All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'DOS, core, rpg' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg en-us Ultima V continues the story of the Avatar begun in Ultima IV. The game begins with Lord British captured on a mission of exploration in a newly discovered Underworld. The Avatar (player) is called back through a portal to Britannia, where tyrant Lord Blackthorn rules with an iron fist and is backed by 3 mysterious "shadow lords".

With a deep plot and rich interactive world, Ultima V substantially raised the bar for RPGs of the day.

]]> 06 Jan 2007 10:26:41 The third, and highly updated, installment in the classic CRPG once again sees you commanding a party of adventures in a bid to save the world.

From Moby Games:

The third installment of the roleplaying series, with a multi-faceted plot full of twists and turns. Ease of use was central to the gameplay and interface, and the plot included piles of new twists and turns.

Lead a party of adventurers to rendezvous with the legendary wizard Corak. From dark moldy dungeons, through corridors of hewn stone and timber, and onward to the lofty frozen peaks of Terra you will uncover the mysteries that surround the exotic islands in the Great Sea.

]]> 07 Mar 2007 02:27:53 Wasteland was one of the first successful non-fantasy RPG's that Electronic Arts produced. It's design was the basis for Dragon Wars which was later published by the same developers under another publisher.

Wasteland set the player in a post nuclear United States. Players could recruit NPC characters into their party or create new characters.

Game overview (taken from Wikipedia):

The game is set in the middle of the 21st century, following a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Parts of Earth have been turned into a "wasteland" where survival is the paramount objective. Players control a party of Desert Rangers, a Nevada paramilitary group that survived the nuclear holocaust, and are assigned to investigate a series of disturbances in the desert. The party begins with four characters, and through the course of the game can hold as many as seven characters by recruiting certain citizens of the wasteland to the player's cause. Throughout the game the player explores the remaining enclaves of human civilization, including a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas.

]]> 10 May 2007 10:21:13 You are the Avatar. Once again you return to Britannia. Upon your arrival, you witness the kidnapping of Baron Almric's daughter. Found guilty of the crime, you are thrown into the Great Stygian Abyss with the choice of either finding the girl or rotting in the dungeon. On your journey you have to get along with the many inhabitants of the dungeon, who are survivors of a failed colony, and eventually find out that there's much more to this kidnapping than meets the eye.

Ultima Underworld was the first RPG that had fluid first-person movement in a 3D environment, revolutionizing the genre. Unlike earlier first-person RPGs like Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder, the player can move in every direction and the graphics are updated continually. The dungeon also is not made entirely of corridors and rooms arranged in a rectangular fashion but has a lot of variety: slopes, stairs, bridges and more.

Underworld's combat system is action-oriented. The player has to draw his weapon and aim at his opponent in real time. The magic system is based on runes that can be found in the Abyss. If combined in the right order, they produce a magical effect. As the Abyss is populated by more than just monsters, there are also various dialogue sequences with NPCs, who one can also barter with.

(from the Moby Games UW page)

]]> 02 Dec 2006 01:23:49 Directly following from the events of the first game, the newly-proclaimed Hero of Spielburg travels by flying carpet with his friends Abdulla Doo, Shameen and Shema to the desert city of Shapeir. The city is threatened by magical elementals, while the Emir Arus al-Din of Shapier's sister city Raseir is missing and his city fallen under tyranny.

After defeating the four elementals that threaten Shapeir, the Hero travels to the city of Raseir. There, he is imprisoned by Khaveen and under hypnosis helps the evil tyrannous wizard Ad Avis to resurrect the evil genie Iblis. In the final fight, the Hero attacks the palace and battles with Ad Avis, who falls to his presumed death begging for assistance from his Dark Master. As thanks for the Hero's success in liberating Raseir and restoring its lost splendor, the Sultan of Shapeir, Harun al-Rashid, rewards the Hero by adopting him as his son.
- from Wikipedia

]]> 22 Apr 2007 07:55:46 "Quest for Glory: So You Want to be a Hero" is the first game, and a

]]> 11 Apr 2007 05:04:40 Developed by Interplay Productions and distributed by Electronic Arts, The Bard's Tale is considered by many to be one of the pillar classics of computer fantasy role playing games.

The Bard's Tale allows players to create characters, form parties and adventure through Skara Brae. Combat is turn based and players can choos ethe actions of every member of the party.

From the box text:

"Long ago, when magic still prevailed, the evil wizard Mangar the Dark threatened a small but harmonious country town called Skara Brae. Evil creatures oozed into Skara Brae and joined his shadow domain. Mangar froze the surrounding lands with a spell of Eternal Winter, totally isolating Skara Brae from any possible help. Then, one night the town militiamen all disappeared. The future of Skara Brae hung in the balance. And who was left to resist? Only a handful of unproven young Warriors, junior Magic Users, a couple of Bards barely old enough to drink, and some out of work Rogues. You are there. You are the leader of this ragtag group of freedom fighters. Luckily you have a Bard with you to sing your glories, if you survive. For this is the stuff of legends. And so the story begins..."

]]> 10 May 2007 02:08:39 Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds takes place one year after the events of Ultima VII: The Black Gate. To celebrate the defeat of the Guardian, Lord British invites the Avatar and his companions to his castle. However, in the night of the feast the Guardian attacks again, encasing the castle in a giant gem of blackrock. Deep in the sewers of the castle, another blackrock gem is found, created as an aftereffect of the attack. This gem is a teleporter to other worlds controlled by the Guardian. Now you, the Avatar, must travel to these worlds in order to free the castle from the Guardian's spell.

This sequel to Ultima Underworld plays almost exactly as the original, with its 3D world, action-oriented combat, and magic and dialogue systems. The storyline is more connected to the main Ultima series and the game world is larger and has more variety: besides the usual castles and dungeons there are such diverse locations as an ice world, a totally alien place called Talorus and the enigmatic Ethereal Void. Graphics and sound have also been improved: the size of the viewing window has been increased, there are all-new monster graphics and the game now features digitized sound effects.

from the (Moby Games UW2 page)

]]> 24 Dec 2006 07:00:00 The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting, in and around the Moonsea region and the City of Phlan, which has been overrun by forces of evil. The city had originally held off many attacks, but the forces were marshalled by a bronze dragon which was believed to be possessed by a powerful spirit named Tyranthraxus. The object of the game is to have the party clear the old city of its marauding inhabitants, so the people of Phlan can rebuild and repopulate the areas.

The party begins in the civilized section of "New Phlan" that is governed by a council. This portion of the city is a place for the party to buy equipment at the shops, rest up in the inns, listen to rumors in the pub, and contract with the clerk of the city council for various commissions. The party can also go to the hiring hall and hire an experienced adventurer to accompany the party.

Beyond this region the party enters the area of the slums, which have been overrun with low-level monsters such as goblins and orcs that the party must clear out (gaining experience in the process). Further into the slums, the going gets tougher, with ogres and trolls for opponents.

The next commission is to clear out Sokol Keep, a fortified area located on an island. This is filled with undead, among other opponents. Inside the keep is a specter who suffers under a curse. When you remove this curse, the keep is cleared and the shipping lanes to the city are finally opened.

There are a variety of other locations that are encountered as the party ventures further into the city, including Kuto's Well, catacombs filled with a bandit horde, a thieves' guild, Podol Plaza, and a buccaneer bar called the Pit. With the party making impressive progress, they are next contracted to go to the old Textile House, to recover the treasure of a council member. Pressing onward, the party can enter Mendor's Library, a temple of Bane in the wealthy section, Kovel Mansion, and the deadly Valhingen Graveyard.
Encounter with Tyranthraxus, before the final battle.
Encounter with Tyranthraxus, before the final battle.

Eventually the party ventures outside the city by boat, where they encounter a silver dragon. Various side treks and adventures occur, including visiting an encampment of the Zhentarim, as the party continues to build up experience and aid the city by defeating the plans of the mysterious "Boss".

Now the more difficult endgame begins. The party reveals a traitor in the city council, and is commissioned to hunt him down. At some point the party will have to assault Stojanow Gate, a difficult task against bugbears and ettins. The party then enters Valjevo Castle and its inner sanctum, descends a stairwell to encounter some guards of the impostor Tyranthaxus (who assumes the form of a bronze dragon). After defeating his guards, the party refuses his offer to join his side and engages the dragon boss in a deadly battle, emerging victorious.

]]> 28 Jun 2007 10:56:44 Autoduel was based on the Steve Jackson Games series Car Wars and published by Orion Systems.

The action revolved around the many car chases, demolition derbys, and combat driving that made Car Wars popular.

Taken from Wikipedia:

Autoduel is based on events in the future in the Northeast part of the U.S.. In this future, cars are a primary means of protection and defense and the highways are dangerous stretches of land ruled by gangs and vigilantes with armed vehicles. The player's character starts without a car and has to enter demolition derby contests using spare vehicles in order to raise enough capital to finance the creation of their own vehicle.

]]> 10 May 2007 10:33:42 In Hard Nova you play a mercenary working for a mercenary guild on Holbrook. You can fly around in space with your ship, land on planets and fight your way through enemy bases while uncovering a conspiracy of grand scale.

]]> 07 Mar 2007 12:22:54

]]> 20 Sep 2007 12:33:09 Based on Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga (and co-written with Feist himself) is Betrayal At Krondor, a new tale in the Riftwar universe. Exploration in a 3D world and turn-based combat complement the story, which is divided up into nine chapters. Each chapter has a goal to achieve before moving on to the next chapter, but how that goal is met is up to you.

(from the Moby Games Betrayal at Krondor page)

]]> 09 Dec 2006 09:11:56 Dune, by Cryo Interactive, was the first attempt of making a commercial game based on Frank Herbert's Dune universe.

Dune blended adventure with economic and military strategy, and is considered by many the most immersive Dune computer game. Loosely following the story of the novel, the game casts the player as Paul Atreides, with the ultimate goal of driving the Harkonnen from Dune, while managing spice extraction, military, and later, ecology through the native Fremen tribes. As the player progresses, his troops are equipped with weapons from "krys knives" to atomics, tap into Paul's latent psychic powers, and get acquainted with such characters from the book as Chani and Liet Kynes.

The game, seen always through the eyes of Paul, is a mix between RTS and adventure gaming. While the basis of the game is the strategy component, dialog between characters and a linear plotline give the game more depth than most strategy games. The player is also required to do some miniquests involving talking to characters and traveling to locations, which adds a small adventure game element.



(loosely edited text from wikipedia)

]]> 13 Feb 2007 06:52:47 The third game in Quest for Glory series is set in the Africa-like world of Tarna, where you travel with your new liontaur friends you have met in the second game. Shortly after your arrival, you learn about the conflict between the liontaurs and the neighbor Simbani village, populated by the leopardmen. It is now time for our hero to become a skillful diplomat and to prevent an upcoming war between the two nations.

The gameplay system of "Wages of War" is the same as in the two previous games. The game plays like an adventure, with puzzles to solve and characters to talk to, with the additional of RPG elements: combat (action-based) and character development. You can play as either a fighter, a thief, a mage, or a paladin, and raise your skills directly after battles or by performing various actions. Graphics and interface underwent a major change. This is the first 256-color Quest for Glory game, and the first one to utilize the new, icon-based interface.

(from the Moby Games QFG3 page)

]]> 05 Dec 2006 11:32:14 An old-school CRPG in which you control a party of heroes who can freely explore the large world and engage a multitude of beasties in good ol' turn-based combat.

From MobyGames:

The Sequel to the successful Might and Magic I, it boasted better graphics, a larger world, but still pretty much the same game engine and presentation. Embark on a glorious journey then save the world of CRON and yourself.

]]> 07 Mar 2007 02:04:07 Storyline

In the year 2227, the gigantic, interstellar space ship Toronto reaches a distant planetary system. The ship's owners, a huge corporation, believe that there are rich deposits of raw materials on the third planet of the system. The data which describes the planet as a desert, however, turns out to be forged. Albion is a world full of life, secrets, surprises, and magic. When Tom Driscoll, the pilot of the reconnaissance team discovers this, he swears to save Albion from Toronto's tentacles.

Gameplay

Albion is a fantasy role playing game. The gameplay has the basic statistic and level system most RPGs of its time had. To level up, you defeat monsters in battle and gain experience. The non-battle portions of this game are mainly puzzle and conversation based, so there are very few "Give X to get Y" puzzles. You can have up to six characters in your party, led by Tom Driscoll, the only character who stays with you through the entire game.

Battle System

The Battle System in Albion is turn-based and takes place on a six-by-six grid similar to a board game. You choose, at the start of each turn, an action for each character to perform: Attack, Move, Cast magic, Use Item, or Flee. There is also an 'Advance Party' option to move all enemies towards you one square. The area in which your characters can move is limited to the bottom two rows. If you have a weapon (or two, in the case of the Iskai) equipped, you can attack. If not, you cannot attack unarmed, unless you are choosing Siobhan.

Navigation

Albion is one of the few role playing games of its time to use a hybrid system for the navigation of the maps and dungeons. In most parts of the game, the maps are depicted in 2D overhead mode, with full mouse and keyboard control. You can move the party 'train' around with the keyboard and select items to interact with the mouse (so long as you are in fair reach of them). When there are mazes, corridors or even some dungeons, the map is represented in ray traced 3D, akin to Wolfenstein 3D. You can still move around with the mouse and/or the keyboard and select items to interact with using the mouse. Some players find this 3D mode off-putting, but thankfully it is in shorter densities than the detailed 2D maps.

Conversations

Conversations in Albion are handled in two ways: Set Topics and Keywords. The Topics usually signify something you can specifically ask that person, for example the leader of a tribe about an object that only he knows about, or a shopkeeper to show you his or her wares. Keywords are more dynamic and may yield different results to different people. You learn keywords for a particular town by speaking to people about common topics, and gradually you will learn all there is to know in the game just by speaking to people. For example, you can learn some of the native language and culture, some superfluous knowledge about who likes whom, and what kind of drink is preferable.

(Taken from the Wikipedia)

]]> 01 Feb 2007 06:49:12 Developed by Interplay Productions and distributed by Electronic Arts, The Bard's Tale series is considered by many to be one of the pillar classics of computer fantasy role playing games.

The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate allows players to create characters, form parties and adventure across different dimensions to defeat a mad god. Combat is turn based and players can choose the actions of every member of the party.

From the box text:
"Skara Brae is in ruins. Roscoe's Energy Emporium stands vacant. The Equipment Shoppe went under so quickly Garth was crushed. Your Bard hasn't stopped whimpering since he realized all the taverns were closed.... Someoneâ€â€

]]> 10 May 2007 02:37:21 In the sequel to Eye of the Beholder, the Archmage Khelben summons the Heroes of Waterdeep, slayers of the Beholder Xanathar, for another mission. Strange things are happening in the forests near Waterdeep, centered around the Temple Darkmoon. People have been disappearing and shallow graves containing human remains have been found. Khelben teleports the party to the forests near Darkmoon so they may find out what kind of evil is working in the towers of the temple.

Eye of the Beholder II is, like its predecessor, a first-person role-playing game based on the 2nd Edition AD&D rules. It uses the same point-and-click gameplay mechanics and controls as the first game, with only minor changes.

A starting party consists of four characters, which can be transferred from the earlier game or created from scratch. Characters can reach higher levels and learn new spells, must face new and tough monsters and solve multiple puzzles. Compared to the first game, many more illustrated NPC encounters and cutscenes were added.

]]> 29 Mar 2007 05:29:46 Post-apocalypic strategy game where you control a gang of warriors traveling across, battling mutants and other gangs and looting towns.

]]> 22 May 2007 03:57:46 Hillsfar is an early attempt at the RPG genre from SSI, who went on to produce the infamous Gold Box series. It's a quirky game, light on RPG aspects, and consisting of action-oriented sub-games. Moby games has this to say:

Play a would-be-hero in the City of Hillsfar where action and adventure await the daring adventurer. Join the local guild and complete missions from your guild master in the quest for glory and gold!

Hillsfar is a "Single-Hero" RPG (in comparison to other RPGs by Strategic Simulations Inc. where usually control a group of characters). A combination of 1st Person Perspective (when travelling in the city of Hillsfar) and 3rd Person Perspective (usually in some mini-action quests) viewpoints, Hillsfar is quite introduces a different breed of RPG gameplay than other standard Advanced Dungeon and Dragons RPGs.

As a would-be-hero, you can choose one of the available classes in a randomly generated mission-based style plot: Thief, Mage, Fighter or Cleric. Each class to a certain extent have different approaches on how to complete a certain quest.

In Hillsfar, gameplay usually consists of various "mini-games" that are needed to complete a certain quest or mission provided at the local guild by your guild master.

]]> 07 Mar 2007 04:34:16 Developed by Interplay Productions and distributed by Electronic Arts, The Bard's Tale series is considered by many to be one of the pillar classics of computer fantasy role playing games.

The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight allows players to create characters, form parties and adventure throughout the lands. Combat is turn based and players can choose the actions of every member of the party.

From the box text:

"Do you believe in legends? Legend states that, 'Unimaginable power is bestowed upon the one who reforges the Destiny Wand...' Regardless of whether or not you hold faith in the stuff of legend, you must defeat Lagoth Zanta, regain the seven fragments, and reforge the Destiny Wand â€â€

]]> 10 May 2007 02:27:38