Darklands

I love this game! Now, it is important to note that this game is not for everyone. It is tedious and repetitive, but I love it! Just creating a party can take hours... if you are someone like me who almost enjoys that more than actual game play. But seriously, there are so many options for creating characters, and it is easy to screw it up and find out you have made a somewhat useless party. That being said, you can just use the pre-made party provided by Microprose. I love the music in this game, the look of it, and how historically accurate it is (not that the monsters and such really existed, but it is accurate based on what people at the time believed... or so I have been told). I would love to see this game re-done to have each city match the actual city... but I think I am asking a lot with that one. :)

It's been a very long time since I played this game, so don't sick the Spanish Inquisition on me if I'm wrong. I doubt there's anything in this game you can't find elsewhere. Cakes are made of flour, sugar and eggs, but they don't bake up the same. So it is with games. Darklands is a unique combination of game elements that is hard to find nowadays. I don't mean it's quirky. It's arrangement is without a solid genre footing. That's what I like about the older games. A game could contain anything. Expectations weren't so rigid. This was one of those games in which I left no stone unturned, so I doubt I'll buy it again. I believe there is a central story to the game, but just as well, you can wander around looking for side quests. It's very open, and while I'm not a big fan such games, I played this one thoroughly. Perhaps I was younger then and more patient. Combat is turn-based or you can pause real time combat...I forget. In either case, it does require some thought when taking on bands of enemies. Placement and weapons must be considered. I think this was the first game in which I discovered the old trick of sending a fighter forward only to retreat in order to draw the enemy into a kill zone of archers. A skill that came in handy once I found the AD&D games. There's a world map over which you cross the old Hansa territories. There are towns to visit. Banks. Things to buy. People to save. There are a lot of things to do in this game. I do recall that some missions are rather repetitive, but that didn't strike me until close to the end. I'm only giving it 4 stars because, while it is a game of fond memories, I'm rather sure I wouldn't enjoy playing it very much today. Not because it's bad, but because my tastes have changed.

I bought it in 92, [5+ floppys and a devil of a config.sys expanded memory vs extended memory, and configuration file]and have replayed it about every 4 years since then. Graphics are awful by today's standards, but the clash between good and evil is timeless. The plot is linear, but the skill set is up to you. I think the team concept is/was fairly unique. I hope they have made it playable on superfast machines 20 years in the future of its original development. Dusty

This game really puts you in the role of living in ancient Germany. This is not an easy RPG that most are used to this generation. Character customization is vast. Back in the mid 90's my brother picked up a 10 in 1 pack of PC games at the store and this gem was one of the games. I've been addicted to it ever since.

Came back to GOG for the first time in a while to re-download another game and saw this in the catalog. I couldn't have been happier to see it. I actually still have a physical copy of the game but it's on 3.5" floppies, can you even still get a 3.5 drive? Needles to say I had to have it, when ever I talk games with someone this title inevitably comes up, seriously in the top 3 games of my life span.