Darklands - A medieval RPG (12Mb)
I used to play this with a couple of friends for several hours at a time (more like a day at a time – lol) until one of the floppy discs became corrupted, so I’m really pleased to see it available for free (though I’d not thought about it for years). It was one of the first computer RPG games I ever bought and it cost me as much then as a standard RPG DVD based game does now, so for value for money, games such as Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2, both of which retail for between $15 to $30 now; ….. Well, all I can say it they are real bargains (even when they were full price). Anyway, if you enjoy playing Darklands, I highly recommend buying both of the above games (one's a first person perspective and the other is a strategic perspective). You can check out some screenshots of Oblivion here:
and Neverwinter Nights here:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=neverwinter+nights&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
As the review I’ve quoted below mentions; this game has gone into great historical detail with respect to medieval towns of Europe as well as incorporating the ecclesiastical and alchemical beliefs of the time (15 - 16th century). There’s a bewildering array of ingredients available to make specific potions provided you have the alchemical attributers. (Which can be favored when you first set up your character) If you’re character is devout enough, you can call upon numerous saints for aid when in battle, or to heal wounds after battle. All of these attributes of course have to be earned, though if you have enough gold you can purchase training sessions, or just use the skills you have enough times to get increases in the same.
The game is packed with quests and you can travel throughout most of Europe joining societies such as the Templar’s, and doing just about anything you please; though be wary as there’s danger at every turn. (See the image I’ve uploaded to my photobucket account via the link at the bottom of this review – it’s a copy of the map that you got with the boxed game)
The game is played on three levels. Movement between cities, whether accomplished by walking, riding or sailing can be interrupted by brigands, papal emissaries or numerous other reasons such as coming across huts in the middle of dark forests that house what at first appear to be harmless old women or men, but who turn out to be wicked witches or wizards intent on stealing all your gold and property; or robber knights wanting taxes for passing through their lands. Killing these robber knights brings you kudos with the locals and as time progresses and your notoriety spreads, you can pick up more quests and the people you interact with in the world are more likely to support or agree with you. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot (well it is 12 years since I last played this game), sometimes it may be necessary to rest overnight in one of the hundreds of nameless villages to recuperate from a sneak attack from bears or werewolves. Be very wary as you may very well have stumbled upon a coven of witches, or a vampires den. So while you’re sleeping you may very well find yourself awakening to indescribable horrors (lol). The second level of play is based in the cities and is mainly text based. It is here where you join guilds to improve your various skills; take some time out in the taverns to recuperate from your battles, or barter some of the goods you have acquired through combat. While in residence at a hostelry you can also make up your potions, though even these can be dangerous to make. If you haven’t got a decent enough philosophers stone, or your alchemical attributes are low, then every time you make a potion you risk blowing yourself up. The final level of play is probably the best part of the game, especially if you’ve found a castle to storm or a dungeon to explore; of which there are many to be found. Winning these battles leaves you the spoils, which can often give you better armor and weapons, especially magical weapons, or religious artifacts that enable you to call upon certain saints more than what you normally can; as well as various other items. This battle mode is in an isometric view, reminiscent of games such as The Gauntlet, an early computer arcade game that I remember playing occasionally while out on an evening with friend. It was one of those consoles that you could sit around, much like a table; where you could have up to four players playing cooperatively) and is the precursor to such games as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Oblivion.
Obviously, this game is now 16 years old, so the graphics are very course compared to anything released today, but for game play, there’s not many games that have the depth of play that this game boasts.
I’m sure some of you will love it, despite it’s vintage (circa 1992). The following excerpt from an article I read recently alerted me to the fact that it could be available free and the information about its historical accuracy may interest some. I actually learned a lot about the ancient cities of Europe as well as the names of many saints and what they were the patron of as well as a lot about medieval weaponry and armor:
Quote:
Darkland, a meticulously historical CRPG set in medieval Germany, is all substance without enough hype. Indeed, it is undeservedly obscure despite its mind-boggling attention to detail. For instance, not only does the game include historically accurate arms and armor, but even the weights and relative effectiveness are incorporated into the game play. It also boasts of a huge game world with over 90 German cities and towns, all with historically accurate place names. The goal of the game is simply to win fame and fortune; the game is quite open-ended and avoids many of the stale D&D clichés. Magic, for instance, is based on the ancient art of alchemy and is quite intricate, and clerics can call on 140 different saints, each with a unique personality. Many gamers appreciated its intelligent character generation system, which involved adding years on to the character's starting age in return for valuable skills. Unfortunately, the game's code was riddled with show-stopping bugs, and gamers found the save game system irritating at best. Nevertheless, it remains a cult classic with a small but highly dedicated following.
Reference: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070411/barton_pfv.htm accesses 2nd October 2008
With respect to the show stopping bugs. I never had cause to complain. I cannot ever recall the game playing badly at all.
The combat system reverts to the isometric viewpoint and travels between cities are accomplished via a map. When entering cities you use a menu based system with several selections, each one leading on to further selections, much like the solo dungeon game books you could buy in the late 70’s. You are able to enroll yourself into various schools to improve your attributes as well as buy better weapons and armor and items to make the various potions you’ll need during the many battles you’ll encounter on your journeys. The last time I played this I got to a really interesting part and got a message saying not enough memory. Of course the computer was only a 386 with a 25KHz CPU and 4Mb of memory.
It’s pretty dated by today’s standards, but I’ve played it on and off since downloading it. It’s definitely worth a download if you’re into anything RPG.
Download Link
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/194/Darklands.html
Darklands home page:
http://www.darklands.net/index.shtml
Map of Darklands:
http://www.darklands.net/tools/mpsmap.jpg
Images:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=darklands+game&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a-ymOA3ajgo
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9QZLd0xC-T0&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_smrWH8tciA&feature=related
Now to what some may find annoying:
To play this game you do need to install DOSBox and play the game via that. This usually means mounting the game which sounds rather daunting if you’re not into computer terminology. Don’t worry it’s nothing seedy.
Wizzard of Oz has created a great tutorial on how to use DOSBox with ease. Just check out his comment which is part way down the comments for Monday’s free game (follow the last link below). You will need to download DOSBox and Total Commander, both of which are free and the links will be found in Wizzards post; (Total Commander isn’t actually necessary, but it makes the whole process much easier; because once you’ve set it all up by following wizards instructions, you wont have to go through the mounting process every time you want to play a game. You will need a text based editor, such as one of the ones given away via the giveaway project, e.g. Apt Edit or HippoEdit (given away last week) because to set up the system that Wizzard proposes you will need to edit the DOSBox config file found within the DOSBox installed folder. (It really is easy, but if anyone has a problem with it just ask in the forums). You can find several text editors via the following link if you din’t bother with the giveaways previously, or check out the comments sections for both Aptedit and HippoEdit as there’s usually a few freeware alternatives posted by community members:
Download links for Text Editors:
Freeware Library:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/freeware/search.php?string=text+editor&x=36&y=9
AptEdit comments section:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aptedit-pro-46/#comments
HippoEdit comments section:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/hippoedit/#comments
Wizzard of Oz and Ornithos's methods for running DOSBox:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4248
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Please don’t let the use of DOSBox put you off playing this game. Once you’ve got the box working using Wizzard’s (or ornithos’s) method, all you need to do with any DOS based game (of which there will be lots posted over the coming months) is install it into the folder that you’ve created specially for games being played via the DOSBox, and then it’s almost as easy as your usual click on a shortcut and play games that we are all so used to these days :)
