Hillsfar

The Good
Hillsfar has got to be one the the most unique Advanced Dungeon & Dragons games there is. This is probably one of those games that has a little bit of everything combined into one big package. If you've played other AD&D RPG games around this era like the Pool of Radiance and its cult, you'll probably know what to expect. Hillsfar is one of Forgotten Realms games that broke away from the tradition.

First, it's a single player game. So say good bye to your standard set of 7 team mates. Second, it consists of various so-called "mini" games:

Arena - The only form of combat in the game, a 1 on 1 duel with gladiators of Hillsfar. The fighting technique would probably later on be adapted by (or at least awfully similiar) to Hero's Quest. Get cash or gossip for each win.

Driving Range - uh...medieval version. This is basically your shooting gallery with your choice of (if I'm not mistaken) arrows, daggers, darts and throw/shoot them at the targets. Extra points for hitting mice or birds. Get gold or gossip for each win.

Travelling - To far to go on foot? Rent-a-horse at your service. This is another arcade mode of the hurdles. Jump your trusted yet stubborn horse over obstacles and duck at arrows aimed aimed at your head from bored thieves. Different horses available with different personalities. E.g. The horse Lightning is the fastest horse around, but sometimes he doesn't jump when you tell him to.

Adventuring - Robbing a house or just checking out a local tomb? Run around the place and find chests filled with treasure. The viewpoint/perspective is Top-Down.

Lock picking - Hillsfar is the game that revolutionized the art of thievery. You manually lockpick chests and doors with a full set of lock picks. So even lock picking is fun!

Well, you see it isn't your standard RPG. It's more of a compilation of arcade games with RPG clothes on it. I came across the Hillsfar Cluebook when I bought the game, it came with 4 short stories. Funny as hell, best short stories I've read. Still read them sometimes. The game also had all sorts of random events. I can only recall 2. The first one is a wandering magician. If you meet him, he'll ask you if you want to see a magic trick. If your lucky, he'll give you a lotta gold, if not, you get teleported to the Arena and get your (beep) kicked. Sometimes you meet a NPC Thief that offers to join you. He (or was it she?) has a set of lockpicks and will make your life easier in picking locked chests and doors for a part of the treasure gained.

**The Bad**
Don't recall. Need to play it again to remember the bad stuff, if any.

**The Bottom Line**
They don't make'em like they used to. Hillsfar has a little bit of everything for everyone.

The Good
The traveling game is fun. So is the fighting. And the house game.

The Bad
Finding your way out of Hillsfar is a pain in the butt. The game isn't really fun.

The Bottom Line
You create a charicter or select a pre-generated one. You then are able to travel. You ride your horse and jump over stuff, this is one of the best parts. Then when you find Hillsfar you walk around and fight at the Gladiater ring (which is fun too) and run into houses and steal stuff. You have limited time to get as much stuff as you can and then get out, but when you can get out guards start running around trying to capture you and send you to the Gladiator Ring. Besides these things the game isn't really fun. Wondering around Hillsfar is boring and tedious. Only play if you like Nintendo games (the old ones) or you get the special Forgotten Realms Archive.

The Good
The fighting in the arena was really fun. It was the only mini-game that I really liked. Wandering through the houses and picking locks and riding were all rather simple and dull IMO.

The Bad
Most of the mini-games were rather crude and dull (even for the time). Personally, I like what Sid Meier's once said about the failure of his game, Covert Action: it's better to have one good game than two bad ones. I think this applies heavily to this game.

The Bottom Line
Like Sword of the Samurai, this game is just a bunch of mini-games tied loosely together. If you like the rather simplistic mini-games, then this game's for you. I do think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (like Pirates!) but the parts aren't all that great (unlike Pirates!).