Heroes of the Lance
| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance | |
|---|---|
| Studio |
 US gold
|
| Publisher |
 SSI
|
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1988 |
| platform | Amiga , Amstrad CPC , Atari ST , Commodore 64 , FM Towns , MS-DOS , MSX , NES , PC-88 , PC-98 , Sega Master System , ZX Spectrum |
| genre | Side scrolling action RPG |
| Subject | Dungeons and Dragons |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Keyboard , joystick , game controller |
| medium | Floppy disk , datasette , cartridge |
| language | English German |
| copy protection | Manual query |
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance is a side-scrolling - action RPG , which the British developer US Gold commissioned by Strategic Simulations, Inc. was developed. It was first published in 1988 and appeared for the Amiga , Amstrad CPC , Atari ST , Commodore 64 , FM Towns , MS-DOS , MSX , NES , PC-88 , PC-98 , Sega Master System and ZX Spectrum platforms .
Action and gameplay
The game is located in the Krynn game world of the Drachenlanze campaign set and is based on the Dragons of Despair campaign module or the first half of the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman , published in German as Drachenzwielicht ( Die Chronik der Drachenlanze , Volume 1 ). Looking for the discs of Mishakal (dt .: slices of Mishakal ) the player controls an eight-member group of adventurers through the underground ruins of Xak Tsaroth. The eight hero characters are the fictional characters of the series: Raistlin Majere, Caramon Majere, Tanis Half-Elven (German: Tanis Halb-Elf), Goldmoon (Goldmond), Riverwind (river wind), Tasselhoff Burrfoot (Tolpan Barefoot), Storm Brightblade and Flint Fireforge. These are symbolized by two rows of four portraits each at the bottom of the screen. However, the player only controls one character at a time through the game world display, which is scrolling sideways. This represents the entire group of heroes and is the only one who can fight.
The marching order of the heroes, symbolized by the order of the portraits, can be freely set in an options menu and plays a tactical role during the real-time battles. To be able to cast spells, the two magical characters (Raistlin and Goldmoon) must be positioned in the first row, for example. In order to cast spells, the player must also switch to the options menu to select it there. If a character dies, the character placed in second position automatically becomes the leader. The aim of the game is to kill the black dragon Khisanth who has taken the discs he is looking for. When all characters are dead, the game is over. There is no save function to interrupt the game and continue it at a later point in time or to return to an earlier part of the game after a game over .
development
Heroes of the Lance is one of the first AD&D titles from SSI. In 1987 the company concluded a license agreement with AD&D manufacturer TSR . While SSI was working on the Gold Box series , the British developer US Gold was entrusted with the development of Heroes of the Lance . It was the prelude to a series of externally developed AD&D offshoots, often also referred to as the Silver Box series.
reception
Heroes of the Lance is a quality product that will leave most players with the strong conviction that TSR selected the right company to produce the computer versions of AD&D products. [...] If you like an action / strategy blend in a fantasy game, this product is for you.
“ Heroes of the Lance is a quality product that will leave most gamers firmly convinced that TSR has selected the right company to computerize its AD&D products. [...] If you like an action / strategy element in a fantasy game, the product should appeal to you. "
The game was considered very difficult, sometimes also frustrating, made worse by the lack of memory function, among other things. In retrospect, the game was rated as a decent side-scroller , but it couldn't stand out from the Gold Box series developed by SSI itself .
In 2011, Heroes of the Lance was one of the three Sega Master System games suggested by the Smithsonian American Art Museum for its exhibition The Art of Video Games as examples of the artistic design of adventure titles on this console. After a public vote, however, it was defeated by Phantasy Star .
successor
In 1989 a direct successor appeared with Dragons of Flame , based on the second official Dragon Lance campaign module. In 1991, US Gold's third Dragon Lance title followed with Shadow Sorcerer , similar to the previous implementation of the third and fourth official campaign modules, which, however, had a significantly different gameplay.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Allen Rausch: SSI's "Gold Box" Series ( English ) In: GameSpy . News Corp . August 16, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ↑ a b Allen Rausch: A History of D&D Video Games - Part I ( English ) In: GameSpy . News Corp. . August 15, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
- ^ A b Levi Buchanan: Dungeons & Dragons Classic Videogame Retrospective . In: IGN . News Corp . March 6, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ↑ David M. Wilson: Heroes and Heavies of the Lance . (Article scan) In: Computer Gaming World . No. 54, December 1988, pp. 54-56.
- ↑ Andrew Park, Elliott Chin: Gamespot's History of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . Archived from the original on October 12, 1999. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ↑ The Art of Video Games Voting Result ( English , pdf; 1.0 MB) Smithsonian Institution . May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ↑ Kris Graft: Smithsonian Art Exhibit Recognizes Games From Pac-Man To Heavy Rain ( English ) In: Gamasutra . UBM plc. May 5, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.