Dungeon Odyssey

                   Reviewed by Sue
 
         Demo downloaded from www.malfador.com

If you enjoy old fashioned RPGs with fairly simple graphics but 
up to date programming, Dungeon Odyssey is one to try. The 
demo (46 meg) contains just one module called Crown of the 
Magis. The Crown, a powerful relic, has been stolen by a dark 
mage. You have to descend into his dungeon to retrieve it 
before he uses it to resurrect an evil army of the dead. 

There are four difficulty levels from Novice to Master. Once 
you've picked the one you want you can name your character, 
select a character class - fighter, thief, paladin, ranger, mage, 
priest or druid and one of the portraits. There are a good range 
- 20 different styles for mages down to 9 for thieves.

The game has several maps. One is for the city where you can 
buy and sell weapons, potions, food and other items, one for the 
City of Tarulmain (which looks more like a castle) where the bad 
guy lives and one for the wilderness area between the two. 
There's also a desert town in the bottom left corner and I've just 
discovered there's an item I need there, but the monsters there 
are a lot tougher.

There's onscreen mapping from an icon in the bottom left 
corner. Other icons let you save, load and exit the game, display 
your quest log, check your stats and check your skills and spell 
list.

As well as the main quest, you can pick up further quests. I've 
already been asked to find someone called Billy who is lost 
somewhere in Tarlumain.

I love exploring in RPGs so this game is ideal for me. The 
surrounding area is gradually revealed as you wander round 
and the map is updated so you can see which places you've 
missed. I found the easiest way to move round was to use the 
mouse and left click  where I want to go. Your character usually 
finds the best route. Doors are opened by right clicking on them 
when you're close enough. Ditto for chests. Some doors and 
chests are locked and you'll need to find the right key. 

Killing baddies gives you experience points. Some also drop 
money. Hovering the mouse over an opponent shows its level 
and health. This may help you know when to stand and fight and 
when to run away. You also find treasure in chests as well as 
other goodies like better weapons or armour. 

Even though there's on-screen mapping, you'll need to make a 
few maps of your own otherwise you'll find a key and won't be 
able to remember where to use it, especially if it's needed for a 
chest. 

The full game lets you build your character up to the 100th level, 
gives more areas to explore, lets you create your own modules 
and download and play ones by other people, and more. The 
ordering page at www.shrapnelgames.com isn't working at the 
moment so I can't tell you how much it costs. I am tempted to 
get it - but I'll finish this scenario first and see if I'm still as 
enthusiastic by then.
















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