THE STORY
You
are a young man named Diermot, who was living a
quiet pastoral life in a peaceful kingdom until the King conscripted
you to serve in his army. It seems that he recently received news of a
revolt in the hamlet of Turnvale, orchestrated by a young and beautiful
apprentice sorceress named Selena. And not being one to let such
matters go unsquelched, he immediately set off to nip the uprising in
the bud.
But much
to his surprise (and yours!),
he was met not
by peasants armed with pitchforks, but by a horde of grotesque
gargoyle-like creatures: vicious mercenaries known as 'The Skorl'. The
king and all of his men were killed. Except you. You fell off of your
horse and were knocked unconscious.
You
awaken God knows how much later lying on a filthy
straw mattress in a torch lit room, with rough stone walls and bars at
the high window. "Obviously this isn't the guest suite", you think! No,
you are in a dungeon in Turnvale, the prisoner of the cruel Temptress
Selena with an unfriendly Skorl guard just outside the door.
In
fact, the entire town appears to be literally
crawling with them. You shudder to think about what will happen to you
if you stay here, and what will happen to the good people of Turnvale
if you leave. Reluctantly, you admit to yourself that you are the only
one who can save them from Selena and the Skorl. So you look around for
some means of escape.
Just
who is this mysterious Selena anyway? And what is
she after? Ah, but "hell hath no fury like the wrath of a woman
scorned" .....
The
setting is lovely: a medieval quasi-English village
with thatched roofs, cobblestone streets, flowers, a pub and a town
square. The puzzles are clever and interesting, and not too difficult
..... you must use magic and cunning (mainly the latter) to defeat the
Temptress and her minions.
But
it is the outrageous characters (more than 25), and
your interaction with them, that really make this game. Your sidekick,
Ratpouch (said to be the nickname of one of the developers),
practically steals the show with his observations and wisecracks. Plus
you can tell him to do almost anything (complex commands), and he will
do it. And the tongue-in-cheek humor of the other 'locals' is just as
good, particularly from one or two of the regulars who hang out at the
pub.
However
what impressed us the most was the hugh
difference that 'Virtual Theater' makes in a game. The characters all
seem to have a life of their own, and you never know what may happen or
where you may see them next. No matter what you are doing (or not
doing), they randomly and unpredictably come and go: running errands,
shopping, stopping by the pub for a beer and gossiping with each other.
You can join in and the conversation changes accordingly, or not and it
continues without your input. It's just like real life!
Item
is
Supplied in SEALED CD SLEEVE, and is a re-release. Item is Mint
Condition - Artwork is for illustration only and may differ. All
Trademarks Acknowledged.
