^LutheR^
Reviews
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (DOS)
A fascinating Eye of the Beholder-style game.
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.
By ^LutheR^ on November 24, 2005
Star Wars: X-Wing - Collector Series (Windows)
Updated, full versions of X-Wing CD and Tie Fighter CD in one box - great idea, flawed implementation
The Good
I had been looking for X-Wing Collectors' CD-ROM and Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM in stores for some time, but they're not available any more. One day, I bumped into this Collector Series edition. After playing for a while, I have mixed feelings of the game.
The engine has been updated to X-Wing vs Tie Fighter's engine. The in-game graphics, CD-music, sounds are good, correspond to XvT-style.
Mission selection interface have not changed from X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Essentially the gameplay remains, and that's what I expected from a remake.
The secret missions in Tie Fighter are still there, if you want to get into the Emperor's Inner Circle.
Storyline: It's actually fantastic to play through a part of the original trilogy, with sidequests and twists. Not to mention, you can fly on the surface of Death Star...
FMVs are EXACTLY the same... well that's good and bad and the same time.
The Bad
As I already told, the game is built upon XvT engine. Because of this and the fact that it was released in 1998, it's unacceptable that it doesn't run on NT-based Windows' (2000/XP). After a bit of tweaking (with App Compat Toolkit's QFixApp), I could make it run, but only with software rendering, no hardware 3D acceleration! (X-W vs. T/F does work). Totally Games could release a simple patch to solve this.
Another "dislike" of this engine, that it requires a joystick/pad. In the DOS version I could chase the enemy using the mouse.
CD Redbook audio cannot respond to events as well as the DOS version's MIDI. (E.g.: imperial music when imperial starships arrive) Well, it's compensated by the CD-quality.
Several new campaigns would have been nice, and it would be great to solve the missions in multiplayer.
The Bottom Line
Just consider it a slightly updated re-release of two great games (plus some missions included from XvT). It isn't worth a full-priced game, but is more likely into the budget category. If you liked the original games, or you're an oldie-fan, it's for you.
By ^LutheR^ on May 3, 2003