Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
| Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Stormfront Studios
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| Publisher |
 Atari
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
PS2, Xbox September 14, 2004 September 23, 2004 PC February 22, 2005 December 9, 2004  |
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| platform | Windows , Xbox , PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Action RPG | ||
| Subject | Dungeons and Dragons | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Mouse (computer) & keyboard , game controller | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | DVD-ROM , download | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Age rating |
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Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is an action role-playing game released in 2004 for Windows , PlayStation 2 and Xbox . It is based on the license of the role-playing set of rules Dungeons & Dragons and was developed by the US developer Stormfront Studios for Atari SA . The plot of the game was conceived by writer R. A. Salvatore .
action
On the edge of a battle between two orcarmeen, the barbarian fighter Rannek, the sorcerer Ilius and the villain Zhai meet. On the run from a dragon, they flee into an old mine and accidentally free the warlords Cireka and Ygorl who are trapped in a so-called demon stone. These immediately cover the region with war. The three adventurers learn from Illius' mentor Khelben Schwarzstab that the two can only be arrested with another demon stone. However, they must first free him from the custody of the snake-like Yuan-Ti. Then they go in pursuit of the two warmongers. They manage to put the two of them one after the other. In the final confrontation, the three heroes finally defeat Ygorl and thus bring the hoped-for peace.
The game takes up several well-known characters from the D&D canon. For example, the figure of Slaad Lord Ygorl was first mentioned in the 1981 Fiend Folio 1st edition rulebook . The characters Thibbledorf Pwent and Drizzt Do'Urden are characters from R. A. Salvatore's novel series Forgotten Realms: The Forgotten Worlds . Khelben Arunsun is also quoted several times in books of rules and novels.
Characters
| character | English speaker | German speaker | role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illius | Christopher Nissley | Player character, male, human, sorcerer | |
| Rannek | Dan Riordan | Player character, male, human, fighter | |
| Zhai | Vanessa Marshall | Player character, female, drow wood elf, villain | |
| Cireka | BJ Ward | Antagonist, Githyanki General | |
| Drizzt Do'Urden | Robin Atkin Downes | Well-known adventurer, dark elf | |
| Khelben "Black Staff" Arunsun | Patrick Stewart | Well-known magician | |
| Thibbledorf Pwent | John DiMaggio | Leader of the elite dwarven battle rage unit | |
| Ygorl | Michael Clarke Duncan | Antagonist, Slaad Lord |
Gameplay
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone largely corresponds to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, also developed by Stormfront . The player controls the predetermined group of three heroes. In the first game level, the meeting of the characters is discussed and the player controls one of the characters in each of the three sections of the level. From the second game level onwards, all three characters travel together and the player can switch between the heroes at any time, depending on the preferred play style and in order to be able to use the different strengths of the characters. The other two characters are controlled by the program. The game principle is based mainly on action-packed fighting sequences. In addition, there are occasional sections in which the sneaking skills of the villain Zhai are necessary, in other places passages blocked with the special weapons of Illius and Rannek have to be opened. By killing opponents, a so-called hero meter is charged for each hero individually. As soon as it is filled, an effective special attack is available to it. If it is filled with all three heroes, a particularly powerful team attack can be carried out. Fallen enemies sometimes leave healing potions that can be used to restore the characters' health. In addition, gold can be found in barrels and in some hidden chests. At the end of each level, skills can be improved and equipment purchased by means of a text screen in exchange for experience points and gold.
development
Demon Stone uses the same technical foundation as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers . The author R. A. Salvatore was able to be won over for the plot concept, who achieved great fame with his D&D novels about the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden.
On August 30, 2004 Atari announced the completion of the development work.
reception
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone received mostly positive, albeit cautious, ratings ( GameRankings : 68.36% (PC) / 73.00% (PS2) / 72.49% (Xbox), Metacritic : 69 out of 100 (PC) / 71 ( PS2) / 72 (Xbox)).
Nominations:
- British Academy Video Games Awards 2004: nominated in the categories "Audio" and "Original Music".
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences : Interactive Achievement Awards 2005, nominated in the categories “Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development”, “Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering” and “Outstanding Character Performance”.
Story author R. A. Salvatore took up the character of Rannek in his book The Two Swords and Zhai in the novel The Witch King again.
Web links
- Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone at MobyGames (English)
- Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone - PC
- ^ Stephan Lindner: Forgotten Realms - First impressions . In: Gameswelt . Web Media Publishing AG. March 17, 2004. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ↑ News: Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone - Gold
- ↑ GameRankings : Average rating of the PC version , based on 11 ratings. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ GameRankings : Average rating of the PS2 version , based on 44 ratings. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ GameRankings : Average rating of the Xbox version , based on 21 ratings. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ Metacritic : Average rating of the PC version , based on 11 articles. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ Metacritic : Average rating of the PS2 version , based on 40 articles. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ Metacritic : Average rating of the Xbox version , based on 17 articles. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ Demon Stone 2004 . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . 2004. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ↑ 2005 Interactive Achievement Awards . Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences . 2005. Retrieved December 15, 2012.