Betrayal at Krondor

The Good
Understand that I loved all of the Sierra adventure games and I impatiently waited for each new release. I also dabbled with "true" RPGs - classics like the Forgotten Realms and AD&D, and while I liked them, I wasn't very good at them. I especially enjoyed Sierra's Quest for Glory Series games which attempted to introduce role playing elements to adventure gamers ... but not like their revolutionary game Betrayal at Krondor. If I remember correctly, this game was controversial within Sierra's own ranks and considered to be a risky endeavor for them at the time.

I wasn't prepared for the engrossing story presented in Betrayal. It contained the depth I was used to in adventures - an imaginary tale that evolved and deepened as you got further into it - characters with distinct personalities, unique backgrounds and histories - great interaction between the primary characters as well as with people they met. At the same time it was a role-player - stats that improved over time - more than one character to control - arms, weapons and spells to manage. It was also interesting when one of the "party" left temporarily to do something else before reuniting with the group again.

The graphics literally blew me away, especially during spellcasting. To watch a fireball fly out a character's hand and hit its target was visually awesome. The landscape and people were handsomely drawn and a pleasure to view.

You almost took for granted that Sierra's musical scores would be original and always excellent, bringing about emotion and suspense in their games. The music in Betrayal was no exception and was beautifully orchestrated.

The combat, for me at least, was easy to learn and use. I didn't find it to be awkward or quirky.

The Bad
I wanted more! What I didn't like was the long wait for the sequel - 5 whole years.

The Bottom Line
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Betrayal at Krondor. It accomplished what so many other games have tried to do and failed - combine adventure and role-playing in one game. I played this game when it was new, and that was 9 years ago. I would gladly play it again if it would play in Windows.