Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail

I'll admit, I didn't appreciate Conquests of Camelot the first time I played it. This was back in 1994 when I had purchased a highly discounted copy from the bargain bin of a local computer store (remember those??). I was a huge fan of Sierra games and I wasn't disappointed as soon as I opened the box. All of you who remember playing those classic point-and-click adventure games back in the day probably recall the consistently amazing 'feelies' that Sierra would stuff into the box. Conquests of Camelot was no different and I dare say that it's Liber Ex Doctrina was one of my favorites ever. I inserted disk after disk through the lengthy installation process and couldn't wait to dive into this game. I loved anything Arthurian and this was the first time I'd get to experience the legend in an adventure game! Alas, I was too young to appreciate the wonder that is Conquests of Camelot. You see, this game came out at a strange time in 1990. Only two years later, improved Super VGA graphics and updated point-and-click UIs would make its CGA graphics and text parser look positively archaic. As a superficial teenager, this felt like a huge step back. I couldn't get past the 'oldness' of the game and quickly lost patience. And there it remained for a good, long while before I returned to it again in my mid-30's -- and absolutely loved it! As other reviewers have noted, the game is not for everybody. It's clearly dated in both graphics and gameplay and some puzzles can be unintuitive. However, the love the Christy Marx put into this game really shines through. The attention to detail makes this one of the most immersive Sierra titles that I've ever played. It's still one of the best Arthurian PC games on the market and uses a non-traditional sub-Roman setting, although the characters and themes will all feel familiar. If you have any interest in Arthurian legend or classic adventure games in general, I cannot recommend this title highly enough!

This game was coming and going off my radar for the past 25 years or so. It always appealing and mysterious, 6 disc Amiga version felt like it must be something marvelous, most games adventure at that time could be contained on 4 discs. But it never happened, non of my friends had it, it was not popular. And now, already in my 40's I found it and finished it (with a help of 3 different walkthroughts), my first Sierra adventure game. It was worth waiting for, the experience was exquisite, I feel like 15 years old kid again. The experience is priceless. The amount of research and writing invested in this game was ahead of its times, I can only hope that value of this game is high not only for those born in 70's but also for younger audience.

I got this as a kid as present ... From the start I was totally in love with it. The original box came with a LOT of floppies , the trusty 5 1/4 ones and with a gorgeous manual and map. I remember reading the manual with glee as I booted my super shiny brand new 286 with 33Mhz in turbo mode and being in awe of the story, the map ... wow, the map that came in the box! Then I was thrust into the body and adventures of King Arthur! Back in 1992 this game was eye opening for me and I spent weeks playing it. I remember having to solve the riddles one by one by having to ask people at the house, school and even family on the phone. I lived then in Venezuela, so I had to translate everything as well, so the game for me will always have a soft spot in my heart. I can still vividly remember my old room and my old trusty 286 as I spent hours upon hours trying to solve the riddles that a ring of stones presented you. You could not travel further on until you beat them, and they were many. On top of that I still remember The Old Ones, the old deities that cared not for gold, for it was a metal for new deities ... My childish mind blown away by all of this. I mean, yes, the story can be quite tame to todays standards, the mechanics and combat simple. But this is a vintage game from 1990! It was very well done and I loved the theme. There is scene tha I still remember in full detail, you being confronted by a thief and you sparing his life ... then something happened and I literally cried in rage at what happened next. This game, this game I lived through and through back in the day. I became a loyal Sierra fan with this game alone. Yes I sound like an old man saying they dont make games like this anymore, but then again, modernity makes all games different nowadays. I did not have internet and could only rely on my own wits, imagination and when fully stuck, either sleep or other people. Cant really play games like this anymore. BUY IT! Play it oldskool.

Conquests of Camelot is an adventure game centering around King Arthur and his search for the grail. Pros: -The best thing about this game is the music. Mark Seibert did an awesome job with the soundtrack, and that kept me playing the game even when I discovered something I didn't like. -Good storyline. You go around helping people as you look for what you want -Mostly good puzzles The mandatory puzzles in this game are mostly good, although not that hard. -Fun arcade sequences. I normally don't enjoy arcade sequences, but I liked most of the ones in this game. There is one exception which I'll get to later -Riddles: This is a pro and a con. On one hand I enjoyed them, and I was able to solve most of them on my own. On the other hand, there are no hints for them and you have to solve 5 of them. This means that if you solve 4 of them on your own, you're still stuck. Cons: -Quite a few of the puzzles were just copy protection. This game has more copy protection than most -You're supposed to be doing this in part because you want to earn your wife's love. But she cheated on your before the events of the game and she continues to cheat on you after you beat it. Why do we want to earn her love? In addition, you have to rescue the guy with whom she's cheating on you with. -If you want perfect score, you have to do things no one could think of doing. Who would think to ask Merlin about Hezekiah? -The Saracen fight. I hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it. It's difficult even on the easy setting, and you can't skip it. Not to mention the music for that fight had already been used for an earlier fight in the game -Riddles: This is a pro and a con. On one hand I enjoyed them, and I was able to solve most of them on my own. On the other hand, there are no hints for them and you have to solve 5 of them. This means that if you solve 4 of them on your own, you're still stuck. All in all, it is a good game.