Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos

The Good
When I first tried out it, I almost "fell in love" with it. Beautiful, hand-drawn characters, colorful items, nice backgrounds. FMVs (actually, not full-motion) are great, just like in any other Westwood title. In-game spell effects are spectacular. The enemies vary, there are usually more types of them on one level.

The music is dashing, full of life; I can enjoy it in itself. Voice acting is pretty good! They're professionals. (At least Patrick Stewart)

The scenes are different enough: mines, forests, a city, dungeons.

Interface can't be simpler: one-click fighting, two-click casting, and cursor keys for movement. Found items can effortlessly be put in the invertory; while sorting items or equipping PCs the game pauses. World-objects in the view-port can easily be operated. Practically everything is logical. Auto-mapping makes the life easier, especially in the large levels.

Clever puzzles; you'll need to observe everything carefully, or else your progress will be harder. E.g. there is a hint in the King's library that ghosts cannot stand emerald. (So, ghosts on the top of the White Tower or the Castle can be defeated quickly using emerald blades)

The Bad
Nothing important. There are only some minor bugs in the CD version.

On the castle levels are a number of items i couldn't use for anything and a number of doors I couldn't open. It's not bad, but exasperating.

At the completion, the game generates a LANDS.SAV file, just like at the end of EOB2 (FINALE.SAV). I'm sure it was meant to be imported in the next game. It's a shame it eventually didn't make it to LOL2.

The Bottom Line
Consider it a technologically improved EOB or Dungeon Master; outdoor levels, better graphics, animation, music, storyline. Wonderful.

The Good
I love this game. I've had it for the past 10 years and I never get sick of playing it. I put it away for a few years and then come back to it. Time seems to fly by because there is always something to figure out. I like the mazes and the puzzles that are in the came. Fantastic.

The Bad
The only thing I don't like about the game is getting stuck. It can be hard figuring out what I've done wrong to find a path for a key or object. It could also be a bit brighter in the caves and caverns even when using the lantern. Just not bright enough to see down the path very far.

The Bottom Line
I would describe this game as exciting. Like I stated before in what I liked about the game. Trying to figure out the paths and where the keys and objects are to get to the next level keep the game interesting and unique. There's adventure in every land. The game keeps you on the edge of your seat and I quite enjoy that. Bravo Westwood Studio's and Virgin Games.

The Good
Simple interface. This game got the interface right. Casting magic and attacking with two weapons are both easy. Ranged weapons are also do-able.

Graphics are superb, and when you move from one square to the next, it's really smooth - no jumping, no skipping. Graphical effects to magic were fantastic. No wimpy "lightning bolt", no, when you cast this puppy, anything within several hundred yards probably heard it!

Background music and sound effects are also really good. Bonus with Patrick Stewart as the King (although you only get to hear him at the beginning and end of the game).

Good story line and lots of different locations. There was also some creative use of foreshadowing, but it wasn't so obvious.

The game was very well balanced. Just when you thought you had a huge advantage with a more powerful weapon, armor, or spell, you were shown wrong. It might be an advantage, but it wasn't a show-stopper.

The Bad
I don't think there was anything glaringly annoying about the game, but some of the puzzles were a little much.

The game itself was actually kind of long, and not too easy to finish, but I made it through without cheating or getting a walkthrough.

If you want to get really picky, you could say that there weren't many weapon, armor, or spell choices.

The Bottom Line
A really good game. Mind if I play a little? :P