Anvil of Dawn
             New World Computing  CD ROM œ24.99
            Marketed and Distributed by US Gold

                      Reviewed by MerC

                 PC  486 DX4/100 Rating 98%

What makes you buy one game rather than another?  Magazine reviews
are useful, though you may well not agree with the rating given.
Demos - possibly.  Recommendation from someone who has played it
and whose opinion you trust also goes a long way, so when Sue
mentioned this title in SynTax last month, it sounded like a good
idea. Of went a cheque for œ25, and a few days later...

Anvil of Dawn comes in a colourful cardboard box, and the CD is in
a proper CD case, although there is no insert. You also get a
comprehensive manual, though the interface is so well done and
intuitive that you only really need this for the background and
the spell descriptions. The installation card is easy to follow
and gives you the minimum requirements - between 3 and 30Mb of
hard disc space (depending on your choice at installation time),
2900Kb of EMS/XMS memory and a mere 450Kb of conventional memory.
Clearly the producers want their market as large as possible. A
sticker on the box proclaims "Works with Windows 95", and it does,
for the most part. I did have occasional loading crashes, but
these were always at the very start and were easily cured by
re-loading.  It actually runs in a maximized DOS window within
Windows 95.  It also works perfectly well in DOS, provided you've
pre-loaded real-mode drivers for your CD ROM drive and mouse.

During play the game is very stable, only freezing twice in three
weeks of play - once when writing labels on the automap, and even
then the old three-fingered salute brought it back to the same
point, from where it continued perfectly.  The only bug I could
find occurs after you have fought and killed a major antagonist
known as the Castellan. (I bet he smokes cigars). Just before this
combat he treacherously slaughters a prisoner (well, he would,
wouldn't he?) who remains on screen as an apparent NPC (a speech
bubble appears as the cursor passes over him). Do not click on
this (why would you want to talk to a dead man anyway?) because
the game locks up if you do.

Installing is simple and quick. If you are short of hard disc
space you have the option of installing minimum files. The rest
are read from the CD ROM drive when required. This is supposed to
slow things down, though with a quad speed drive I found no
discernible difference (except that CD access sounds different).
Sound set up is a breeze - it recognized my non-standard
Soundblaster clone and played the music, sound effects and
digitized speech without difficulty. However, I suggest using the
autodetect with caution. It kept telling me I had a Soundblaster
AWE 32, but then couldn't play sound using these settings.  Whilst
setting up the soundcard the sounds are tested, so various
combinations can be tried until one is found that works.

The interface is superb - well thought out and convenient in use.
Mouse controls are duplicated on the keyboard, and the cursor keys
are set up for movement. Pressing a key once steps you in that
direction, and keeping it pressed continues the movement. In this
way there is both step movement and free scrolling. There is no
side-stepping, but I can't say I missed it. Picking things up and
putting them in the inventory can be done in two clicks - there is
no need to open the inventory until you are ready to. The way
movement is recorded is nothing short of brilliant - a small
on-screen map with its own compass which shows the area
immediately around you (with monsters if nearby) and which
direction you are facing. For maximum detail there is the automap,
which can be labelled, and which you can send to disc or printer.
This is stored with the game saves and those for previous
locations can be accessed as well. This applies to the
dungeon-type areas.  Outside these clicking the automap shows you
a perspective view of the land of Tempest.

There are two main types of play area. Beyond the numerous large
"dungeons" (which include regions such as the Quagmire, the
Reedbed and the Underwater Labyrinth) movement is by "guided
cinematographic control". You are moved around the landscape,
seeing it as though you were a flying video camera. When you come
to a halt, you are then able to choose the direction you continue
in. This part of the game is utterly fascinating and extremely
atmospheric, whether climbing the Pedestal, riding the Fiery Steed
or just getting the water-wheel to function. Out here, there are
important and vital things to do, people to find and talk to and
hidden locations to discover.  Where this game really scores,
though, is that the land and the dungeons are in full screen
graphics. The 3D scrolling picture is exquisitely drawn in full
detail and you can even hide the icons to make it more realistic.
There is no close-up pixellation. On a DX4 the scrolling is very
smooth, though it may well be rather jerky on slower systems. I
suspect that it would need a fairly high spec system to run well.
The box specifies a minimum 8Mb RAM and a DX2/66

The various enemies you encounter are spectacular, especially in
the way they succumb. (Anything more bizarre than the way the
jesters die is hard to imagine). Some of them speak to you as they
attack ("Drop your guard and I promise you a quick death" etc.)
and may leave behind important objects. Sound effects are
excellent, and the balance between these and the music volume can
be adjusted. There is provision for saving up to 10 games, which
is adequate.  Saving, restoring and returning to reality are very
quick and simple.

So, 10/10 for presentation and ease of use. But the important
question is how does it play? As you might expect, the thought
that has gone into the mechanics has not been omitted when it
comes to the game itself. After the introductory cineo, where you
find out what has happened to your land, there is a decent enough,
if familiar, story line.  Your world (Tempest) has been overtaken
by a nasty - the evil Warlord. He derives his power from the Dark
Slag. Your mission is to find and destroy it. This, and much of
the rest, you learn from various and many NPCs as you wend your
way through the countryside and explore the locations. You do not
need to remember all of what you learn. The main points are
automatically transcribed into your Journal, available for
consultation at any time.

There are 24 spells to find (though I missed one somewhere) and
learn. These are divided into various elemental disciplines, and
when you earn advancement you can choose which discipline to add
skill to. They are added to your Spell Book, where they are
described at length.  Consulting this is only a double mouse click
away. Spell casting is simplicity itself - just a click on the
appropriate icon and your finger describes the requisite gesture.
You have to use magic carefully, though. Whereas you can breeze up
to a monster and slash it with your sword, casting a spell takes
an appreciable time, during which you might have to take two or
three hits. Attacking spells are therefore best used at a distance
- and if they are being cast at you, you'd better have your
Reflections of the Lake active.

Weapons are for hacking, thrusting, slashing or ranged (shooting
or throwing) and again on going up the levels you decide where
your skill points should go. There is not a huge variety in this
game (two or three types of sword, a spear or two, a battle-ax, a
hammer, a crossbow and a throwing star, plus several kinds of
armour). The small number of weapons is more than made up for by a
much larger variety of other objects - potions, figurines (mostly
one-off spells); keys - naturally - a wand or two, amulets,
boulders and rocks, points enhancers (to be used at altars) and
consumables (strength and mana boosters). These are kept in some
sort of order by chests and sacks that you pick up.  Fortunately,
there is no food, drink or light to worry about. There are other
vital artefacts, but you learn about these as the game progresses.
One tip : any unusual containers that you find need filling with a
particular ingredients, at least three of which the Black Gnarl
needs. If you haven't got all of them, it's a long trek back.  At
the very end you are given a score (mine was 101,603 - whatever
that means) and invited to send it to the Hall of Heroes,
somewhere in the USA.

@~That's probably worth doing; I sent off my scores after playing
@~Might and Magic III and IV (same authors, New World) and got
@~very nice parchment certificates in return ... Sue

If there has to be a negative criticism, it's that the game though
big, varied and interesting, tends to be too easy.  There is no
choice of difficulty level, though you should listen carefully to
everything you are told. Problems are straightforward and involve
opening doors with particular keys, weighting pressure pads,
negotiating traps, avoiding rolling balls, moving (and sometimes
creating) stone blocks and tracing your path through teleports.
You need to find and talk to other adventurers and a number of
victims of the Warlord's ravages. In theory you could fight every
creature and never take a hit, though quite how you would do this
in the City of the Dead might be a problem. You can usually use
the "hack and back" method, since creatures only do one thing at a
time:
1.  Strike in the wrong direction (a sure miss)
2.  Strike towards you - this may miss and thus cause no damage,
or strike you - if you occupy an adjacent square - eventually
killing you if you let it
3.  Cast a spell at you (which can be reflected and cause self-
inflicted wounds)
4.  Shoot a ranged weapon at you if you are two or more squares
away
5.  Move towards you if you have moved back
Thus, if you approach a creature, strike a couple of blows and
step back quickly before it strikes, it cannot harm you. (It may,
of course, strike first). If you step back too far it can cast a
spell or shoot bolts at you. You are always more agile than they
are, and as long as you attack with a space or two at your back
you can always win. Some of the tougher creatures lurk in alcoves
or around corners, where your only option is to time your attacks
correctly, jump forward, strike and retreat.  (This type of
retreat takes two movements and you may get hit).

The ending, as is often the case, is a bit of an anticlimax. You
get to talk to, though not to fight the Warlord, and believe me,
by the end you are itching to have at him. Unfortunately (unless I
missed it somehow) you simply let each other go.

This is not really a game for the hardened D&D fan. Although you
are in a band of five (you can choose which to be at the start),
you woke up late and are alone. You are therefore in effect only
one person (as in the Ultima Underworlds).  Statistics are not
very detailed, and hardly need to be considered. You only need
keep an eye on your hit points and mana. You are rarely (if ever)
left wondering what to do next, though your route through the game
can vary to some extent.  (Gorge Keep - a small dungeon, but full
of enemies - can be omitted). You can carry as much weight as you
like, but when encumbered you tire quicker in combat (though this
never amounted to a big problem). This is a game well worth
playing, and though not too taxing, is big enough to take up many
hours of your leisure time. I recommend it to beginners and adepts
alike. Dream Forge Intertainment is a programming team to watch
out for - they know what you like and how you like it.  Anvil of
Dawn is good looking and plays well - rather like a certain JJ,
I'm led to believe ...

MerC April 96








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