Crusaders of the Dark Savant - US Gold RRP œ45.99
                 (RPG for PC and Amiga)

                  Reviewed by Mongoose
      Played on a PC 486DX 33, with a hard disc drive

This is in the vein of an Ultima 6 or higher R.P.G. but in my
opinion it is one of the best games of its type so far. The game
comes on two discs and a map of Lost Guardia is provided.

You need 6.5 megabytes of free space on your hard disc,
installation is simply a matter of following the enclosed
instructions, which are explained in a very understandable way.
They must be, I managed to do it. Now on with the story...

The Astral Dominae is a stellar globe with a great secret hidden
within, the secret was strong enough to create Guardia. Phoonzang,
the discoverer of the secret, had by this time become a god and
after putting creatures onto his new planet disappeared forever.

The Dark Savant is an evil being who is searching for the secret,
your mission, if you accept it, is to beat him to it. This review
will self des ... sorry, I got carried away.

Guardia contains four main races of creatures, it is up to you to
join, side with, or fight with these races. I found that it was
best to join with the creatures that seemed to be on the side of
good, and not just to judge a non playing character by his race,
even if the T'rangs are slimy, treacherous beasts.  Indeed, to
attain some of the skills needed you must join an army, enter a
monastery, survive a nuclear attack, and rescue Vi, she is
introduced in the Playmasters Guide, so I'll let you find out
about her.

The game has a great deal of depth and you must remember that
whatever is going on around you is only a small part of the
overall situation. Characters that you have no direct control over
are happily going about their own business of mayhem, slaughter,
picking flowers, and generally trying to stop you getting
anywhere.  One character who I will not name here keeps turning up
drunk, but do not dismiss him too easily, he may be able to help.
Giants, witches and even fish all have their place in this
adventure, but I hope that I have given you a slight idea of how
good this game is, and that you will try it. I would just say that
it is worth looking around for the best price, because I managed
to save quite a bit on the RRP by buying it from a software
mailing company.

In this review I have hidden a few hints to help you on your way.

Now for some advice, don't kill any character you can talk to
unless you must. Check with these characters to see what you can
buy from them, or if your team is getting overloaded, sell to
them. Try to find, steal or buy maps, these are clues on how to
reach different goals, just solve the riddles, and there you are
.......... in trouble.

Finally take time on selecting your team, read the part of the
guide about creating a team member carefully. The team I used to
complete this adventure took me over an hour to prepare. Boring
maybe but it is better than being killed in your first battle by a
mothra.

P.S. DON'T FORGET TO EQUIP THE ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN YOUR BACKPACK
AS SOON AS YOU START, I have heard that the Grue forgot to do this
and was killed by a baby girl with a daisy. I'm sure this cannot
be true but then, smoke and all that.

Must go now, something has just walked up my path and judging by
the sounds that seem to be coming from him, he's not exactly in a
good mood.