Birthright: The Dark Alliance
| Birthright: The Dark Alliance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Original title | Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance | ||
| Studio | Synergistic software | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 July 31, 1997 |
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| platform | DOS , Windows | ||
| genre | Strategy RPG | ||
| Subject | Dungeons and Dragons | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Keyboard & mouse | ||
| medium | CD-ROM | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Current version | 1.04 | ||
| Age rating |
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Birthright: The Dark Alliance (English original title: Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance ) is a genre mix of computer strategy game and role -playing game by the US developer Synergistic Software , published by Sierra Entertainment in 1997 for DOS and Windows . It is based on the Fantasy RPG set of rules Advanced Dungeons & Dragons from TSR and is the first and so far only computer game implementation of the Birthright campaign world .
action
Birthright: The Dark Alliance takes place in the campaign world Cerilia. One of the characteristics of the role-playing scenario is that the player character is the ruler of his own territory and takes on the rulers' duties in it. Synergistic also adopted this principle for computer games. The player is regent of a county of the Kingdom of Anuire, in the role of a descendant of the royal bloodline and thus a potential heir to the throne. Its primary goal is to gain sole power in competition with the rulers of the 16 other counties. There is also another narrative layer, which is about a dark menace called "The Gorgon", which is out to kill the members of the royal family and use the divine powers in their bloodline for their own sinister purposes.
Gameplay
At the beginning the player chooses his starting province. The game principle of Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance is divided into three main areas: a political-economic strategy part, real-time battles and a separately switchable adventure mode.
The strategic part, the administration of the domain and the planning of further political or military action, are mostly carried out against the background of a territorial map and via setting menus. How extensive the management options are depends on the level of difficulty. The higher this is, the more options (six, ten or 18) are available. The player recruits armies from infantrymen, cavalry and archers who can be led to reinforce hero characters (e.g. wizards, villains, fighters) who can be upgraded. To defend himself he builds castles and collects the necessary funds through taxes in his provinces, the amount of which he can determine in three stages. In order to be able to wage war, the player must first deal with diplomatic relations, because only after a declaration of war can he proceed against his competitors. Alternatively, he can try to make alliances and thus protect himself against enemy attacks.
Battles can either be calculated by the computer in the background or, with player intervention, fought in real time on a three-dimensional playing field. With the latter, the player may post his troop contingents on the battlefield in a tactical preliminary phase. He can only influence the ensuing battle indirectly by giving instructions such as “attack”, “shoot” or “initiate retreat”.
In adventure mode, groups of up to four adventurers can be sent into dungeons , which are also presented in three dimensions from the first person perspective , in order to clear them of enemy creatures. In exploration mode, the heroes can be controlled directly by the player, but in combat, the coordination takes place indirectly via commands such as “defend” and “attack”. The reward comes in the form of artifacts and gold, the characters can also be gradually improved with looted equipment and by collecting experience points, similar to role-playing games.
development
In 1995 SSI's exclusive AD&D license expired . TSR therefore began to license its campaign worlds individually. Sierra then acquired the rights for games in Birthright scenario. This was developed by Richard Baker and Colin McComb in 1995 and was awarded an Origins Award for the best role-playing expansion in the same year . However, sales of the game fell short of expectations, so plans to expand the game were abandoned.
reception
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Birthright: The Dark Alliance received medium to negative ratings.
"Taken on its own, the strategic business section wouldn't be that bad, but together with the terrifyingly boring 3D dungeons, the overcomplicated operation and the annoying reloading times, this miscarriage fluctuates between boring and annoyance."
“The idea of combining the two game elements is certainly interesting. It would have taken a lot more just to land a real box office hit. [...] I can only recommend Birthright to real hardcore AD&D fans and even to them only with reservations. "
According to Allen Rausch in his retrospective for the online gaming magazine Gamespy , the game was "another bold concept that was knocked down by sloppy execution," which is why "the players rightly ignored Birthright: The Dark Alliance , which ultimately deserves it disappeared in the dark of history ”. Even after Matt Barton for Gamasutra , the game was ultimately denied success for "banal reasons":
“Yet again, a promising game was stymied with game-crashing bugs that irritated even the most forgiving players, but the bigger problem is that the game is a 'jack of all trades, master of none.' Birthright wasn't content with being a strategy, CRPG, or adventure game - it tried to please fans of each of these genres. The result was a learning curve steeper than Mt. Everest, a fact that eliminated all but the most dedicated gamers right from the start. The so-called 'adventure mode' is also rather tacked-on, and isn't well integrated into the gameplay as it should have been. "
“Once again, a promising game ended in a dead end due to serious bugs that angered even the most patient gamer; but the biggest problem was that while the game was a jack-of-all-trades, nowhere was it masterful enough. Birthright was not satisfactory as a strategy, role or adventure game - it just tried to appeal to fans of these three genres. The result was a steeper learning curve than Mount Everest , a fact that, with the exception of the most passionate representatives, put off almost all players from the start. The so-called 'adventure mode' is also grafted on and not as well integrated into the gameplay as it should be. "
Web links
- Birthright: The Dark Alliance at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael J. Tresca: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games . McFarland, 2010, ISBN 0-7864-5895-X , pp. 144 ( online view ).
- ^ A b Matt Barton: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part III: The Platinum and Modern Ages (1994-2004) ( English ) In: Gamasutra . UBM, plc . April 11, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ↑ a b c http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=10710
- ↑ Allen Rausch: SSI's "Gold Box" Series ( English ) In: GameSpy . News Corp . August 16, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/birthright-the-gorgons-alliance-review/1900-2538176/
- ↑ http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0001/00012795-birthright-le-pacte-des-tenebres-test.htm
- ↑ a b http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=10707
- ^ Allen Rausch: A History of D&D Video Games - Part IV . In: Gamespy . August 18, 2004. Retrieved November 17, 2012.