Recently Playing ...

                 An article by Laura Duncan

Recently I was in the enviable position of having three RPGs on
the go at once and they were all pleasantly different.  The oldest
was Eye of the Beholder II.  I had started this game years ago but
got stuck.  When SynTax started printing the solution however I
took up the game again (thanks to Alex van Kaam for his conversion
of the solution).  My team seemed very feeble but a little
judicious cheating worked wonders.  Though it is old, the game
still contains the basic addictive RPG elements of gaining
experience to use stronger weapons or spells to be able to proceed
through the game.  The scene was traditional, though nominally
much of the time was above the ground it felt pretty much like
working through a dungeon as in Dungeon Master.

As I break from this I could enter the world of Exile (see
my review in this issue) where roaming free in an underworld felt
much less claustrophobic although there are some caves to explore
too for the night owls amongst us.

And now for something very, but not completely, different; Final
Fantasy VII.  As my PC is one of those old steam driven efforts
I've long given up looking at the latest mainstream games as the
mere mention of the minimum specs gives my old 486 the
collywobbles.  However since my son acquired his PlayStation I
have been able to observe something like what the latest graphics
accelerators can get up to.  And so FFVII.  A Japanese RPG,
seventh in a long series.  It comes on three CDs and it takes at
least sixty hours to complete, if you don't stop to admire the
scenery too much.  PS users are used to quite short games (unlike
Eye of the Beholder II) so the longevity is unusual.

Anyway we are in traditional RPG territory with added FMV which
can get tedious but is not too bad.  The setting is sci-fi/fantasy
which is different.  The pictures are great though the Japanese
tendency to use cutesy characters for tough warriors takes getting
used to.  There is a strong storyline that has been described as
overly sentimental but is very much in the style of a movie
Western, say John Wayne or the Magnificent Seven with a sense of
humour.  As in Exile or the likes of Lands of Lore there is much
wandering from place to place in an effort to defeat the baddies,
I mean the Forces of Evil.  So though there is a plotline there is
complete freedom to dally about building up levels and buying
better equipment.

The great strength is in the graphics during fights which are
superb.  The camera angles zoom around so that you can see the
full effect of the bizarre spells available (toxic barf anyone?).
It is so good that is easy to be distracted and watch the fight
rather than choose the next spell or weapon.  A very enjoyable
game that I played on the easy mode, due to pressure of time
rather than plain cowardice.  I think this is the best marriage of
RPG to adventure, creating a truly interactive movie that is in a
different league to some of the graphically pretentious efforts
from the U.S.  Another plus point, thank goodness there's no
speech.  An ability to read is an essential requirement.

I've also played Tomb Raider and Resident Evil on the PSX as the
PlayStation is abbreviated to.  Tomb Raider has such a realistic
3D environment whereas Resident Evil has got to be the scariest
game I've played, even worse than Lurking Horror.

These three games would excellent and would certainly figure in an
updated top ten for me.

Other good news is that now I can see some of those previously
unattainable PC titles.  I found Broken Sword well presented and
enjoyable and now am laughing my way through Discworld II, it
looks very good and what it lacks in gameplay is made up for in
Terry Pratchett's humour.






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