Posted September 27, 2008
Then Stonekeep is the game for you!
A first person western RPG in a very similar style to Eye of the Beholder II, Stonekeep has you taking the role of Drake, a young man returning to his destroyed home after a 10-year exile. As Drake you must travel deep underground to retrieve the essences of 12 Gods to defeat the Dark Lord; Khuul-Kuum.
Stonekeep plays in 1st person, in real time. However, unlike Doom and it's ilk, you move a set distance (a single map square) every time you push 'forward'. Due to this, the game has a slow pace, and maneuvering in combat can be tricky if you don't want to be hit. The screen 'spins' when you turn, so an enemy or chest in front of you will *always* be in front of you if you occupy the same map 'square'. This can be frustrating when trying to escape a bad situation! It does make some combats quite tense and exciting, though.
Like most RPG's there is a wide variety of weapons and armour to experiment with, from staves to swords to arcane wands. Also, you can throw many items, rocks, daggers, axes, even molotov cocktails. Interestingly, you don't 'level up' in Stonekeep. Instead, your skills with various weapons increase depending on how often you use them. With your main 3 attributes 'Strength, Agility and Health' increasing depending on how often you get hit, how much you move about, etc. I found this a simple and intuitive way of 'levelling'. This means you don't have to waste any brain cells thinking about your character build.
Combat is simply point at bad guy and click to swing. (Right click for right hand, left click for left hand) Weapons take time before you can swing 'em again, and baddies do have vulnerable spots. Combat is pretty fun, to be honest. Simple and fun.
Due to a Mystic Scroll which changes items into simple pictures you can carry an infinite amount of items in Stonekeep. Inventory management is a list, with each item being represented by it's picture. I would have preferred being able to 'group' items based on type (Weapons go here, etc.) but that's because I'm an OCD nut. You can use page up, down and the home end buttons to quickly traverse your inventory. You will be pressing those a lot, by the way. Being able to carry many items means you will have a BIG inventory in no time.
Luckily, the game pauses for you when you bring up your inventory screen, so you can take time to scan which particular item to use during combat. Watch out, because your enemies will be throwing stuff and using healing potions, too!
The game does provide some inventory management items, such as a key ring so all your keys can 'become' one item, an a quiver for arrows, a bag for throwing stones, etc. So your inventory shouldn't give you much of a headache.
One thing I really liked was the interactive journal. I catalogues Drake's stats and items, as well as maps. You can edit most entries, (For example, when you figure out that the green potion gives you a strength bonus, you can change it's item description to reflect that.) which is nice.
Like Eye of the Beholder II you are given very little story at first (unless you read the background novella which shipped with the original boxed game) but your story builds as you discover scrolls and notes and interact with NPC's. Is the story any good? Well... I never did finish the game, but it seemed OK. A few different factions inhabit the ruins of Stonekeep. It is fairly standard High-Fantasy fare, though.
Like Baldur's Gate you can have a variety of NPC's join your party to fight by your side. These NPC's are encountered at various points in the dungeon. You get to micro-manage their carried items, too. These NPC's have their own personalities and will talk to Drake often. Some NPC's won't adventure with others, so be careful! (The Elf and Dwarf character won't travel together, for example)
The graphics were great for their time. Real actors rotoscoped for the most part. The voice acting is very cheesy, but to be honest, not *too* bad as to be a distraction.
The levels can look very 'samey', after a time. You'll be referring to your map to get your bearings often!
Ok, I have rambled on FAR too long, but if you were a fan of the Eye of the Beholder game series or even the Lands of Lore series, I'd say give this a go. You'll have a blast!
A first person western RPG in a very similar style to Eye of the Beholder II, Stonekeep has you taking the role of Drake, a young man returning to his destroyed home after a 10-year exile. As Drake you must travel deep underground to retrieve the essences of 12 Gods to defeat the Dark Lord; Khuul-Kuum.
Stonekeep plays in 1st person, in real time. However, unlike Doom and it's ilk, you move a set distance (a single map square) every time you push 'forward'. Due to this, the game has a slow pace, and maneuvering in combat can be tricky if you don't want to be hit. The screen 'spins' when you turn, so an enemy or chest in front of you will *always* be in front of you if you occupy the same map 'square'. This can be frustrating when trying to escape a bad situation! It does make some combats quite tense and exciting, though.
Like most RPG's there is a wide variety of weapons and armour to experiment with, from staves to swords to arcane wands. Also, you can throw many items, rocks, daggers, axes, even molotov cocktails. Interestingly, you don't 'level up' in Stonekeep. Instead, your skills with various weapons increase depending on how often you use them. With your main 3 attributes 'Strength, Agility and Health' increasing depending on how often you get hit, how much you move about, etc. I found this a simple and intuitive way of 'levelling'. This means you don't have to waste any brain cells thinking about your character build.
Combat is simply point at bad guy and click to swing. (Right click for right hand, left click for left hand) Weapons take time before you can swing 'em again, and baddies do have vulnerable spots. Combat is pretty fun, to be honest. Simple and fun.
Due to a Mystic Scroll which changes items into simple pictures you can carry an infinite amount of items in Stonekeep. Inventory management is a list, with each item being represented by it's picture. I would have preferred being able to 'group' items based on type (Weapons go here, etc.) but that's because I'm an OCD nut. You can use page up, down and the home end buttons to quickly traverse your inventory. You will be pressing those a lot, by the way. Being able to carry many items means you will have a BIG inventory in no time.
Luckily, the game pauses for you when you bring up your inventory screen, so you can take time to scan which particular item to use during combat. Watch out, because your enemies will be throwing stuff and using healing potions, too!
The game does provide some inventory management items, such as a key ring so all your keys can 'become' one item, an a quiver for arrows, a bag for throwing stones, etc. So your inventory shouldn't give you much of a headache.
One thing I really liked was the interactive journal. I catalogues Drake's stats and items, as well as maps. You can edit most entries, (For example, when you figure out that the green potion gives you a strength bonus, you can change it's item description to reflect that.) which is nice.
Like Eye of the Beholder II you are given very little story at first (unless you read the background novella which shipped with the original boxed game) but your story builds as you discover scrolls and notes and interact with NPC's. Is the story any good? Well... I never did finish the game, but it seemed OK. A few different factions inhabit the ruins of Stonekeep. It is fairly standard High-Fantasy fare, though.
Like Baldur's Gate you can have a variety of NPC's join your party to fight by your side. These NPC's are encountered at various points in the dungeon. You get to micro-manage their carried items, too. These NPC's have their own personalities and will talk to Drake often. Some NPC's won't adventure with others, so be careful! (The Elf and Dwarf character won't travel together, for example)
The graphics were great for their time. Real actors rotoscoped for the most part. The voice acting is very cheesy, but to be honest, not *too* bad as to be a distraction.
The levels can look very 'samey', after a time. You'll be referring to your map to get your bearings often!
Ok, I have rambled on FAR too long, but if you were a fan of the Eye of the Beholder game series or even the Lands of Lore series, I'd say give this a go. You'll have a blast!