Wizards & Warriors (Windows)

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Description

The land of Gael Cerran is in trouble. An evil ruler named Lord Cet, thought to be long vanquished, has been mysteriously resurrected. There is only one way left to defeat him once again - by wielding the magical Mavin Sword, forged from two metals bearing the property of the opposite forces, good and evil. The Oracles of Ishad N'Ha have charged a group of adventurers with the task of finding the sword and putting an end to Lord Cet.

Wizards & Warriors is a traditional role-playing game similar in many ways to Wizardry series. In the beginning the player creates a party of up to six characters, choosing between ten races and four initial classes. The races include, besides traditional fantasy humanoids, animal-like creatures such as the boar-like Gourk or the Omphaaz, which resemble elephants. Each race is available in both genders and comes with bonuses and penalties to base attributes, as well as unique traits, such as improved treasure-hunting for Ratlings or night vision for the feline Whiskahs. The four initial classes (Warrior, Rogue, Priest, and Wizard) can be promoted to eight elite classes and three special ones, which include such rare professions as Valkyrie and Zenmaster, and require completion of specific tasks.

The party starts in one of the few available towns, with still pictures representing locations (town hall, inn, armory, etc.), and navigation limited to clicking on them. However, the rest of the exploration (outdoors and in dungeons) is done in full 3D, with free exploration and camera rotation. Dungeons are connected by roads, forest paths, and other areas, and the player is usually able to explore freely, though access to certain locations may be restricted. Enemies can be found on set spots or appear randomly; the frequency of their appearance, as well as the overall difficulty, can be regulated in the main menu.

Combat is real-time from the distance, but becomes turn-based when standing near the enemy. Magic comes in six schools: Spirit, Sun, Moon, Vine, Stone, and Fiend, with seven levels of spells each, and several spells per level. Casting spells drains the mage's mana pool. Characters can only cast spells within their own schools, with intensity of magic depending on his skill level, and limited by the amount of spell points in the school. Characters may join various guilds available in the game and thus gain access to special quests and promotions, take jobs, and perform other side quests.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "巫师与勇士" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
• "Wizards & Warriors: Quest for the Mavin Sword" -- Informal name
• "Swords & Sorcery: Come Devils, Come Darkness" -- Working title
• "Deep6" -- Working title

Part of the Following Group

• Wizards & Warriors editions

User Reviews

If you are a RPG-Veteran or Wizardry-Lover, this is a must-have!	Daniel Martin (17)
A very engrossing RPG with some large problems	BreadSlicer (3)
A decent game, but not what we all expected from Bradley	weregamer (169)
Nice try, but there are many better games available	frank rieter (149)

Critic Reviews

PC Joker	Nov, 2000	80 out of 100	80
Gamezilla	Nov 25, 2000	78 out of 100	78
4Players.de	Nov 09, 2000	78 out of 100	78
Gamer's Pulse	Oct 31, 2000	78 out of 100	78
Jeuxvideo.com	Sep 20, 2000	15 out of 20	75
Gameplanet	Nov 13, 2000		60
GamesFirst!	Oct 31, 2000		60
Quandary	Nov, 2000		60
Absolute Games (AG.ru)	Oct 03, 2000	50 out of 100	50
Game Informer Magazine	Dec, 2000	4 out of 10	40

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Trivia

Wizards & Warriors had an interesting incentive to register. Sending in your card entered you in a contest to win a full sized mounted replica of a 16th century suit of armor. Some copies of the game even came with a sticker on the front touting this contest. In case you were wondering, second place was a $200 gift certificate from Ral Partha and there were ten Activision game packs as third place prizes.

Related Web Sites

• Activision - Wizards & Warriors (Official Website from Game Publisher)
• Darkslayers W&W Site (Fan site for Wizards & Warriors)
• Heuristic Park - Wizards & Warriors (Official Website from Game Developer)
• Ironworks W&W forum (The best forum for W&W on the net. It offers support, hints and general info about the game.)