Windows

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity is a whole lot of fun to play, and it is recommended to anyone who enjoys playing computer games. The graphics are great, the interface is easy and powerful, and the story is wonderful. Not too many games can compare to any of the King's Quest series, and this game shows off the power of King's Quest. The bottom line is that this game sets standards for future adventure games, and I hope everyone can get a chance to play this engrossing game.

As you enter the world of game reviews, you feel the cold wind of Opinion sweep across the darkened land. The citizens of this fine land have all been turned to stone by the evil difference of opinion concerning the worthiness of adventure games. You hear the eerie caw of the Raven Randy, who leads you to the Crafty Craig, a powerful wizard who explains your task: find the five pieces of the Mask of the Reviewer. He conjures a special map for you to use in your quest. You realize that you, and only you, can find the lost pieces and free the people from the curse. You have thus completed the introduction and now must begin-eth your quest with one piece of the Mask.

King’s Quest has long stood as the best selling adventure game series of all time. Sold over 7 million copies, adventure fans are all too eager about the next installment of the series—King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity. Roberta Williams, creator of the series, has spent over a year in sabbatical after finishing Phantasmagoria doing background research for this game. She is determined to bring King’s Quest to the next level, in 3D! This sequel also marks the first title in which the main protagonist is not a member of the Royal Family of Daventry. After all, how many times can the Royal Family save the Kingdom of Daventry?

For the moment, however, King's Quest: Mask Of Eternity fits the bill. It is good. It's a very playable game, it has a very engaging story, and it's a great advert for the future. Change is good, after all.

King's Quest 8 zal voor de fans van gemoedelijke sprookjes, grappige wezens en humoristische adventures wel even slikken zijn. Eind 1998 gaat King's Quest hardcore en tilt het adventure genre het jaar 2000 in. Een adventure met RPG-elementen en veel aktie in oogstrelend 3D. The King is back!

Sammanfattningsvis så är detta ett välgjort och stämningsfullt äventyr som nog inte kommer att avskräcka seriens gamla fans - och kanske till och med värvar några nya. Det är stort, ser bra ut och är banne mig ett ypperligt hantverk!

King's Quest 8 blijft een prima spel. Ze hebben wel serieus leentjebuur moeten spelen bij verschillende andere spelen, maar hetgeen Roberta en vrienden hier uit hun mouw schudden doet mij, alle minpuntjes ten spijt, uit volle borst roepen: "SIERRA IS BACK IN TOWN!"

Trotzdem, unterm Strich bin ich angenehm überrascht, was die Sierra-Leutchen um Roberta Williams aus dem Sprung über die Genre-Grenzen gemacht haben. Ich bin gespannt, wie viele King's-Quest-Fans ihnen dabei folgen werden - es lohnt sich auf jeden Fall für Adventure-Quereinsteiger.

Kokonaisuutena vaikutelma King's Quest: Mask of Eternitystä on kahtalainen. King's Questina peli ei ole onnistunut lainkaan luomaan sitä tunnelmaa, mitä siltä odottaisi. Myöskään puhtaana seikkailuna se ei toimi, koska se ei sitä ole. Jos taas unohtaa, että kyseessä on King's Quest, ja tarkastelee peliä pelkästään rooli- ja seikkailuelementtejä sisältävänä 3D-toimintapelinä, se on aivan toimiva yritys sarjassaan ja miellyttää varmasti fantasia-aiheista toimintapeliä kaivanneita.

As far as adventure games go, this one has a good story and some difficult puzzles. Beginner adventurers should probably think twice before tackling this one. Advanced players will still find challenges in the way of tricky, although sometimes illogical puzzles. The story is very well written, and certainly worth any adventure fan's time. Bottom Line: Well worth any adventure fan's time. Good story and characters, very well crafted environment. Satisfying, although short, ending. Long load times, large hard drive requirements. The interface could have been a little friendlier.

Overall, however, Mask of Eternity is one of the most memorable adventure of the year, breaking all the old adventure rules by brilliantly mixing action and RPG elements with brain twisting puzzles and state-of-the-art graphic and auditory eye-candy. William's powerful witch's brew may just be palatable enough to satisfy everyone—adventure, role-playing and action game fans alike.

This series has gone from a family-oriented experience, to a darker, more violent one. Is this such a bad thing? Only if you're an adventure game purist, or a King's Quest purist. In either case, Mask of Eternity will probably leave a bad taste in your mouth and will cause you to dig out The Curse of Monkey Island or Grim Fandango. I welcome the change wholeheartedly, and look on it as a breath of fresh air in a dated genre. If you're looking for a game with a pinch of adventure, RPG, and 3D shooter; a dash of 3D acceleration; and a smidgen of atmosphere; then overlook the few flaws it has, pick up this potent mixture, and get to adventuring!

As problematic as the interface is, this game still managers to garner an overall high score, and a very strong four stars at that. I thoroughly enjoyed my eighth journey into the land of Daventry, and although there is not much there that is noticeably similar, I still liked it nonetheless. This game has an undefinable charm that it all its own. With nothing in particular that stands out as a revolutionary step in adventure gaming, a lot of little things add up to a really fine game. The additional role-playing elements, the large number of weapons to use, and features such as the hook-rope are enough to win me over. It's not the best adventure of the year, but it's well worth playing.

KQ:MOE shows that you can teach an old graphical adventure a few new tricks.

A vast, sprawling experiment that, while falling short of its goal, is enjoyable and noteworthy nonetheless.

Frankly, taking the genre into the third dimension was a nice idea, but it just doesn't make much of a difference. If you like adventure games and the earlier King's Quests, than this one's a good choice. But, those of you looking for a little more oomph in your gaming will tire of the same old gameplay. Good effort, Roberta, but it seems your best days are behind you...

The Mask of Eternity is far from being a must buy. It is rather, an expand your horizons sort of experience.

Man kreuze mittelprächtige Rätsel mit lauen Actionelementen, und was kommt raus? Ein enttäuschendes King’s Quest. Hier habe ich nie das Gefühl, durch eine phantasievolle Märchenwelt zu marschieren, sondern hetze wie ein gedopter Marathonläufer durch die großen, aber leeren Levels. Schade, daß den Entwicklern keine originelleren Puzzles eingefallen sind. Von Ausnahmen abgesehen, liegen Gegenstände einfach irgendwo auf dem Boden. Genauso offensichtlich ist auch, wo ich sie einsetzen muß. Ärgerlich, daß sich das Programm gerade in heftigeren Kämpfen schwertut, mir trotz gedrückter Taste einen dringend benötigten Heiltrunk gutzuschreiben. Oder daß man wegen der begrenzten Sicht nicht taktisch kämpfen kann, sondern meist plötzlich von Gegnern umzingelt ist. Auf der Haben-Seite verbucht King’s Quest 8 viele aufwendige Animationen sowie eine interessante Story – mir ist das zuwenig.

There's no question that Mask of Eternity has plenty to offer adventure-gaming fans, but this is a case where too much attention was paid to technology and not enough to the concepts that attract people to adventure games in the first place. You'll likely get your money's worth out of Mask of Eternity, but whether or not you'll ever think about it again after you've finished it is debatable - and that's not the mark of a great game.

King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity is, unfortunately, a good idea that somehow just doesn’t work. Roberta Williams’ KQ franchise was, early on, the backbone of Sierra On-Line -- and for good reason. The side-scrolling games featured a combination of puzzles and puns that won over its fans. It was also the proving ground for new concepts, like female player-characters and CD-ROM technology. No matter what, fans faithfully followed our hero Sir (and later King) Graham and his family throughout their various adventures in and around the kingdom of Daventry.

Just when you thought it was safe to play another King’s Quest game, designer Roberta Williams decided to change everything with the series’ eighth, and perhaps final, installment. Featuring real-time combat, 3D graphics and a hero outside of the series’ famous royal family, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity is a significant departure from the previous seven games.

I did contemplate reviewing Mask of Eternity as an action game after dismissing it as a King's Quest. I decided against this because it is sold as a King's Quest and the front box cover promotes it as a continuation of the much-loved saga. It isn't. Borrowing from the familiar, yet terrible puns of the earlier titles in the series, all I can say is: King's Quest: Mask of Eternity: To Forgive is Beyond Me!

The Kings Quest series is definitely getting worse. The last title was already pathetic, but this one is worse. It is like playing Tomb Raider without Lara, mixed in with cheap puzzles that a 2-year-old can solve. With many flaws, Kings Quest is definitely not a game worthy of a game player's time.