November 1999 Volume 80 Number 11 "serving the protectors"
By Mike Horsfall

DARKSTONE

Darkstone is a medieval-based, action role-playing game that comes highly recommended. The engagements take place in a world known as Uma, which only exists because Life created it - and all the living things within the world. But Life can only exist if there is Death, and the time has come when the balance of power between the two has swung towards the terror that is Death.

There are eight characters to play - a male or female version of a warrior, wizard, thief or priest. Each character has its own strengths and weaknesses. Players will need to gain battle experience to develop the necessary levels of Dexterity, Strength, Magic and Vitality. Points are also recorded to denote Life (health), Mana (used to operate magic) and food levels. Keep a good balance of all these attributes during play - if not, players will find themselves killed.

Should challengers decide to leave the security of their town they should be prepared to encounter many evil creatures. The land outside the town can be viewed as a map, and there are several pathways which lead to more full-size maps. Within the perimeters of these maps are entrances to levels where rooms must be cleared of pots, vases, barrels, treasure chests and enemies. Players must then conquer several bosses or gods who will drop crystals that will prove very useful in the long run to defeat the master Draak.

With few competitors, Darkstone is an excellent game for its genre. Criticism could be directed at the lack of a first-person view and the limited resolution - 640 x 480. The MA restriction may be a little overstated. Parents should try the game first.

To take on this medieval world of battle you’ll need a Pentium 233MMX or equivalent, 32 MB of RAM and a Direct 3D compatible or a 4 MB 3D accelerated video card. It is recommended that players read the book and try out all the weapons in the combat arena before taking on anything beyond the town limits.

An upgrade patch is now available that provides some fixes and changes to the release version of Darkstone. The 1.1-MB patch can be found at www.3dfiles.com and will provide a number of on-line and chat features. A new game level and gameplay enhancements will also be provided.

For the opportunity to win a copy of this new game, put your details on the back of a used envelope (but not your postcode) and address it to Mike Horsfall, Sturt Police Station (12) Darkstone.

CORSAIRS

For Corsairswe get out of the cockpit and onto the gangplanks. Recently released on PC CD-ROM, Corsairs is first and foremost a real-time strategy, battle-at-sea game, with significant pirate trimmings. For the first time ever in such a game genre, you can command an entire armada and manage yourself boarding enemy ships in real time by controlling each of your men. Hoist up your flag and sail the seas of the south with this fun maritime adventure.

The basis of the game is fairly simple, with many on-screen help messages which assist even the most inexperienced PC user. To provide further support, an in-game interface includes:

• A small map overview.
• An indication of the ship health, efficiency or speed.
• The number of men aboard.
• The amount of cannons and cannonballs in reserve.

The other sections include a buy-or-sell button that triggers the ability to trade products such as recruitment of men, treasure, coffee, linen, jewels and everything else a pirate would need. With this you can order the construction of new ships, or upgrading of your existing ships, ports, lighthouses and other parts of your cities.

To play Corsairs well, it is highly recommended that you obtain the four certificates. These are awarded as soon as the tutorial missions are completed. This mode teaches how to travel, attack, defend and trade within the game. The other mode is named according to what it is - adventure. Players improve their reputation or threat towards other seagoers as objectives are completed.

Corsairs is a good-fun game, and while particularly suited to the younger ones it will please the whole family. System requirements are very reasonable - a multimedia Pentium 133 is required with a Windows 95/98 operating system.

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