Dances with Dragons (Gorasul - Legacy of the Dragon (PS))

Member Name: Charris2002

Product:	Gorasul - Legacy of the Dragon (PS)
Date:	13/11/08 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap as Chips now

Disadvantages: None really

Gorasul is basically a good old-fashioned role playing game, brought to you by JoWood productions, a German based software house. You take the role of Roszondas, who awakes with little or no recollection of who or where he is, and is required to save a world close to ruin, brought on by the battle raging between its inhabitants and the massed forces of an evil demon (I didn't say it was an original storyline!).

Let's get the technical bit out of the way:

Pentium 350MHZ
Windows 98 or 2000*
64MB RAM
8MB Graphic Card
600MB hard disc space
4 Speed CD ROM
Mouse

* have run this game under Windows XP home and professional and WIndows XP64 with no problems whatsoever.

The basic requirements may run the game but I have serious reservations about how well it would so - I suspect it may be very slow and the graphics somewhat basic under a platform like this.

Anyway, onto the game itself.

Graphics are finely detailed and well done, with shadows and shading used very effectively. Colours are bright, with no 'leakage' and even in the heat of battle, all characters can be seen distinctly. Weather effects are nice, with the darkening of the surroundings preceding a downpour. Screen scrolling is smooth and unobtrusively completed. Nicely done.

The soundtrack is good, moody and threatening at times, light and airy at others. Voices are well done, but not used during the main game. They are well used in the exquisite opening sequences of the game and introduction, imposing a sense of foreboding and trepidation before the game even begins.

Navigation

The Main Menu is explained well, and contains options to revisit previously seen animations, load, save, and exit, and a nice touch, a handbook of creatures that builds up as you encounter different creatures - very useful as it also advises which weapons are most effective against each foe, any special abilities and particular weak spots of the creature.

Character creation is fairly standard RPG fare -
Character classes are warrior (the Arnie of the game), priest (uses protective and offensive magic equally), magician (need looking after, big style!!! Not too good in a tight corner), spell workers (magicians specialising in protective magic), sword bearers (giants with big weapons!) and woodsman (skilled with range weapons such as cross bows and long bows.

As are attributes -
Strength (warriors and sword bearers are strong, the rest aren't!), Dexterity (reflexes and coordination, woodsman will be good examples of this), Intelligence (a prerequisite of all magic users), Constitution (warriors and sword bearers will have more resistance to illness and injury), and Charisma (leadership and persuasive qualities, any character may have these to a high degree).

We then come to Dragon Skills -
Did I tell you Roszondas has a bit of dragon in his genes? Well, he has and these come out in a variety of 'super powers', known as dragon skills:

Dragon Fear - causes enemies to flee
Dragon Strength - makes him stronger (quelle surprise!)
Dragon Breath - when he had a drink the night before - nope, he breathes fire, extremely useful in certain circumstances
Dragon Eye - the ability to see further on the map
All of these grow in effect, as Roszondas gains experience, and are triggered automatically, as appropriate. It would have been nice to be able to call upon these as and when, but this option isn't available.

You can assign additional values to each of the attributes and dragon skills during character creation, and during the game as Roszondas' experience grows.

A neat touch is the 'intelligent' weapon - seven weapons are on offer, dagger, longbow, battle club, long sword, battle hammer, battle axe and fighting stick. Each has hated and feared opponents, which can be quite tricky as if you encounter a feared opponent, your weapon will hide itself away, and if it's a hated opponent, it goes berserk! Not easy to control. Your weapon has its own attributes; accuracy, courage, intelligence (it advises you of a particular threat or course of action!) and durability. All of these can grow according to experience. It also has an ego, which can grow and grow and it can become a real a pain at times!

Controlling the Game

Controls are nothing new - use your mouse to control the group, (you collect useful allies as you go along your merry way, in true RPG fashion) and simply click on screen to go to the required location on screen. As you move, you see your group from above, and the screen scrolls to open up more the current location you are in, revealing houses, shops, temples, guilds etc. To enter these, the cursor will change to a door icon, so simply click. Objects may be revealed after a fight, or simply lying around, growing or dropped - the cursor turns into a hand to allow you to pick up the item(s). Any item may be bought or sold in the shops you will come across - everything is a source of much needed income. When you confront enemies, the cursor turns into a sword - simply move your cursor over a foe and click to slaughter or be slaughtered. Anyone who isn't an enemy can be engaged in conversation, some are essential to your quest(s), some are downright rude - just like real life. Controls are simple but effective.

A world map is available, click on the location that you wish to visit and off we go...however, it's never that easy and you may well get ambushed along the way, always be ready for trouble. This map grows as you gain knowledge or are assigned sub quests.

Your Group

As mentioned you gain companions along the way - they may join your group and be useful, or become a liability! Each member gains experience along the way, and attributes can be raised, thus making them more effective. How they act in battle can be decided - do you want them to wade straight in? keep their distance? Use offensive magic? Use protective magic? The choice is yours...You may want to get rid of them - easy, simply dismiss them and off they go. You can always visit them again and persuade them to join the group again. This is actually key to several quests you will become immersed in during the game, as some companions can access areas that you can't on your own.

GamePlay

When you awaken, you need to quickly hunt around for knowledge, and discover how to get out of your tower (you're a magician at heart, so you have to have to have a tower!). This is not easy, believe me. You get a few foes in the tower, to get you into the feel of battle. Battle is quite nicely done, you need to think quickly and identify the strongest foe amongst your opponents. When you start collecting companions, you concentrate on the strongest and let them get on with it - even if they die, you can see them resurrected by visiting their starting location and re-recruiting them. You yourself cannot be resurrected (other than through the save game option, so save regularly, you'll die a thousand deaths before the end of this game). As locations are revealed, you will be given such quests as identifying what is poisoning the water supply? Aid the architects in designing the village school, collecting herbs for medicinal purposes, visiting the local witch, destroying bandit camps, aiding the local temple in fighting off marauding orcs, recovering stolen property. Many of these are instrumental to your overall aim in getting together a band of four key magicians to prevent the evil demon from populating the world with his minions. The game is linear in parts, but there is always a sub-quest to be had. The further into the game you get, the stronger the enemies you will encounter. Never underestimate your enemy! Magical items abound, increasing your attributes, but they may be cursed so be careful, a range of potions may be bought or found to heal you or strengthen you, weapons develop and become stronger and more magical, spells can be bought or found or stolen, armour can be obtained (at a price, or in return for favours done) and as a final tip, pick everything up, as some items can only be found once, or as a result of certain actions. If you miss them, you may or may not live to regret it.

The Manuals

The game comes with 2 manuals - the first is a short introduction manual that guides you through game set up, priorities, controls, creating a character, screen layout, mapping, your diary, magic and options. Hotkeys are provided and a nice compact in this manual lists all available hotkeys, very handy when you are feeling your way around the game.
The second manual is the instruction manual. It starts with a short background piece, detailing what has been occurring until now, which is actually quite entertaining and atmospheric, giving you a feel for things to come...and covers the main menu, character creation, controls, monsters, and lists the magic available throughout the game.

Criticism

There is only one minor point about which I can be critical - the translation from the original German to English is somewhat literal, leading to some awkwardly constructed responses and comments. However, this has been addressed in subsequent patches and doesn't really mar the overall game in any way. Just a bit strange until patched, is all!

There is nothing earth shatteringly original in Gorasul. This is not a criticism, as it's a well crafted, well thought out role playing game in the vein of so many of its predecessors. It keeps the interest, ensures a wide variety of alternative actions and quests are available, doesn't lose sight of the overall quest and ties all the ends together nicely. Gorasul can be picked up now for £1.00 plus P&P via Amazon - a true bargain for an under-rated game from 2002.

Summary: A good traditional RPG