It has been many years since the brave and courageous Prince Cirion conquered the foul and evil Medusa (chronicled in Starbyte's earlier game, Rings of Medusa). His blighted realms, the once green and pleasant land of Morenor, has recovered, once again returning to its former glory. Yet this piece was soon to be shattered, indeed, the very night before the Prince's coronation, strange noises were to be heard in the castle grounds.
Fearing the worst, Cirion set forth to discover the cause of these sounds, only to be knocked unconscious - and awaken in the dungeons of his own palace, far below the ground. To add to this problem, the bewildered young man was confronted by the dreaded Medusa, who declared her intent to travel to the future, where Cirion would be long dead, and there would be no-one to stop her from gaining absolute control over Morenor once and for all. The following moments were a blur - in a desperate attempt to save his kingdom. Cirion broke free of his guards, and followed Medusa through the rapidly-
13 - definitely unlucky!
Medusa draws her power from the Dohor crystal, a gem of immeasurable evil. She guards this herself, deep within her secret shelter, behind 13 locked doors. Viewed in first-
The thing is these keys are hidden within 13 bunkers. And inside them lurk a large number of hostile nasties, all of whom are intent on your demise. This, in turn, presents yet another problem - you will need an army to aid you with your quest, which, in turn, will need paying for their services!
There's a slight problem with this, though - Cirion may have been a wealthy man in his own time, but that's just it - he's no longer in his own time, and he's definitely out of cash (and without his Gold American Express card, too). To earn some of the lold readies you can trade goods, attack enemy gangs, play roulette at the casino, play the stock market or even exploit natural resources. If things are really desperate, robbing a bank can be good for a last-
A similar fate?
Hmm, a tricky one, it's very, very much like reLine's Fate - Gates of Dawn (insofar as the whole atmosphere picks up a large wooden club, and smashes the words 'Dungeon Master clone' into the back of your skull), unlike Fate, Return of Medusa has a great deal more to offer.
Unoriginal it is, but it's also rather entertaining, and a great deal less confusing - none of this horribly party switching business (a nice idea, shame about the implementation!), and combat is a whole deal more entertaining - pitting armies against whole towns can get pretty messy, believe me!
Again, like Fate and so many that have gone before, this is another brave, yet ultimately fool-
OK, originality definitely takes a back seat, but the whole thing is nicely done. An enjoyable and entertaining adventure, and well worth having a good, long look at.