Stonekeep

I first encountered this game during my college days, and have been looking for it ever since until I found it here at GOG. Innovative, fun, and downright suspenseful are terms that barely scratch the surface of this in-depth game. Exploring the depths of Stonekeep is one thing; exploring the depths of Stonekeep by the light of the monitor is another experience altogether! I won't go spoiling this game for those of you whom have yet to experience this fantastic RPG for yourselves, but I will say this: EXPLORE EVERYTHING. You'll find there are more traps, more secrets, and more surprises hidden away - sometimes in plain sight - than what meets the eye. Also be sure to ramp up your combat abilities in all three aspects: melee, missile, and magic. You'll need these skills, your wits, and your companions in tip-top shape if you're going to face the armies of the Shadow King and ultimately survive!!!

Cool stuff about the game: FMV, voice acting, lifelike muppets, pretty good music. Bad stuff about the game: Few tilesets, no cool environments. Little enemy variety - mostly "goblins" or "other goblins" Bad combat - difficulty fluctuates between trivial and "nearly impossible slugfest unless you cheese with ranged attacks", lots of enemies hang out UNDER your camera and can only be attacked on tile transition or by your allies Bad character progression - equipment upgrades few and far between, almost all level-ups gained in the first couple floors. No "puzzles" to speak of beyond lawmowering every map and using items on yourself and trying to discern an effect. Lots of arbitrary illusory walls to walk through, some necessary. Tons and tons and tons of pointless items and a VERY slow inventory scroll. Allies constantly take their equipment and leave without warning. Game in general feels very incomplete in parts. Huge chunk of dungeon towards the end of the game has no enemies or dangerous traps at all, just ~2 hours of completely zero threat wandering. Some redeeming value but I will never play this again in my life.

This is the game that got me into the RPG genre. I have tried for so long to get it to run, and the fact that now all I need to do is install and then run it. Perfect so far and it reminds me why I loved this game so much.

This was one of the first games I tried to play by hooking up my PC to my TV. My friends and I stayed up all night crawling through its dungeons. This game gets bashed a bit in reviews, but I love it and it brings back great memories. Good story, good sound and music, poor inventory system. Worth a play in my book.

Maybe its the nostalgia, having originally played this game when I was 7 or 8, but I pushed all recent titles aside to play through this game. Seems today it can still grab me as easily as it did back then. Something about the sense of isolation in this game keeps you wanting to discover more and more. This game is quite and adventure, and runs great on vista 64 bit, albiet the occasional sound spasm. If you can get past the graphics and accept this game for what it is, you will have a great time.