GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/28/1998
- Updated on: 05/05/2000
- Released on: 11/30/1998
- Originally published on GameSpot: Quest For Glory V: Dragon Fire (PC) Review
I have been a Quest for Glory fan since I played the first Hero's Quest over seven years ago. Although I have always loved role-playing games, I never really played too many adventure games. But Hero's Quest blended the two genres together into a greater whole that I found instantly appealing. The series, which later became Quest for Glory, combined the dialogue, item hunts, and other classic story-driven goals of adventure games with the combat, magic, and character interaction of RPGs. Each time I sat down to play a Quest for Glory game, I walked away completely satisfied upon finishing the game. I played the first, second, and third games but never got around to playing Quest IV. That was supposed to be the last Quest for Glory game, but thanks to a plethora of fan mail, Sierra was persuaded to create a final chapter in the Quest for Glory saga. The Coles, the creators of the previous games, returned to scribe an ending to our Hero's tales, and I was ready to retire one of my favorite game characters in his ultimate adventure.
As excited as I was about putting on the shoes of Hero again, I forgave the admittedly lackluster graphics. After all, role-playing games and adventures are about story, and Quest for Glory especially is about plot, characters, and humor. Quest for Glory V has all that. In fact, after looking at my first item and talking to my first NPC, it was as if I had never left the series. The humor and style of the previous Quest games is wholly intact in this final chapter. Quest for Glory has always had a juvenile sense of humor, with corny jokes and heavy sexual innuendo. So of course, you can flirt with all the women in the game, and you can give and receive a number of groaners. Of course, this is something that Quest for Glory fans have come to expect from the series, so rather than be put off by the game's quirky sense of humor, I was heartened. This was the game I remembered. However, if I weren't a fan of the series, I don't know if I would appreciate the game's humor.
The basic plot requires you to answer a summons for help from the kingdom of Silmaria, nestled in the island area of Marete. Ages ago, Atlantis resided around these waters, but the Dragon of Doom crippled it, sending it to the ocean floor. A handful of mages bound the dragon to the earth with the aid of seven pillars. Now, Silmaria is suffering a chain of events that will not only destroy the kingdom, but also unleash the dragon to finish the obliteration of Atlantis. As Hero, you come to Silmaria - via the magic of your mage mentor Erasmus - to right all the wrongs perpetrated on Silmaria. Your adventures manifest themselves in the form of the Rites of Rulership. The king of Silmaria has been assassinated, and the Rites have been convened to select a new ruler. Erasmus and your liontaur companion, Rakeesh, have entered you into the contest so you can travel Marete and find the real killer. If you win the Rites and become King in the process... well, that's an added bonus.
There are seven Rites, and as you finish each one, more of the game's plot is revealed. You soon find that the assassinations, the raids on Silmaria's fishing villages, the kingdom's war with the tritons of Atlantis, and many other problems are all related. Eventually, you'll meet the mastermind behind all this evil and even confront the Dragon itself.
Continue reading
%20PC%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-games/quest-for-glory-v/4505-9696_7-30975308.html){kind=small}