Wizardry 8 (Windows)

Wizardry 8, the recently released role-playing game from Canada-based Sir-tech, thrusts players into a fascinating world. This is the final episode in one of the longest running game series ever, and Wizardry fans will not be disappointed, while newcomers should find plenty to love. This game has elements that fondly bring back memories of the RPGs of old, with classic turn-based combat and a first-person mode, but there's certainly nothing old about the graphics or the characters.

The game is set entirely on the planet of Dominus, where the Ascension is to take place. In order to take part in the Ascension, three items are required: the Astral Dominae, the Destiny Dominus and the Chaos Moliri. While this is the grand finale of the Wizardry series, players can hop right into it without any knowledge of the previous titles. In fact, the beginning is a special addition for those who wish to play the game unrelated to the previous ones; the option to import characters from Wizardry 7 allows you to start further along in the game. As the Third Messengers, you put together a party of six created characters and can add two more that you happen upon in various locations throughout the game. Players are charged with the role of finding the three items and defeating the evil Dark Savant, among others, to Ascend at the Cosmic Circle and become like Gods.

Character creation is similar to other role-playing games. First, choose a player class. Classes range from rogue to fighter to mage. There are four spellbooks of Magic, each with a corresponding character type. There is also one, the bishop, which can learn spells from all spellbooks. Choosing a race -- like Gnome or Mook (which vaguely reminds me of a wookie from Star Wars) -- can affect the base statistics of the character, so some races are better suited to certain classes. A Faerie makes a great mage but would not be very suited to Lordship, a combination fighter/priest. A Dracon, half human/half dragon, makes a good fighter but a very poor bishop. Players choose a class, race and gender, and then disperse points into statistics and skills. Magical characters choose a few spells to start out. After repeating this six times, the game is ready to be started.

There are an abundance of quests in addition to the main storyline surrounding the Ascension. Wizardry 8 is non-linear and players can explore and adventure anywhere their hearts' desire. Some locations are particularly tough for lower levels, but if you can handle certain death when venturing there, no other restrictions will stop you. Some quests involve less than honorable actions -- like robbing a bank -- and others involve dilemmas. In one particular quest, a member of the party is suddenly whisked away. There is more than one way to recover the kidnapped party member, from killing the captor to completing a quest for the kidnapper, which involves defeating a monster.

Every non-player character (NPC) has the potential to be killed, but once gone, they are gone forever, so think twice before attacking an NPC. Many have valuable items stored on them, but there is often another method to obtain them. In addition to NPCs, other enemies include monsters, like a variety of stinging wasps or hard-biting crocodiles, to humanoid enemies, like the Rattkin -- which will all attack once their breeders are killed, if that quest is completed -- and a variety of vagrants.

Items can be purchased from various NPCs throughout the game, as well as looted after kills or randomly discovered while exploring Dominus. Some items, like weapons, armor and jewelry, can enhance the protection or statistics of a character. Other items, like healing potions and rejuvenation powders, can be used one time to benefit a character. In the case of rejuvenation powder, if a player character dies during a battle, that powder will bring the character back to life. Other items, such as Faerie Dust, can be used during battle to assist the characters in defeating the enemies.

Combat is turn-based. This can lead to somewhat long battles, if there are many enemies and allies involved, as each receives a turn - and some even receive more than one turn a round. Combat order is determined by initiative, a statistic based upon speed. However, it may not be possible for all party members to make an attack, depending on the formation that has been assigned and the direction the enemy attacks from. There are five positions that each member can be assigned to, but only three members can be in any one formation position at a time. There are two options to combat: continuous and phased. Continuous combat will automatically assign the last combat action in the next round without input from the player, however, spells are not automatically recast. Also, players can change the action in the middle of the round in continuous combat.

Magic in Wizardry 8 is split into four spellbooks: the Alchemists, the Priests, the Mages, and the Psionics. Spells are also divided into six realms of magic: fire, water, air, earth, mental and divine. There are seven levels of spells, which can be learned using books found throughout Dominus or trained using a spell credit that players gain each time they level. This may sound somewhat complicated, but it is in fact very simple. Spells in each spellbook are often similar to each other and some spells are found in all spellbooks. By deciding what spell you would like to learn, like Heal Wounds, and discovering what realm that spell resides (Divine in the Heal Wounds case), the player then applies points to the Divine school to improve that spell's ability.

Each time a quest is completed or enemies are defeated, characters receive experience points that goes toward leveling a character. Leveling is a wonderful event in this game and happens often enough to not feel overburdening.

The interface is somewhat complicated, but this would be expected in a role-playing game with this level of depth. Movement can be made with the keyboard or the mouse and a judicious use of both is necessary to really play well. All player inventory screens can be accessed with a right click of the mouse and items are also appraised by right clicking. The game does include a quick-save and a quick-load feature, almost a necessity in role-playing games where death is permanent. The manual has a great amount of information, with several appendices detailing the classes, races and spells. This game is somewhat complicated to get started in and the manual becomes an invaluable reference tool.

Graphics in Wizardry 8 are beautiful. All creatures are detailed - some more than is really needed to understand how disgusting they are. The landscapes are impressive and each area of the game is unique. The swamp is sufficiently misty and the caves can give a claustrophobic feeling. At times, the rendering can be a bit slow, but that is a rare occurrence.

The sounds are equally engaging. During character creation, players assign voices to each of their characters; these voices speak throughout the game, sometimes offering clues and other times just pleading to be healed. The characters met in the game also have distinctive and entertaining voices. There is background music that changes depending on the location and is non-intrusive. The sound effects are very well done, like the whoosh from a sword that doesn't connect to its intended target.

Conclusion

Wizardry 8 is an extremely entertaining RPG and one I see myself returning to over and over, even after some 60 hours clocked; replayability increases its longevity even further, as the desire to develop new characters and explore parts of the world missed with previous parties is likely to be high for nearly all gamers. Marking a fantastic conclusion to the venerable series, Wizardry 8 is also a wonderful game in its own right and its gripping story will leave newcomers eager to find out more about the previous seven incarnations.

Review By GamesDomain