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Wizard's Crown (Map-Maze Adventure)
Compatibility: 48K Apple II, II+, IIe, IIgs, III
Requirements: One disk drive; second drive, SpeeDemon recommended
For centuries the Fellowship of Wizards ruled glorious Arghan wisely and well, an achievement due in no small way to an artifact known as "The Crown of the Emperor". Great power is conferred with the crown's wearing; so this privilege was regularly rotated among the Fellowship-- that is, until one wearer decided that he would just as soon keep it for himself! Thus did Tarmon, Wizard of Thunder, provoke a war of magic, monsters, and steel from which Arghan has yet to recover.
In this SSI fantasy your party of up to eight worthies sets out to recover the crown, still worn by Tarmon, who has modestly renamed it the "Wizard's Crown". Your base of operations is an inn located within the walled core of the once great city state. Here you find buyers and sellers of weapons, armor, and magical services along with training grounds, shrines for healing, and taverns to boost morale-- in short, everything needed to launch a first class quest.
Tarmon, meanwhile, is securely enscounced in his castle deep within the vast, monster-infested Ruins to the south. Though you must ultimately face down the evil wizard on his home turf, most of the game is concerned with improving your characters, obtaining better equipment, gathering information, and locating certain key artifacts.
Wizard's Crown involves a good deal of moving about, usually as a single warrior figure on the large, scrolling Ultima-type map. Exceptions are during combat and exploration of a few important sites, when party members and any adversaries show up as individuals. At such times you can direct each character's movement and actions via single-key commands. If outdoors, walls, trees, ponds and other terrain features may appear; while, in a room, objects like tables, chests, and bookcases will be shown.
You can almost always execute a search, and may, to a limited extent, manipulate and sometimes take items. For many players the major benefit of such detail will be the unusually involved combats, with your stalwarts maneuvering around obstacles, isolating groups of monsters, and smashing the enemy with tactical brilliancies. (Though you may opt for rapid, no-tactics "computer resolution".)
Detail also adds a depth and richness more typical of picture-text adventures. This is nowhere more evident than in the game's finale. Tarmon's castle is a sprawling, multi-level affair repleat with hidden passages, traps, puzzles, real dungeons, and a wicked little maze that will drive you right up the wall unless you can find the map. Virtually a second adventure, the 'castle quest' is more involved than some complete games.
Offering clear, attractive graphics, adequate save/restore, and decent speed, Wizard's Crown reminds me of my current Nth-modification version of Instant Software's venerable "Santa Paravia"-- i.e., the game is an incredible kluge which just happens to be fun to play.
Extensive character development incorporates the usual "fighter", "sorcerer", etc. professions, attributes, and some thirty "skills"; yet an elaborate system for weapons grading and improvement makes 'what you've got' fully as crucial as 'who you are'. While there are all sorts of spells, magic is not very important; and one profession, "ranger", confers skills which are never practiced. Top all this off with rambling, poorly organized documentation-- but add a touch of humor-- and, shazam!, you have a long-playing, thoroughly enjoyable adventure.
Available from Strategic Simulations: 1046 N. Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043-1716. (415) 964-1353. $39.95
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