BMK                                                            BMK

            Legends of Valour - US Gold RRP œ25.99
                  (RPG for PC, ST and Amiga)

             Reviewed on the ST by The Bitmap Kid

We've come to expect a lot from US GOLD, it's not often they
produce a duff game. Legends of Valour lives up to this record,
and far more...

Dungeon Master started the RPG thing in computer games, so good
was it that, all these years on, it is still going strong.
Although there have been many variations on the same idea, in my
opinion, none has beaten it. Until now.

You start your adventure on a Tuesday morning. Tuesday is a
special day for you because you always, regular as clockwork
receive a letter from your cousin in Mitteldorf. He tells you
many-a-story of the big city and his day-to-day (slightly
exaggerated) life.  One day (the day you start the game) the
letter comes as normal, but instead of you hearing the fun of the
busy city life, the letter is full of fear; something is wrong in
Mitteldorf.  Suddenly, your brain goes into over-drive - it's your
big chance to visit the city!

The game is afoot, but before you begin you must create your
character. Creation of your character is really easy to do and is
a complement to the game rather than a hindrance. You build the
face of your character yourself from a sort of 'photofit' library.
This is quite fun in itself and gives you the impression of your
character actually being YOURS. Once you are happy with your man
you get the chance to equip yourself with the usual weapons,
armour etc. Once this is all done, the real game begins.

You find yourself just inside the main gates of Mitteldorf with
the new character you've just created. At first, the main
objective of the game is to survive, and then try to get some
status and respect by your fellow people. Keep your nose clean,
and you'll be alright!

The game view is actually what your character would see, with a
border around the picture with the game control icons. Legends of
Valour is a 'wander about and do stuff as you like' game, which
means there is no set path for you to follow. The game is huge,
there are loads of places to go to and things to see, overall the
game is much bigger than Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder!
There are also mini quests for you to do, and not only that but
certain guilds to join.

You'll need to join at least one guild if you are to survive, each
one will train you in its specific art and this will help you
out a lot in the long run. Joining a guild means having to prove
yourself, normally this is by performing tasks they set you, which
could be anything from juggling to murdering someone! As you work
your way up to being an expert at your chosen art(s) you will
learn more and more about your ultimate quest.

The laws in Mitteldorf are very strict, even to the point that if
you stand around in the same place for too long, you can be
arrested for acting suspiciously! You must also find a bed for the
night as well, as sleeping on the streets is also illegal. Oh and
don't go around looking through windows, you'll get done for that
too! I'd also stay away from Vampires and Werewolves, because you
can even be arrested for becoming one of 'em! There are also
illnesses you can catch too, anything from leprosy to, of course,
Vampirism. These things can be left to fix themselves, but your
best bet is to go and see someone who can cure you.

There are many, many people in the town and you can interact with
most of them in some way. You can normally buy and sell things,
and, of course, talk with them to find out important information.
Every person is alive. Okay, they're not REALLY alive, but they
live their lives are like real people. In the morning, each one
goes to work and at night most go home to sleep, stopping off at a
tavern first of course!  The way people treat you is determined by
many factors, including how you look (what sort of face you
created) and how high you are in the pecking order of the city,
the more noble you are, the less trouble people will give you.

All these things go to make a good game, but the thing that makes
this game so good and so amazing is the process called 'texture
mapping' which is used in the game. Texture mapping is an amazing
process, basically it's when a flat surface is taken and detail in
placed on it. As you change and manipulate the surface, the detail
also changes accordingly. The process surprisingly doesn't slow
the game down that much.

The view on the world is quite small, and can be adjusted to three
sizes. The largest slows the game the most, but even in this mode
it's not too slow. In the smallest screen the view is, of course,
even smaller, but the game runs a lot faster.

Overall the graphics are excellent, very well drawn and clear,
they really help to make this game sparkle.

Unlike games like Dungeon Master, Legends of Valour uses a
system where you can walk in ANY direction you want, rather than
the normal forwards, backwards, left or right.

THE LAST WORD:

Legend of Valour is the best game of its kind EVER! Everything
about it shows this game is well on its way to the hall of fame.
I can't praise it enough - buy it today!

 GRAPHICS---------------- 94% - Amazing graphics!
 LASTABILTY-------------- 90% - You won't want to put it down!
 GAME CONTROL------------ 93% - Delightful to use!

 OVERALL----------------- 95% - The best ever game of its kind!


BMK                                                            BMK