Caltrops - Gamerasutra - Re: Ultimate RPG Archives

Forum Overview :: Gamerasutra

by Lizard_King 05/15/2003, 6:19pm PDT

junior allen wrote:

A friend lent me the Ultimate RPG Archives, which consists of:

Stonekeep
Bards Tale 1-3
something called the Bards Tale Construction Set
Ultimate Underworld 1 and 2
Dragonwars
Wasteland
Might and Magic: World of Xeen
Wizardry Gold

I've never played any of these. Which ones hold up?

junior allen

Wasteland: If you're like me and still like messing around with older games like Marathon and Wolfenstein despite the presence of their vastly improved successors, you will enjoy this. Otherwise, go pick up Fallout 2 and see what the potential of this game really was...and save yourself a lot of cussing.

M&M:World of Xeen: While playable, it emphasizes the worst aspects of M&M III with no tangible returns on the "improved" technology. The graphics are simply nauseating. Not bad in terms of raw quality for its time, just jarring and obviously designed by the colorblind. I would say only desperation would prompt me to sit through this one in this day and age.

Wizardry Gold: Was awesome at the time it came out, and it still holds up much better than others of the time. It is difficult to explain why because it is such a complicated game for its era; like Daggerfall, you will either love it or hate it (for the record, I hated Dfall).

If you're into vintage, the AD&D gold compendium is worthwhile just because it includes the incredible Dark Queen Of Krynn from the Dragonlance series as well as the bizarre and convoluted Pools of Darkness. The Secret of the Silver Blades is the standout in the Forgotten Realms series, which PoD mostly rips off and fails to improve on much. I highly recommend it.