Betrayal at Krondor
Description official descriptions
Based on Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga (and co-written by Feist himself), Betrayal at Krondor is a medieval fantasy-themed role-playing game set in the Riftwar universe.
The story begins as Gorath, a moredhel (dark elf) renegade, who intended to warn the people of Krondor of the upcoming moredhel invasion, is attacked by an assassin. Locklear, a nobleman who serves the crown of Krondor, and a young magician named Owyn decide to accompany Gorath to Krondor, where they'll have to think of a plan to stop the moredhel leader Delekhan.
The game's story is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter has a goal to achieve before moving on to the next one, but the player is given considerable freedom to explore the vast world of the game and undertake side quests. Gorath, Locklear, and Owyn are the first party of characters the player controls; however, characters may leave and others may join the party later, as dictated by the events of the story.
Exploration in Betrayal at Krondor takes place in a 3D world viewed from first-person perspective. Towns, however, are presented as a series of still screens representing locations (temple, tavern, inn, etc.). Combat takes place on separate grid-based screens. The player moves the characters on these screens in a turn-based fashion, attacking physically, defending, and casting spells.
Only two character classes are present in the game: fighters and magicians. Fighters use swords or crossbows (for long-ranged attacks); magicians can fight with staves, or cast spells. Characters have four attributes: health, strength, speed, and stamina. The latter is depleted when a character uses weapons or casts magic. The role-playing system of the game relies on skills. Each character has a set of skills, ranging from weapon proficiencies to abilities such as bartering or stealth. Skills improve after continuous usage. The player can "emphasize" a skill in order to make it improve faster.
Spellings
- קרונדור - Hebrew spelling
- 叛變克朗多 - Chinese spelling (traditional)
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Credits (DOS version)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 84% (based on 16 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 102 ratings with 12 reviews)
A true role-playing classic that any RPG fan should check out
The Good
The open ended nature of the gameplay. The fantastic story.
The Bad
Some of the puzzle aspects that the interface really doesn't handle well. None of the solutions are counterintuitive, but the design of the game doesn't really mesh with some of the object based puzzles encountered in some chapters.
The Bottom Line
After the first battle, when you open your map and are basically told to get from your current location to the capital city of Krondor, you start to realize how ahead of its time this game was. Do I take the shortest path down the road directly to the city, or try to avoid the ambushes that are waiting for me and take the long way around? Should I detour off the road and search the forest, or keep going straight on? Some of the later missions were a little more linear, but in all you really have a sense of being in the game, struggling to save the kingdom. The storyline, penned by Raymond Feist, was also fantastic.
DOS · by Steve Sztuk (12) · 2003
A very deep, very addicting RPG game. I wish there were more like this.
The Good
I loved this game. The characters and plot are very interesting, for one thing. The whole world that you are immersed in is very complex for a computer game. You really find yourself becoming interested in the fate of the characters. On to gameplay. The management of your resources is a challene in this game. Balancing your budget so that you have enough for bare essentials like food as well as less essential things like a better sword or suit of armor is a very nice touch to the gameplay. It's more realistic and it keeps your mind working when you are not fighting evil hordes. Another plus in the area of management is care of equipment. Once you buy that Dragon Armor, you need to hammer it back into shape after every battle or it won't be much use after a few encounters. Again, it increases the realism and keeps your head constantly busy. As well, you get the classic RPG element of characters talents which can be developed through experience (and through other ways which the smart gamer can find throughout the game). The graphics are very good, especially so for the time it was released, and the sound and music are both appropriate.
The Bad
There are two things I have to criticize. First and foremost, that the 3D first-person navigation is sometimes disorienting and is especially frustrating in puzzles that require you to find a certain item. It can really get you on the edge of your nerves. My second gripe is that searching the dead bodies of your enemies for equipment, while a very essential part of the game experience, can be tedious because you must click on EACH PARTICULAR BODY to see what the enemy has and sometimes the enemies' bodies hide each other.
The Bottom Line
An involving RPG adventure with a deep storyline.
DOS · by Steelysama (82) · 1999
Riftworld is done justice, thanks to Sierra and Mr. Feist.
The Good
I played the re-release of the game for Windows, with the Redbook music added, and the music was stellar. Rarely has a game's music matched the action so well. In addition, the storyline to the game was strong; you could tell a professional writer (i.e. Raymond Feist) had a hand in the production of this gem. The characters were fleshed-out, the events in the game were logical, and the game flowed evenly like a book, even organized into chapters like one. The chest-opening sequences were well done, with riddles that added to the charm of this title. Finally, the combat sequences were the perfect touch for a slow-moving story such as this one; the turn-based combat was very reminiscent of chess, and the challenges were neither too easy nor too hard.
The Bad
The graphics were pixellated, and the game's slow pace could become a bit exasperating at times. Also, the character of Pug looked nothing at all like the character was described in the book.
The Bottom Line
This would be a good game to those who truly enjoy a long rpg with strong story elements and turn-based combat. Also, if you are a Raymond Feist fan, you should pick this up. For those who enjoy hack 'n slash type games, however, or for those who prefer a more console-type action-filled rpg, they should not bother with this title. This is a true classic, and a textbook definition of what a true computer role-playing game is.
DOS · by Daniel Reed (28) · 2002
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
---|---|---|
A flood of nostalgia | St. Martyne (3648) | Mar 1, 2010 |
CD and Floppy | Unicorn Lynx (181775) | Aug 10, 2009 |
GameTap | SharkD (425) | Sep 10, 2008 |
Translating BaK? | Ajan (262) | Jul 6, 2007 |
Trivia
Actors
The actors for the pseudo-video and motion capture don't look remotely like they're described by Raymond E. Feist, and some (such as Pug) are downright contradictory.
CD-ROM version
The CD-ROM enhanced version of the game includes additional goodies: * 5-minute interview with Feist * Windows-based hint system * Redbook audio soundtrack
Freeware release
Sierra has released the game for free as promotion for its two sequels. This offer only lasted for a limited time, though. The version which was obtainable through on the Sierra website was buggy and needed a patch to get it working correctly.
Novel
Raymond E. Feist, the author whose Riftwar books Betrayal at Krondor is based on, has actually written a book based on the game entitled Krondor: The Betrayal, the first part of a new series called The Riftwar Legacy. The book has the same basic plot as the game, but of course has been altered somewhat to fit the format as well as to be more consistent with Feist's Midkemia series as a whole.
Feist does display an interesting knowledge of the game, however. For example, the method by which the villain is ultimately defeated in the book is actually a valid tactic for winning the final battle.
Sales
When the Betrayal at Krondor first came out it did so miserably at sales that Sierra canceled all plans for a sequel. Later, Sierra rereleased the game on CD-Rom and the game suddenly became a huge hit. By that time, however, Raymond E. Feist already had a contract with a different publisher.
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- June 1994 (Issue #119) – Role-Playing Game of the Year
- February 1996 (Issue #139) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
- November 1996 (155h anniversary issue) - #43 in the “150 Best Games of All Time” list
- GameStar (Germany)
- Issue 12/1999 - #76 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
- PC Gamer
- November 1999 - #44 Best Game of All Time
Information also contributed by Alan Chan, Adam Baratz Kalirion, PCGamer77, William Shawn McDonie and WizardX
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Related Sites +
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Alt-Tab: Betrayal at Krondor
Site dedicated to the game, includes various reviews of the game and some downloads. -
Betrayal At Krondor Help Web
All Things BAK. Also has a link to Sierra where you can download the game for free. -
Betrayal at Krondor - FAQs & Guides
Various Guides and FAQs posted on GameFaqs.com -
Mike's Betrayal at Krondor pages
Great resource site for Betrayal at Krondor. -
Official product page of Windows version distributor GOG
Official product page for the Windows version of Betrayal at Krondor - distributed by GOG.com.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Trixter.
Windows added by Picard.
Additional contributors: Jeanne, Tony Austin, formercontrib, Crawly, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger.
Game added September 21, 1999. Last modified January 20, 2024.