Sir-Tech, 1988
MS-DOS, Apple II, C64, NES 和 SNES
Sir-Tech, 1988
MS-DOS, Apple II, C64, NES and SNES
大约在《巫术 1》发布的同时,一个热情的程序员:大卫・布拉德利(David W. Bradley)也开始制作一款野心勃勃的作品《龙之息(Dragon's Breath)》1984 年,他寄出游戏交给 SirTech 公司,后者同意将其发布,但有一个条件:使其重做为《巫术》的第五部作品。
但是,《巫术 IV》陷入了研发困境,直到 1987 年底才完成,迫使布拉德利的游戏推迟了数年。
这个曲折的故事解释了为什么《漩涡之心(Heart of the Maelstrom)》与初版《巫术》如此相似,尽管后者在七年后才发布。
还好,所有这些时间并没有被浪费。《旋涡之心》是一个迭代的游戏,它精心改善了以前游戏最缺乏的方面。比如盗贼,以前是一个很没用的职业,现在他可以撬开锁着的门,寻找秘密,可以潜入战斗发动突然袭击,还可以从后排用弓打仗。
其他增加的武器包括射程更广的军械,游泳能力以及在地牢里增加了一些友善的 NPC。还有新的法术,包括生物召唤,魔法屏障等,所有这些元素都拓展出更多了新的战术方法。
虽然这些改进使游戏变得更好,但在《巫师 V》中最突出的是布拉德利的剧本和游戏设计。幽默在游戏中无处不在,使得每一次对话或物品的描述感觉像是对玩家的奖励。游戏允许玩家与 NPC 互动,如恼人的金罐、可怜的疯狂踩踏者、火花鸭或醉酒的巫师,其中许多角色可以被贿赂、扒窃甚至攻击。
地牢迷宫也极具个性。布拉德利几句话就把铁丝网墙变成了小偷的巢穴、阴暗的酒馆甚至迪斯科舞厅。
Around the time the first Wizardry game was released, an enthusiastic programmer known as David W. Bradley started working on an ambitious RPG called Dragon's Breath. In 1984 he sent the game to Sir-Tech, which agreed to publish it on one condition: to remake it as the fifth Wizardry.
Wizardry IV, however, got stuck in development hell and would only be completed at the end of 1987, forcing Bradley's game to be postponed for years.
This tortuous story explains why Heart of the Maelstrom is so similar to the original Wizardry on the surface, despite being released seven years later.
Yet all that time wasn't wasted idling. Maelstrom is an iterative title that meticulously improves the most lacking aspects of previous games. The Thief, for instance, used to be a pretty useless class; now he's required to pick locked doors and search for secrets, can sneak around in combat to launch surprise attacks and is able to use a bow to fight from the back row.
Other additions include polearms with extended range, the ability to swim and friendly NPCs that roam the dungeons. There are also new spells, including creature summoning, magical barriers and monster charming, all which add new tactical elements.
While these gameplay improvements make the game much better, what stands out in Wizardry V is D.W. Bradley's writing and design. Humour is ever present, making each dialogue or description feel like a reward to the player. The game allows players to interact with memorable NPCs like the annoying Pot of Gold, the pitiful Mad Stomper, the Duck of Sparks or the drunk sorcerer, and many of these characters can be bribed, pickpocketed or even attacked.
The dungeon also gained personality. With few sentences, Bradley turns wire-frame walls into dens of thieves, shady taverns or even disco ball rooms.
地牢的形状也进化了。在以前的游戏中,地图仅限于 20x20 的网格网,但是现在,巨大的关卡以无法预测的形状延伸,从而挑战了每个玩家的地图制作能力。
对我来说,《漩涡之心》是最后一部还带有《巫术》初心的游戏。后面的续作变得越来越先进,从客观上说是“更好”的 RPG,但我始终觉得该系列的“成长”丢失了一些游戏的趣味。
Their very shape comes into play; in previous games they were limited to a 20x20 grid, but now huge levels stretch in unpredictable shapes, challenging the map-making skills of any player.
Heart of the Maelstrom is, for me, the last Wizardry game with a child's heart. The following titles grew increasingly more advanced and became objectively “better” RPGs, yet I always felt something intangible was left behind with the series' “come of age”.