Akalabeth is a milestone in gaming history. It was one of the earliest RPGs (limited release in 1979) and precursor to the Ultima series. Akalabeth was inspired by Garriot’s weekly D&D sessions. The goal of the game is to kill the Balrog. This is done by receiving kill quests from Lord British followed by copious amounts of dungeon delving. Mechanically Akalabeth is pretty solid although it feels a bit dated. The most frustrating thing about it is the amount of dying, usually from starvation. And that’s the worst part of Akalabeth, each death felt cheap. Cheap deaths piled into frustration and quickly fermented into the bitter wine of rage quits. Altogether, I’ve probably only spent 45 minutes playing this game, and I’m unlikely to play it again. It’s an interesting piece of game history, but it hasn’t aged well. Of course, if you like this kind of thing, go for it. Verdict: Buy it on sale, maybe. If you’re interested in gaming history or just really like old-school games, give this a try. Otherwise, spend your money elsewhere.
Age of Wonders is a fantasy turn-based strategy. Humans have come along and destroyed the elven kingdom. The elves then split into two factions: Light and dark. Your goal is to rebuild the kingdom and make peace with the humans (light) or destroy them (dark). Gameplay is simple and straightforward. Towns produce gold and are used to create new units. They can be purchased if the inhabitants are favourable or captured. Places like ruins or caves can be explored for items and gold. Combat can be automatic or tactical. Automatic combat is faster and is calculated by the type and number of units. Tactical combat gives you direct control and is best used when outcomes are questionable. The graphics have a painterly feel and have aged very well. Aow also has a wonderful soundtrack. All these things make it really easy to get sucked into the game for hours. This is where the turn-based gameplay works in it’s favour. It’s easy to stop at any point, but it also has that ‘one more turn’ quality that’s associated with Civilization. I've enjoyed my time in aow and can see it becoming one of my favourites. Verdict: Buy it. Strategic gameplay, beautiful graphics & music, and a low price make this game worth a try.
