Ah no excuses, we let this one slip a few months back. No excuses it's our fault. We have played it though, so here it goes: it's a slowish (well, very slow) knights game, with some spiffy pics and neat plot.
Ah no excuses, we let this one slip a few months back. No excuses it's our fault. We have played it though, so here it goes: it's a slowish (well, very slow) knights game, with some spiffy pics and neat plot.
Dabei handelt es sich natürlich um das gute alte Excalibur, das dem englischen Sagen-
Vom schönen York geht's erst
Die weiteren Bewährungs
Daneben hält die Mixtur aus Strategie- und Rollenspiel noch eine Menge kleinerer Scharmützel für den Helden bereit: Während er von Stadt zu Stadt reitet, begegnet er vielen anderen Reisenden, mit denen er sich unterhalten, oder prügeln kann; manche lassen sich auch rekrutieren und mit eigenen Missionen betrauen.
Tja, und in Städten, die man befreit hat, gewinnt man neue Freunde. All diese Geschehnisse spielen sich auf einer riesigen englischen Landkarte ab, von der dann fallweise zu den (animierten) Action
Die Kämpfe werden, wie der Rest des Spiels, über verschiedene Befehlsmenüs gesteuert. Man kann dabei selbst mitmischen, den automatisch gesteuerten Rittern einfach nur zuschauen, oder sich lediglich das Resultat berichten lassen.
Es gibt hier viel zu kämpfen, etliches zu sammeln (magische Tränklein etc.) und einiges zu beachten (z.B. muß die eigene Popularität immer schön hoch bleiben, sonst sind die alles
Auch sollte man sich wirklich intensiv mit der Hintergrundstory beschäftigen und alle erhaltenen Informationen gründlich überdenken. Nur so erfährt man, welche Ritter sich für welche Aufgaben am besten eignen, wer über bestimmte magische Fähigkeiten verfügt, und wo genau es im Königreich kriselt.
Gerade in den vielen Details und dem umfangreichen historischen Hintergrund
Um aber wirklich Freude an Spirit of Excalibur zu haben, braucht man die Bereitschaft, sich richtig tief in die Materie einzuarbeiten, und vielleicht ein Zweitlaufwerk... (Kate Dixon)
Oh dear. They certainly do not seem to treat kings like they used to. Take that Arthur, for instance - ruler of all England, bearer of Excalibur, loved by all... or so you might think. 'Not so', say Virgin. In fact, his power base has so tenuous that on his death everything fell apart quite rapidly. Lord Constantine was next in line for the throne, but lacking the muscle of Arthur, and without Lancelot's help (who was too busy serving penance for getting a bit friendly with Guinevere), the power of Round Table all but dissolved. And that is where you come in - armed with a sword and your wits, you play Lord Constantine on a mission to claim your rightful place at Camelot.
Thankfully avoiding the temptation to re-tell the story of King Arthur yet again, Spirit of Excalibur manages to conjure the same atmosphere, use many of the characters from the legend, yet still be fresh and original - no mean feat. Splitting Constantine's story into five sections gives realistic goals to achieve, which range from taking the throne and recruiting knights to tracking down Lancelot and finally defeating Morgan Le Fey (King Arthur's evil half-sister),. At the same time everything is presented very nicely indeed.
In fact, with its 16-screen map of Arthurian Britain and numerous graphical inte3rludes, it looks like the sort of thing Cinemaware might come up if they produced a role-playing kind of game. Unfortunately, the similarities do not end there, for the most striking thing about Excalibur is its speed. There is not any. It is no good trying to produce a sprawling tale of heroism and chivalry if it takes nearly twenty seconds simply to talk to a character. The disk swapping is bad enough, but the access-time is truly appealing.
It is a shame that the whole thing moves so slowly, because in many ways it really is quite enchanting. Suitably medieval music parps away to itself, while screen backgrounds are lavish affairs, with elegant abbeys and towering castles providing eye-pleasing backdrops to the action. Even the fight scenes are handles competently, with both one-on-one combat and larger scale conflicts between armies allowing an agreeable amount of player interaction.
Spirit of Excalibur has so many things going for it. The strategy and role-playing bits work well, and close up action compares with games such as Defender of the Crown, albeit with greater depth. It is just that the whole thing comes across as badly bodged together, the sum not being equal to the parts. A shame.
Jonathan: This one's all to do with knights in shining armour. You're actually one knight in particular - Sir Constatine, the successor to King Arthur - and you've got five tasks to complete before doing battle with the offspring of Mordred (King Arthur's bastard son). (Steady on! Ed.)
It's a role-playing/
The result is a heady mixture of nice pictures, role-
The only major problem is the incessant disk accessing and swopping - the joy of something exciting happening tends to be offset by a ridiculous juggling act involving three disks. 