Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes
| Developer: ArtGame | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Electronic Zoo | Sound: |
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| Year: 1992 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Role-playing game | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
Four heroes from ancient times have been resurrected to stand against Bronagh, the notorious tyrant-sorcerer-demonic-prince, save the peaceful land of Kalynthia, and, incidentally, loot stuff…
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this one: its intro, its music, its simplicity.
As usual, you control four characters in a first-person perspective (mandatory roles: two warriors, a priest, and a mage). You delve into dungeons teeming with a motley assortment of glowing-eyed, sharp-toothed creatures, gather heaps of trinkets, draw maps on grid paper … and inevitably die of hunger or exhaustion after hours of wandering, lost in a labyrinth of tangled tunnels. Bliss!
The twist here is that you’re not stuck in dungeons—you can ride horses, sail boats, visit towns … and, naturally, find more dungeons. Honestly, I could’ve done without these embellishments. The overworld interface feels undercooked, character movement is awkward … and, frankly, I get even more lost in the plains than I do in the caves. Someone fetch me a tunnel and an axe, stat!
Experience points are awarded in a rather peculiar manner. Warriors earn them by bashing things; mages by casting spells. However, they’re not shared, so you’ll need to ensure every one of your misfits gets equal screen time.
A downside: the sound effects are lacklustre. In this genre, they’re crucial for creating tension, and here, they fall flat.
Abandoned Place 2 was released in 1993 for the Amiga.
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