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1995-02-16
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REVIEW
DEATH GATE from LEGEND
FORMAT: PC/CD
DATE: DECEMBER
PRICE: US $59.95
Two thousand years ago when the Sartans ruled the Earth, they decided to
break the world seal and divide the Earth into five realms because they
feared they could not control the powerful Patryn wizards any longer.
The first four realms were made of one element each: air, water, rock and
fire, and were for the dwarves, elves and humans to live in. The fifth one
was a prison called the Labyrinth which served to rehabilitate the Patryns.
You are Halpo, a young Patryn who just escaped the Labyrinth with the help
of Lord Xar. Your mission is to retrieve the five parts of the world seal
on each world. This will enable Lord Xar to reshape the world and take
revenge upon the Sartans. To do so you must travel from realm to realm
through the deathgate.
You must learn the secret of each realm by asking questions to the right
mensch and mastering many spells. You will have to face numerous problems
while solving those of others before they give you that bit of information
that was lacking.
The first thing you see is a beautiful SVGA introduction. The game is quite
easy to play. You have a choice of verbs like "take" and "open" which are
activated by clicking on them. For special objects or persons, you have
other choices like "activate", "use" and "talk to". For example,
"look at Xar", "talk to Xar", etc... simple. There is a compass on the
bottom of your screen which indicates (in green) the possible directions.
One option allows you to switch between map and screen, so you do not need
wonder brains or tons of flying sheets of paper on which to draw usable
maps. Besides, help is always available. An important part of the game is
based on magic. When you cast a spell, you must draw the rune in the air.
These runes are made by the gathering of different magic stones which are
very beautifully animated. Do not worry, there are no magic points, so you
can cast as often as you like. In order to find clues regarding what to do
or where to go next, you must inquire of people and listen to them
attentively.
You have a vast choice of possible questions, even silly ones. The answers
are full of variety and good humor. The sound card is a must for playing
this game. With all the different voices recorded by the cast, it is very
pleasant to hear them speak rather than have to read the dialogue. The
puzzles you are going to face are not that simple, so play when you are
calm, relaxed and try to avoid rushing into it without carefully examining
each room or screen. If difficulties persist, perhaps after a good nights
sleep, you will be more successful.
In this game, one is rewarded points (of the available 1500) for proper
execution of various tasks in any given situation. I personally ran into
some difficulty during the game when I was challenged to answer three
questions in a row without a single clue... Be sure to ask all the
questions possible to ensure that you do not miss anything! Collecting
clues shall require patience, particularly from a two hundred year old
grumbling dwarf.
The animations are a must-see! Flying about through the Death Gate in a
dragon-winged ship, all enhanced by 3D Studio, is quite an experience.
One thing I must admit about this game is that it is extremely captivating.
It offers delightful images coupled with the confrontation of genuinely
mind-challenging puzzles. You will simply not want quit until they have all
been solved. When you finally overcome in one area, you will consequently
feel so confident that you will decide to proceed to the next enigma.
You may end up witnessing the crack of dawn ritualistically due to DEATH
GATE!
──────────┐
Conclusion│
──────────┘
DEATH GATE is a fantastic adventure game. A good sound card compliments the
playing of this game by enabling you to hear all the dialogues instead of
always reading them. The graphics in SVGA mode are comprised of a bundle
of animations produced by 3D Studio.
─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: │
─────────────────────┘
386-SX 25MHz or better,
Min 640 KB memory,
MS-DOS 3.3 or later,
Hard drive,
Single CD-ROM drive or better,
VGA 256 color graphic card and monitor,
Microsoft mouse or 100% compatible,
Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card.
───────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────
┌────────┐ ┌─────┐ │Legend
│GRAPHICS├─────────────────┤ 92% │ │P.O. BOX 10810,
│SOUND ├─────────────────┤ 90% │ │14200 Park Meadow Drive,
│MUSIC ├─────────────────┤ 90% │ │Chantilly, VA 22021-0810
│GAMEPLAY├─────────────────┤ 90% │ │Tel: 703-222-8500
│INTEREST├─────────────────┤ 92% │ │
└────────┘ └─────┘ │Legend is distributed worldwide by
┌────────┐ ┌─────┐ │Accolade.
│OVERALL ├─────────────────┤ 91% │ │Accolade:
└────────┘ └─────┘ │Europe: +44-(0)81-788-0200
│North America: 408-985-1700
───────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────