Wizards & Warriors (2000 video game)
Wizards & Warriors is a role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows designed by David W. Bradley.
Wizards & Warriors | |
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Developer(s) | Heuristic Park |
Publisher(s) | Activision |
Designer(s) | David W. Bradley, Nathan Cheever |
Composer(s) | Steve Miller |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | September 27, 2000[1] |
Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
Gameplay is similar in style to Bradley's earlier Wizardry games. Players control a party of characters through a first-person perspective and fight turn-based combats. Outside of combat, the game is real-time. Characters can join guilds that give exclusive quests, and each character maintains their own individual quest log.[2] Guilds also allow characters to switch classes. Characters can switch classes as many times as they like but can not return to a class once they change from it.[3]
Development
Development began in 1996 and lasted four years.[4] Bradley initially reported the game would have a system that allowed players to choose between real-time and turn-based combat, though this was later abandoned. Competitive multiplayer was also planned based on the guild system, though this, too, was removed.[2]
Reception
Metacritic, a review aggregator, rated the game 70/100 based on 23 reviews.[5] Hardcore Gaming wrote that it "feels like Bradley's alternative Wizardry 8".[2] In comparing the two games' dungeons, HG101 said Wizards & Warriors are more complex.[2] Andrew Park of GameSpot rated it 7.2/10 and wrote that the game seems to be unimpressive at first, perhaps because of its long development, but provides "many hours of exploration and character building".[6] Tal Blevins of IGN rated it 8.4/10 and complimented the game's graphics and voice acting, though he wrote that the controls can be annoying. Blevins concluded, "If you like old-school RPGs, you'll fall in love with Wizards & Warriors."[7] Jonathan Houghton of Adrenaline Vault rated it 3.5/5 stars and likened it to Everquest, saying that the game's unoriginal storyline is compensated for by its depth and longevity.[8] In criticizing the game's controls, graphics, and story, Will Lally and Tina Haumersen of GameSpy rated it 69/100 and wrote, "Aside from some nostalgia value, there is nothing to recommend this game."[9]
Doug Trueman reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "What might have been a decent RPG a couple of years ago can't compete today with the likes of Diablo II and Icewind Dale."[10]
References
- Mobygames release date
- "Wizardry: Stones of Arnhem - IBM PC (unreleased; ca. 1994)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- "Wizards & Warriors". IGN. 2000-03-01. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- Kasavin, Greg (2006-05-17). "Wizards & Warriors Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
- "Wizards & Warriors". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- Park, Andrew (2000-10-03). "Wizards & Warriors Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- Blevins, Tal (2000-09-29). "Wizards & Warriors". IGN. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- Houghton, Jonathan (2000-10-30). "Wizards & Warriors". Adrenaline Vault. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2016-11-06.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- Lally, Will; Haumersen, Tina. "Wizards and Warriors". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2000-11-10. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- Trueman, Doug (January 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 1. Imagine Media. p. 113.
External links
- Wizards & Warriors at MobyGames
- Heuristic Park's Wizards & Warriors page at the Wayback Machine (archived May 28, 2016)