World of Aden: Thunderscape

Well, it's true. Thunderscape isn't a great game. It's pretty average, actually. But there are some things that set it apart from other titles of that era. First of all there is the 3D perspective. I'm not a fan of 3D at all and it doesn't help that it is one of the first 3D rpgs and yes, it looks like crap. But much of the rest is carried out quite good. The character system is quite detailed for the time, the 2D graphics are not bad, the battle system is turn based and for me, that's allways a plus, the voice acting is mostly well done - something you didn't heat that often back then - the world blends fantasy and steam punk together. It's actually the first steam punk rpg I remember. But for me, the most important thing is this: it had Ferrans. Yes, those furry humanoids with animal heads. It doesn't do much for the gameplay though but it was awesome non the less. As a kid I liked the game just for the Ferrans and I still do. So if you ever wanted to create a party containing a cheeta girl, a rhino warrior, a raven ranger, a wolf wizard oder some kind of frog thing, this is your chance.

Substract Stars: - 1 when you don't like old hardcore Dungeon Crawlers - 1 when you don't are a collector - 1 when you need acceptable graphics and sound - 1 when you not have much time - 1 when it's not on sale

Game in between classics as was Dungeon Master and modern RPGs. You would manage group of up to six characters and these characters are really different. Character development is combination of distributing points when leveling and improving skills by doing. Specialization pays off, as you will encounter different enemies you will need highly specialized characters. 3D dungeons are somewhat in between TES Arena and Daggerfall.

You make a party and explore large open dungeons which are traversed one after another. Backtracking is possible but not really useful. Progress through the levels is made by solving puzzles or finding well hidden keys and switches. There's a ton of secrets to find in the levels too. And of course fight monsters in turn-based combat. Rather rare for the time you can play this on a relaxed difficulty. There's only a barebone story (activate a shield by pushing two buttons and stop the invasion) and some lore written down in scrolls. Back then this was an enjoyable game though all things taken into account. However the journey is the goal here (looting and leveling) not the story or the ending.