Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail

aka: Conquests of Camelot I: The Search for the Grail, Conquests of Camelot: King Arthur - The Search for the Grail, King Arthur and the Search for the Grail
Moby ID: 1408
DOS Specs
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Description official description

It is the ninth century, and Camelot, the legendary castle ruled by King Arthur, has fallen under a curse. Famine and drought plague the kingdom because of the love triangle between the king, his wife Gwenhyver, and the knight Launcelot. It appears that only the mysterious Holy Grail can restore Camelot, and three knights - Launcelot, Gawaine, and Galahad - embark on a journey to find it, and soon disappear without a trace. King Arthur leaves his castle in search of the missing knights, hoping to locate the Grail as well. His quest takes him to real and mythical locations in England, and later to Jerusalem and other areas of the Holy Land.

Conquests of Camelot is an adventure game that requires the player to input text commands, mostly by combining verbs and objects (such as "look man", "take purse", etc). A few commands (such as "ask about") have keyboard shortcuts. Unlike most other adventures, the game does not focus extensively on inventory-based puzzles. Rather, it presents a diverse array of tasks depending on concrete situations. These involve exploration, solving riddles, gathering information, participating in arcade sequences such as jousting, and others. Rudimentary money management is present as well.

Many problems have different solutions, and it is possible to reach the final part of the game even without having completed some of the essential quests (e.g. failing to save the knights). However, Arthur is being judged by the game in three different categories: skill (referring to the action sequences), wisdom (evaluating the amount of cultural information gathered), and soul (determining the moral value of Arthur's action). Failure to achieve a high score in the last category leads to a bad ending.

The game is set in a concrete historical period, but adds an alternate reality to it, assuming that pagan deities really existed, but were overshadowed by Christian worship. However, there are only a few references to real religious practices of the time or any historical characters.

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Credits (DOS version)

35 People (34 developers, 1 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 75% (based on 14 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 62 ratings with 7 reviews)

A gem from an unrepeatable era

The Good
"Can't you see, all around you, the Dragon's Breath?"...

The Bad
That last Skill Point that I still can't find after all these years. It's probably a bug, or you have to defeat the Saracen without getting hit, which I gave up trying ages ago! :-D

The Bottom Line
Out of Sierra’s golden age comes this somewhat overlooked, but memorable to those who have played it, adventure. The game takes us in the court of Camelot, where the secret lust of Queen Gwenhyver and Sir Launcelot has placed a curse upon the land. All will turn to ashes and dust unless the Holy Grail is retrieved. The kingdom’s greatest knights, Sir Gawaine, Sir Launcelot and Sir Galahad left to fulfil the task. Alas, they never returned. We, as King Arthur, now have the duty to take over the quest of finding the Grail, and also rescue the three knights. Arthur’s mentor, Merlin the wizard, will assist us from afar through a spirit link. During our search we will travel to enchanted places of mystery and dark secrets, face grave dangers and interact with extraordinary personalities.

“Conquests of Camelot: The search for the Grail” is one of the last games by Sierra to utilize the parser interface. We have to type short commands in order to do things. Conveniently, there are some shortcuts that save time (e.g. ctrl+a is ‘ask about’). The graphics were great for the time and they are still tolerable today. This is because they are well drawn, sharply defined and colorful. The game also features an inspired musical score. Melodious themes, for several occasions and places, play a supporting and sometimes dominating role, adding a lot to the atmosphere.

This adventure uses an interesting triadic score system. Skill points reward correct actions and successful battles, wisdom points are offered for knowledge use and enrichment. Finally soul points benefit ethical integrity and generosity. To make progress in all of these sectors we have to thoroughly inspect the areas we visit, inquire answers from Merlin and the characters we meet, and make the right decisions. The playing length is not very large, but it is definitely satisfying. Also, striving for missed points amplifies replay value. The manual is necessary for playing without problems, as it contains answers to basically copy protection questions that will appear during the game in the form of trials.

The weakest aspect of the title is the quality of the puzzles. Unfortunately, they lack the necessary complexity and challenge and can be characterized as shallow. When they are solved, they rarely cause that, well known to adventurers, special feeling of accomplishment. This is one the few areas where more effort and thought should have been applied. The game does its best to make up for this through some brilliant arcade sequences. In these we get to use our spear, lance and sword to vanquish our foes. The highlight is the final duel with the awesome Saracen. There are three levels of arcade difficulty that yield a different amount of skill points accordingly.

The game deals with the Arthurian tale in a deep and serious fashion. Designer Christy Marx researched myth, history and religion issues during the making of the game. The combination of various legends and traditions, along with the persistence to detail make an authentic and involving environment for the player. “Conquests of Camelot: The search for the Grail” deserves a place in our collection. Everyone with the desire for a nostalgic glance at the past of adventure gaming should unreservedly try it.

DOS · by Iron Lord (40) · 2016

I'd take a Christy Marx game over a Roberta Williams game

The Good
It's more mature than Roberta Williams' King's Quest games, including the slightly adult comedy, which I think is often quite clever (to get the comedy you sometimes have to be clever or lucky enough to think of the correct line to type). I like the semi-historical, semi-mythological/religious content and that it's set in the "west"(England) and "east"(Israel), there doesn't appear to be much bias, though part of the ending arguably shows a Christian bias. I'd say that the problem solving and battles are challenging, but not excessively so(except for the Saracen) and to balance the difficulty, the game is quite short.

The game has a serious feel, but is balanced by Merlin's comedy and the history, mythology and religion being sometimes taken lightly. Christy Marx has arguably put a kind of feminism in the game, as King Arthur you often have to prove yourself to females, including the goddess Aphrodite, to progress in your quest for the holy grail. Whether it's really feminist or not, it makes the game stand out, especially in its time. I also like that there is a blurring of good and evil, friend and foe e.g in Guinevere, Lancelot, The Lady of the Lake, Aphrodite and her servants etc.

The Bad
The Saracen knight, who serves as the game's final boss, and the battle system you have to learn to beat him. I like the knight himself, he's presented as an honorable foe, but I can't say I enjoyed the challenge of learning the attack and defense, swordfighting system, defeating him was just too long and draining.

I think in the main, the game isn't preachy, though you're told that you must be "perfect" to acquire the grail ("perfect" is revealed to mean a strong fighter, clever and charitable/sacrificial) I think the game's story is presented as mythological, not too serious and there's some suggestion that the gods themselves aren't perfect. But there is one part that I think crosses the line, the part concerning the thief of Jerusalem and the way you or the grail itself deals with him. The thief appears comedic, he's dressed in only a loin cloth and turban, but his fate isn't very comedic even though the way the grail deals with him should be expected, the grail is supposed to expect perfection. But I think this part leaves a particularly bad taste right at the end, you appear to be serving a rather cruel and unforgiving god.

The Bottom Line
So it's fantasy like King's Quest, but more mature and adult and quite a bit better in my opinion. It has faults, but probably an above average Sierra adventure.

DOS · by Andrew Fisher (697) · 2018

One of the best Sierra games ever, makes you forget it's EGA

The Good
A review I read before buying, said the game was the best production of Sierra for 1990. I realised why.

The game can stand next to each other Sierra games and be judged as superior, almost for all its aspects. It's a real, serious, epic production, encompassing many elements that will satisfy the player. There is much travelling to many places, battles, choices to be made (affecting the course of the play), and much lore.

The graphics are really exceptional compared to the main corpus of Sierra. The sprites are richly animated, and there is much interaction with them (eg. you can kiss Gwynevere before leaving). The introductory scenes are well drawn, and resemble those that will be used in the cutscenes, much later in the Sierra VGA games.

The game is really atmospherical. Not only due to the graphics (I noted some anachronisms), but mainly because of the descriptions and dialogues. The messages are not the 'narrator's speech', but Merlin who communicates with you telepathically. All descriptions are supposedly personal views and knowledge of Merlin. Some scenes contain many objects and if you examine them, you will get immersive folkloric knowledge.

Interactivity is also rich. Almost everything you will try (like the F... word to people) will give you Merlin's appropriate reply. The designers have tried to predict as much of your thoughts as possible, often surprising you.

The game design also presents some differences. Here it's not easy to overlook something needed much later. Some choices you can make (Eg. not saving Lancelot, or giving the hag money instead of the artifact she wants) will affect something much later, but they are things that you know they are wrong, made only deliberately. In cases you will overlook or lose an artifact, its use would be only to make your life easier. The point where you will need it, you can also pass by trial and error

The soundtrack is one of the first I loved in games. I remember myself recording medieval melodies in my tape recorder!! So atmospheric that will put you in the position you should be. Medieval Britain, or the oriental Jerusalem, themusic is what you want to hear to put you in Arthur's shoes.

Last but not least, the package of the game is also one of the best I have seen. The box is beautifully drawn. It contains an also beautiful map of Europe (I am not not to decide it's historical accuracy), and an also beautiful manual, book of lore with information both educative, and useful (copy protection is based on it).

The Bad
People seem to dislike only one thing in this game: The riddles. Indeed the creator is overconcerned about piracy. Not only she gives a moral lecture on it in the manual, but there are also 3 points in the game where you will need to consult your manual for folk lore. Personally, after I grew up, I could solve them without help, because of my personal knowledge but the problem exists.

There is also a point where you must solve 'guess what' riddles, not with knowledge of the manual. This is indeed a hard part, and sometimes even today I get stuck. However you can exit and re-enter the screen to try for an easier random set of riddles.

There was another thing I didn't like. The game is called Conquests of Camelot. Not only Camelot is seen only in the start, but the game has nothing to do with the conquests, the reign, the history, enemies or victories of Camelot. After a point the game changes feel and atmosphere, and you forget the Arthurian concept altogether and start learning lore and explore catacombs. The game for the most part is not more Arthurian than any other medieval game is. It could be called 'Medieval Indiana Jones' and still be credible.

Well, a tiny part that I didn't like are some historical inaccuracies. AFAIK the labarum was never a symbol of Mithras.

The Bottom Line
This game is an ideal travel to the middle-ages, a taste of the spirit and folklore of those times, when the old and new world coexisted. Just 'look at' everything you see.. Travel many places, battle with foes, read about legends of medieval england, and you will experience a rich, full and satisfying adventure.

DOS · by Boston Low (85) · 2005

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Conflicting info about Conquests of Camelot Bullyt (525) Feb 13, 2009
areas with un-implemented puzzles? Pseudo_Intellectual (66274) May 22, 2007

Trivia

Glastonbury Tor

A portion of the game takes place in Glastonbury Tor. British legends indeed connect the Tor with Avalon, King Arthur and the Grail. Joseph of Arimathea allegedly traveled to Britain and left the Grail in Glastonbury where an Abbey was later built

In the game, there is a little tree, and if the player examines it, narration will tell them that this thorn tree was planted by Joseph of Arimathea. That tree known as 'Glastonbury Holy Thorn' actually existed in the Abbey, and died in 1991 according to Wikipedia

Also, the cover lid of the well seen in the very same screen, is curiously similar to the lid of the Chalice Well, an actual natural spring that exists in the area

Manual

In some portions, Merlin (the narrator) will refer to the Liber ex Doctrina, the copy protection manual of the game. If the player types 'Ask Merlin about Liber ex Doctrina', the cover of the manual will appear in a dialog window and Merlin suspiciously will warn the player that he must always have it in hand. The manual's name Liber ex Doctrina means 'Free/Book from doctrine' in Latin. Note that in Latin, liber means both free and book.

References

  • The ship's name reads KRISTI in Greek letters, a reference to Christie Marx.
  • Also, a sign in Jerusalem reads LEDGER in Greek, for her husband and the game's illustrator
  • If you have a Roland MT-32 connected to your machine and selected as your MIDI device: Start the game, and watch the display on the Roland very carefully. You will see several messages, including: 'Conquest of Camelot' '(It's Only A Model)' And when you quit the game it reads: 'HAM&JAM&SPAMALOT' This is a reference to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Red herrings

There are a couple of red-herring places the player can find, without any significance to the game: * One is the snake corner in the desert, found only if the player strays from his or her path. The player can kill one snake with the sword, but won't be able to go further. Also, if players lose their way in the desert, they will see hallucinations about Lancelot and Guenevere * The player can also follow the tunnel of the pool of Siloam, however the screens will gradually darken and the player will die if he or she goes further. That tunnel is also the place where the player is 'transported' should he or she try to escape the riddles of Fatima. * Another such useless place is a dirty alley in Jerusalem, with a carcass of a dog and a pool of urine. The wall features Latin writing saying 'PRO BONUM TEMPUS APPELA CRISTI' translated as 'For a good time, call Christy', an obvious pun (and quite self-sarcastic) about the game creator herself

Runes

If the player examines the pedestal where the hag was standing on, in the stone circle, a dialog window will open with an icon of a runic inscription and its 'translation'. According to the narrator, the runes say about the five stone poets, encountered later in the game.

However if anyone tries to translate the runes with English letters (such guides can be found anywhere online), the 'actual' inscription doesn't say anything like that. The inscription actually contains the word 'Stormbringer' followed by the phrases 'death is all' and 'beware cursed is the wielder Thor'.

Other runes and words are too difficult to make out

Information also contributed by Itay Shahar

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by andyhat.

Amiga added by POMAH. Windows added by Cavalary. Atari ST added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Sciere, Bullyt, Boston Low, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, heather sturmer.

Game added May 4, 2000. Last modified February 24, 2024.