REDGUARD

                 Reviewed by Stefan Herber

All I can say is that in my old (?) age I must be getting very
stubborn. I am sure that a few years ago 30 minutes into Redguard
would have been enough to cause me to realize my expensive mistake
and turn to something else. Of course as one of the Elder Scrolls
series I naturally assumed it was an RPG. It isn't - it's an
action adventure game which can best be described as a cross
between Myst (the puzzles are fiendish and owe a lot to that game)
and any arcade game you care to mention - pin point accuracy
required to complete certain jumps etc. BUT - I persisted,
finished it - which involved physical violence to the computer
desk on more than one occasion - and am now in a position to tell
all of you how wonderful or otherwise it is. What is there to say?

It's actually very enjoyable. It doesn't seem to start this way -
the first two hours or so are involved in finding the NPCs
scattered around and simply talking. The next 6 hours or so are
spent trying to master your weapon. I never managed this - I still
don't know how I succeeded in some of the combat as the game
doesn't support the mouse - it's keyboard or joypad and I selected
the former. (I'm informed that some of the arcade sequences are
impossible using the joypad although the combat might be easier.)

The plot is good and it unfolds well; there were no loose ends; I
found the 3D graphics acceptable though not state of the art and I
suppose I have to say that I wanted to finish it - I didn't do so
simply out of hard-headedness.The plot concerns you - a disgraced
character who murdered his sister's brother (if the reason was
explained I missed it) and has been a wanderer ever since - who is
called back to find his missing sister and save his small homeland
outpost from the corrupt people the invaders have put in charge.
To do this you have to complete a number of very minor quests,
infiltrate what eventually turns out to be a corrupt opposition
group and kill by the sword vast numbers of guards of varying
abilities and other nondescript nasties such as pirates and the
real villains - the ruler and his sidekick. Not exactly original -

but there have been very few combat swashbucklers and as such the
game did present a reasonably unique challenge.

Bugs? There are plenty. Bethesda has managed to repeat its unique
formula of allowing you to get stuck in the framework of a
building although to be fair it's much less obvious and annoying
than it was in Daggerfall. The game has nothing to do with that or
the original Arena- or for that matter that travesty that was
Battlespire. But it might have been nice to include some RPG
elements such as character advancement..

OK Bethesda - you've now produced the most flawed masterpiece ever
- (Daggerfall) - and two related games that were neither proper
RPGs. What are we going to get in Morrowind??  Not a Tomb Raider
wannabe I hope. Redguard was nice and diverting but ultimately we
to accept the fact that although Beethoven's Op.1 Piano Trios are
nice diverting music they are not the masterpieces that are his
late quartets; or using another analogy did the Beatles release
Love Me Do after they had composed Sergeant Pepper's. You have the
potential to make the greatest game ever - are you up to it?  But
please stop pretending to the rest of us that your current series
of spin-offs have anything to do with the original Elder Scrolls
philosophy.
















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