Difference between revisions of "Castle of the Winds"
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| − | + | [[Image:Castle of the Winds - Question of Vengeance, A - WIN3 - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|The boxed re-release.]] | |
| − | When my parents visited someone's house with me in tow, I remember seeing this game being played by their son. Although I recognized immediately that the game was hugely media challenged (the SNES had already been out for years), I was still intrigued by the simple interface. Years later, I remember seeing icons from the game in a free icon collection, and, later still in the mid-2000s, I remembered the game and found a shareware copy online. I only played a little bit and died early in the game, so I didn't put much effort into it. When I began working on reviews for this Web site, I decided to give the game another try and played it with more | + | '''''Castle of the Winds''''' is a computer role-playing game with a traditional fantasy theme developed by [[SaadaSoft]] and published by [[Epic Games|Epic MegaGames]] for [[Windows 3]] in 1993. The game was released as freeware in 2004. The game uses a traditional dungeon-crawler style, but utilizes the drag-and-drop icon interface of Windows. In the game, you play a character whose home has been destroyed, your foster parents murdered, and, an amulet, which was bequeathed to you from your real father was stolen. You journey into the nearby mine to seek vengeance only to discover that you were supposed to have died as well! |
| + | |||
| + | When my parents visited someone's house with me in tow, I remember seeing this game being played by their son. Although I recognized immediately that the game was hugely media challenged (the SNES had already been out for years), I was still intrigued by the simple interface. Years later, I remember seeing icons from the game in a free icon collection, and, later still in the mid-2000s, I remembered the game and found a shareware copy online. I only played a little bit and died early in the game, so I didn't put much effort into it. When I began working on reviews for this Web site, I decided to give the game another try and played it with more dedication. | ||
==Status== | ==Status== | ||
| − | The game has been released as freeware. I have | + | The game has been released as freeware. I have beaten the first episode on easy difficulty. |
==Review== | ==Review== | ||
| + | * '''Overall:''' 5/10 | ||
| + | * '''Best Version:''' Windows 3 | ||
| + | |||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
| − | * | + | * The game is well-scripted; it uses complex and poetic language. |
* I like that the game lets you play male or female. | * I like that the game lets you play male or female. | ||
* It's kind of cool that the game lets you rename all of your items. | * It's kind of cool that the game lets you rename all of your items. | ||
| + | * The variety of monsters, items, traps, spells, etc. keeps the game fresh for quite awhile. | ||
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
| Line 23: | Line 29: | ||
* Undead enemies cause stat loss, which you are forced to have to buy back, unless you enjoy making the game much harder for yourself. | * Undead enemies cause stat loss, which you are forced to have to buy back, unless you enjoy making the game much harder for yourself. | ||
* The graphics are terrible. I understand that Windows 3 had a limited color palette, and the game only uses 32x32 icons for everything, but a skilled artist would have made the game much more interesting to look at. There isn't any animation either. | * The graphics are terrible. I understand that Windows 3 had a limited color palette, and the game only uses 32x32 icons for everything, but a skilled artist would have made the game much more interesting to look at. There isn't any animation either. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Media== | ||
| + | ===Boxes=== | ||
| + | The game was originally published by Epic Mega Games without a box, but, when it re-released a year later by [[Monkey Business]], boxes were made for the two episodes, both were terrible looking. | ||
| + | |||
| + | <gallery> | ||
| + | Castle of the Winds - Question of Vengeance, A - WIN3 - USA.jpg|The Monkey Business box. It's pretty awful. The game is not set in the time of the dinosaurs, and the game doesn't feature pterodactyls. | ||
| + | Castle of the Winds 2 - Lifthransir's Bane - WIN3 - USA.jpg|The box for the second episode is a little better, but still ugly and generic. | ||
| + | </gallery> | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
Revision as of 12:22, 28 February 2019
Castle of the Winds is a computer role-playing game with a traditional fantasy theme developed by SaadaSoft and published by Epic MegaGames for Windows 3 in 1993. The game was released as freeware in 2004. The game uses a traditional dungeon-crawler style, but utilizes the drag-and-drop icon interface of Windows. In the game, you play a character whose home has been destroyed, your foster parents murdered, and, an amulet, which was bequeathed to you from your real father was stolen. You journey into the nearby mine to seek vengeance only to discover that you were supposed to have died as well!
When my parents visited someone's house with me in tow, I remember seeing this game being played by their son. Although I recognized immediately that the game was hugely media challenged (the SNES had already been out for years), I was still intrigued by the simple interface. Years later, I remember seeing icons from the game in a free icon collection, and, later still in the mid-2000s, I remembered the game and found a shareware copy online. I only played a little bit and died early in the game, so I didn't put much effort into it. When I began working on reviews for this Web site, I decided to give the game another try and played it with more dedication.
Status
The game has been released as freeware. I have beaten the first episode on easy difficulty.
Review
- Overall: 5/10
- Best Version: Windows 3
Good
- The game is well-scripted; it uses complex and poetic language.
- I like that the game lets you play male or female.
- It's kind of cool that the game lets you rename all of your items.
- The variety of monsters, items, traps, spells, etc. keeps the game fresh for quite awhile.
Bad
- Having to use the keypad for movement is uncomfortable, and using diagonal movement on a square grid is always problematic. The designer should have either eliminated diagonal movement or switched to a hex grid.
- The stores rarely stock items worth buying. You usually find your best gear in the dungeon, leaving you with nothing to spend your growing wealth on.
- The game features pointless and cursed items that require you to waste either money or mana on identification or remove curse spells. This isn't fun, it just slows down the game.
- The game completely lacks sound and music. One of the benefits of Windows was the compatibility of audio devices, which should have lead to more music and sound, and sound cards had been out for years at this time. It just wasn't acceptable.
- The way to end the first game is not made clear, and requires a bit of experimentation.
- The map generator very frequently places secret doors right next to regular doors.
Ugly
- Undead enemies cause stat loss, which you are forced to have to buy back, unless you enjoy making the game much harder for yourself.
- The graphics are terrible. I understand that Windows 3 had a limited color palette, and the game only uses 32x32 icons for everything, but a skilled artist would have made the game much more interesting to look at. There isn't any animation either.
Media
Boxes
The game was originally published by Epic Mega Games without a box, but, when it re-released a year later by Monkey Business, boxes were made for the two episodes, both were terrible looking.
The Monkey Business box. It's pretty awful. The game is not set in the time of the dinosaurs, and the game doesn't feature pterodactyls.
The box for the second episode is a little better, but still ugly and generic.
Links
- strategywiki.org/wiki/Castle_of_the_Winds - StrategyWiki.
