Lands of Lore
| Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Westwood Studios
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| Publisher |
 Virgin Games / Interactive
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1993 | ||
| platform | MS-DOS , PC-98 , FM Towns | ||
| genre | Computer role playing game | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 8 3½ " floppy disks , 1 CD-ROM , download | ||
| language | English German | ||
| Age rating |
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Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a computer role-playing game released by Westwood Studios in 1993 for MS-DOS , PC-98 , FM Towns . It was published by the British publisher Virgin Games , which had recently taken over the studio. The game is a continuation of the technology and game concept from Westwood's previous production Eye of the Beholder 2: Legend of Darkmoon . Two successors were released, Lands of Lore: Götterdämmerung (1997) and Lands of Lore 3 (1999).
action
The leader of the Dark Army, the witch Scotia, comes into possession of a powerful, magical artifact. The so-called low mask allows it to assume any shape with all associated properties. With the help of the mask and an army of orcs, she wants to rule the world. Your opponent is the leader of the White Alliance, King Richard LeGre, who resides in Gladstone Fortress. With the help of the mask, Scotia manages to penetrate the fortress and poison the king. The player's task is to find an antidote to the poison with the help of the draracle and to defeat the witch Scotia.
Gameplay
The game principle corresponds to that of a classic dungeon crawler in the tradition of Dungeon Master . At the beginning the player can choose between four predefined player characters, which differ in their abilities. In the course of the game, three more companions can be added to the hero group. The game world is presented from the first person perspective in a window section of the user interface. The group of heroes moves in real time, but in blocks like on a chessboard and with 90-degree rotations through the game world. The game consists mainly of battles against fantasy creatures and simple switch or object puzzles.
development
Westwood Studios previously developed Eye of the Beholder and Eye of the Beholder 2: Legend of Darkmoon on behalf of SSI . The third part was programmed by SSI itself, while Westwood turned to their own product with Lands of Lore . However, the technology of Eye of the Beholder also serves as the basis here, whereby there are clear parallels between the Lands of Lore and Eye of the Beholder .
Versions
Lands of Lore was originally released on floppy disks in 1993 . In the following year, a CD-ROM version was released, which compared to the first release contained an English voiceover for almost every character in the game. Actor Patrick Stewart was hired for the setting of King Richard of Gladstone and as a narrator for the background story of the Lore of the Lands .
Lands of Lore has been supported by the ScummVM interpreter software since June 2011 because it uses the same engine as the Westwood adventure Legend of Kyrandia .
reception
| publication | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| ASM | 10 of 12 | |
| PC Games | 88% | |
| PC player | 81% | |
| Power play | 83% | |
| Meta-ratings | ||
| GameRankings | 85.00% | |
The graphics were very advanced in the year of publication. There were similarities to Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder , but there were differences in the representation of dungeons and landscapes, these were more detailed here. Beginners can find their way around well. An automapper records every path the player takes and also notes secret corridors and doors that the player may have overlooked. This makes solving the puzzles relatively easy.
Patrick Stewart received the Premiere Award for Best Male Voice-over Acting in 1994 from the US game magazine Computer Gaming Worlds for his dubbing work on Lands of Lore . It was also among the nominees for the best RPG of the year award, which went to Betrayal at Krondor . Westwood stated sales in November 1997 in a press release with "over 250,000" copies.
Web links
- Lands of Lore at MobyGames (English)
- Lands of Lore - Historical chase through dungeons and labyrinths - on retropie.de
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Heinrich Lenhardt : Lands of Lore . (Article scan) In: PC Player . No. 05/1994, May 1994.
- ↑ "This arrow is ..quite annoying ..." . Announcement on the official ScummVM project website, June 2, 2011. Accessed August 31, 2011.
- ↑ Antje Hink: Hunt for the treasure . (Article scan) In: ASM . No. 05/1994, May 1994.
- ↑ PC Games Database: Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos - Press Review . Retrieved January 14, 2013
- ↑ Thomas Werner: Lands of Lore - The Throne of Chaos . (Article scan) In: PC Player . No. 09/1993, September 1993, pp. 68-71.
- ↑ Volker Weitz: Lands of Lore - The Throne of Chaos . (Article scan) In: Power Play . No. 08/1993, August 1993.
- ↑ Michael Hengst: The Picard Maneuver: Lands of Lore . (Article scan) In: Power Play . No. 05/1994, May 1994, p. 122.
- ↑ GameRankings : Average rating of the game , based on 2 ratings. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ^ Announcing the Premier Awards . (Article scan) In: Computer Gaming World . No. 119, June 1994, pp. 51-58.
- ^ Software Retailers on full alert as Westwood Studios' Red Alert Ships . Westwood Studios . November 22, 1996. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997.