07-2005, 09:58 AM | #6 | |
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It is also rumored that, he asked for his reward to be doubled, after the great effort that he made to read all the narrator phrases from what he defined: "The Script from Hell". He was told that he just had to read about 5000 lines, but then he discovered that these lines were actually paragraphs! And the game is very talkative, indeed |
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03-09-2005, 08:07 AM | #7 |
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Hmm, I actually remember reading that somewhere, I couldn't have made this up. Well, whatever.
------------------------------- Aaaaaaaaaargh, I just realized the error. Shame on me!! SHAMEEEEE ON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
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04-03-2005, 02:50 PM | #8 |
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I have the game....but if I could only find the CD version, with the speech Any help?
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04-22-2005, 03:38 PM | #9 |
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That's a tough find, J. I guess eBay could get you there, but the only time I've seen a copy of the CD version is in the Quest for Glory Collection.
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