Monday, August 18, 2008
Wizardry 8: So a Samurai, a Valkyrie, and a Bishop Walk Into a Bar...
That's either the start of a really lame joke, or a regular play session of one of the definitely non-lame Wizardry games. Although I don't remember if Valkyries were an available class in the earlier Wiz games.
Ye Olde Day (and Night) Job gave me Sunday off, so I managed to pour about three hours into playing my new acquisition, Wizardry 8. Yes, all this talk of new RPGs hitting the store shelves, and I'm thrilled about getting my hands on a seven-year-old game. Well, let me tell you - I haven't been as delighted about an RPG since... oh, Depths of Peril, which was only last year.
But still, just three hours into it, I'm mighty pleased. Why?
#1 - The world and storyline are intriguing. I was never a huge fan of the mega-epic plot-line of the power to create and destroy the entire universe and all that, but I'm not minding it so much here. The game starts you out with a trite imperative (you are the sole survivors of a crashed space ship, and have to survive and save the universe), but the monastery section felt a little like unfolding a mystery, full of hints and clues to a bigger picture. I love that.
#2 - TACTICS! Holy cow, this game is reminding me of how fun turn-based, party-based RPGs can be. Granted, Wizardry 8 probably takes it a little overboard, with party movement and positioning, party formations, and everything. But still, I'm having a great time with it. I got clobbered in a combat on the road to Arnika last night, and found myself considering all the things I could have done differently to have won. Too often, in RPGs these days, it really comes down to having been too unlucky, too slow on the healing-potion button, or not having saved during the middle of the battle often enough. Here, it was a case of me encountering a new monster type and underestimating their capabilities.
#3 - The monastery - the first "dungeon" - was not a run-of-the-mill miniature bunny-slope dungeon. I spent three hours of playtime in there, and dealt with multiple "boss monsters" and lots of exploration. Maybe I'll get sick of similar dungeons with the same graphics set in the future, and I did play through some of this in the demo, but for now, I enjoyed it. I'm really a dungeon-crawler at heart, I guess.
#4 - I'm also a sucker for first-person perspective RPGs. Chalk it over to being more "immersive" or whatever - I've always preferred it. Not that I don't love other perspectives, too (Ultima VII remains, to this day, my favorite RPG), but I love seeing the world through the eyes of my character(s).
#5 - STATS! Lots of juicy, geeky numbers. This might be a detriment for many players, but I really like the customization opportunities and being able to numerically compare my characters and my improvements as I level. Seriously, I get bugged by RPGs that seem to say, "Don't worry your pretty little head about these big, scary statistics... just look at the eye-candy and you can see your character get cooler special effects!" Give me crunchy numbers, please. As much as I get into story and roleplaying and all that jazz, I've got repressed power-gamer tendencies that need to be exercised.
I wish we would see more games like this. But alas, the game was, from what I have heard, something of a failure. Sir-Tech, from what I understand, was in dire straits even before the game was completed. The game was reportedly rushed near the end (update: a rumor disputed by someone who should know), and I don't remember the marketing being all that hot for it. It was kinda sandwiched between some much higher-profile releases.
I mean, I didn't even get a copy when it was new. But I think it was because of a review that claimed the game was buggy. (Though I possibly got that confused with a review of Wizards & Warriors or Dungeon Lords. Those were designed by David W. Bradley, who worked on at least two previous Wizardry titles but - to my knowledge, had nothing to do with Wiz 8).
So I guess I was Part of the Problem. It's all my fault! *SOB*.
And maybe it's just the case that my tastes are now horribly divergent from that of the common gamer. I'm just a weirdo. Maybe there's no market for the potential Wizardry 8s of the world anymore. If so, that's truly a shame.
But maybe there's enough of a market left for indies to keep stepping up and filling the void. I can only hope.
More Wizardry 8 Play-Through Entries:
Part I: So a Samuari, a Valkyrie, and a Bishop Walk Into a Bar...
Part II: Running the Gauntlet
Part III: Vi Domina Tricks
Part IV: Arnika Bank - No Safer Than Under the Mattress
Part V: In Fear of Little Naked Winged Women
Part VI: Old-School Goes Old-School
Part VII: Ratts!
Part VIII: Dances With Rhinos
Part IX: My Duplicity Has a Price
Part X: Missing Men and Mutant Frogs
Part XI: Swimming With the Psi-Sharks
Labels: Roleplaying Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 6:32 AM (Permalink)
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W8 was published at the tail end of the grand era of solo RPGs. It wasn't rushed out the door, though. In fact, it was released a lot later than some would have liked it. It was truly a labor of love for all the developers involved. It got a number of RPG of the year awards, in fact.
As far as bugs, I do think you are confusing it with the other title which did have a good number of them if I recall it right.
As far as bugs, I do think you are confusing it with the other title which did have a good number of them if I recall it right.
I guess you'd be a pretty credible source. :)
I took that assumption from the Wikipedia entry on Wizardry 8 and a report of a pretty nasty end-game bug in the initial release.
And memory makes things hazy. What I do remember is that I had been hearing about the game's upcoming release, but I wasn't actually aware that it was out until it was old news. I wish I could say I'm not as big of an idiot now as I was then, but that might be pushing things.
But I'm reaching. I'm assuming that the rest of the game will be equal to the first three hours, and if that is the case, I'm grasping for rationale as to why it failed. Other than the stock excuse that "the market changed," which I think is marketingspeak for "it's not my fault! Blame someone else!"
What I can say is that NOW I wish whoever owns the rights to the game would allow it to be re-released as a digital download. Part of me hopes they'd license it out to someone else to continue the series, but I dread what might become of it in someone else's hands.
I took that assumption from the Wikipedia entry on Wizardry 8 and a report of a pretty nasty end-game bug in the initial release.
And memory makes things hazy. What I do remember is that I had been hearing about the game's upcoming release, but I wasn't actually aware that it was out until it was old news. I wish I could say I'm not as big of an idiot now as I was then, but that might be pushing things.
But I'm reaching. I'm assuming that the rest of the game will be equal to the first three hours, and if that is the case, I'm grasping for rationale as to why it failed. Other than the stock excuse that "the market changed," which I think is marketingspeak for "it's not my fault! Blame someone else!"
What I can say is that NOW I wish whoever owns the rights to the game would allow it to be re-released as a digital download. Part of me hopes they'd license it out to someone else to continue the series, but I dread what might become of it in someone else's hands.
Wizardry 8 couldn't find a publisher, and while Sir-Tech looked for one, they made the game as highly polished as they could. By the it got published, though, the graphics looked dated compared to games that were being released around the same time.
As for hardcore, stats-filled RPGs, I remember reading about an indie project that wanted to fill that now-niche. I can't remember the name offhand, partly because it was Win32 only and I would like to play games on my Gnu/Linux machine if I can help it. Wizardry 8 runs pretty well in Wine.
As for hardcore, stats-filled RPGs, I remember reading about an indie project that wanted to fill that now-niche. I can't remember the name offhand, partly because it was Win32 only and I would like to play games on my Gnu/Linux machine if I can help it. Wizardry 8 runs pretty well in Wine.
W8 is truly a piece of art. I like w8 for a lot of the same reasons. I love it when an rpg adds tactics to the combat. I am also a big fan of stats. Stats are tactical in themselves.
I still like w7 better, but they are both beyond the standards of most.
I still like w7 better, but they are both beyond the standards of most.
As for who owns the rights now, it's a somewhat sad tale that I've been uncovering for the past year. I'll see if I can get a post or two about it up on my blog soon.
I found Wizardry 8 to be very enjoyable, but as another poster noted, I don't think it was as good as Wizardry 7 (but I'm biased since Wiz7 is my favorite game of all time). The battles do eventually get a bit tedious, mostly because of waiting for enemies to move once battle has started. It can really take a long time, especially when there are a lot of them (wait until you encounter hordes of Rattkin in the trees). There's a program you can download that will speed up creature movement in battles, which helps tremendously. (See the Wizardry 8 Combat Speed Enhancer at http://www.geocities.com/shau185/downloads.html.)
But it's a very good game overall and it gave satisfying closure to the story from Wizardry 7. You'll even see a character or two from Wizardry 6, if you're paying attention. Have fun!
But it's a very good game overall and it gave satisfying closure to the story from Wizardry 7. You'll even see a character or two from Wizardry 6, if you're paying attention. Have fun!
# posted by 
: August 18, 2008 4:42 PM
: August 18, 2008 4:42 PM
Oh well, memories... i really liked the turn-based combat and the party interaction(you could choose a personality type for each char -> nice idea, added some soul to the stats. Those one-liners made me smile).
And having a "nuclear blast" spellcasting fairy is just cool in a geeky way... even when its surprisingly ineffective;)
Tried wiz7 later but didn't get hooked there.
And having a "nuclear blast" spellcasting fairy is just cool in a geeky way... even when its surprisingly ineffective;)
Tried wiz7 later but didn't get hooked there.
# posted by : August 19, 2008 8:36 AM
: August 19, 2008 8:36 AM
I recently started Wizardry 7 again (research, man, research), and was reminded of just how cool it really was. One day I'm gonna finish that sucker! And it runs great under DOSBox.
I don't know if I have enough data yet to really draw a fair comparison between the two. But I like 'em both.
I don't know if I have enough data yet to really draw a fair comparison between the two. But I like 'em both.
The day I bought my Apple ][+ I also bought Wizardry. No number, since it was the first. With the exception of Wiz4, which came from the "make it impossibly hard, yeah, they'll like that" school of design, I have loved every game in the series. My kids play. I go back every couple of years. Sigh. Old.
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# posted by : August 26, 2008 5:14 PM
: August 26, 2008 5:14 PMLinks to this post:
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