uestBusters TM The Adventurer's Journal June, 1987 VolIV,#6 Phantasie III: Wrath of Nikademus by Charles Don Hall several major changes have been made in normally, but broken and removed ones the new version. The most important cause various problems. A dwarf with a This is the climactic game in Winston one is the new combat system. Damage removed head, for example, is more or Douglas Wood's Phantasie trilogy. As is now done to specific areas of the body. less dead, and an elf with a broken right the series opened, the evil wizard Each character has six body parts (head, arm is unable to fight or cast spells. Nikademus launched a campaign to take torso, arms and legs) and a total number This will prove upsetting to people who over the world. Already he had conquered of hit points. Any body part can be OK, have seen "Monty Python and the Holy the islands of Gelnor and Ferronrah, and injured, broken, or gone; a stick-figure Grail" and think they should be able to had made much progress on the continent character showing the status of each body fight with all their arms and legs of Scandor. In Phantasie I you part for all characters is always onscreen. removed. ("Come back, coward! I'll bite controlled a party of six adventurers who When a character is hit, he loses hit your kneecaps off!'') freed Gelnor from Nikademus' evil points; there's also a chance that part of Monsters are also susceptible to body lieutenant, the nameless Dark Lord. In his body will be damaged. The part damage, though their anatomies Phantasie II these adventurers lifted the probability seems to depend on how sometimes differ. Snakes, for example, terrible curse on Ferronrah by destroying many hit points the character lost, don't have arms or legs. The other major the magic crystal that maintained the compared to how many remain. addition to combat are bows, which allow spell. Injured body parts can be used Continued on page seven In Phantasie III they must track down and destroy Nikademus himself, a quest that will take them through the continent thing and typing your sentence into a of Scandor, the Planes of Light and Dark, special window that materializes after you and the Third Level of the Netherworld. Shadowgate click on the "speak" command. Characters from either of the first two ICOM Simulations' latest icon-based Like Dej<I Vu and Uninvited, games may be transferred over, but they adventure for the Mac commences outside Shadowgate's main window is a will lose most of their gold and the crumbling ruins of a once grand showcase tor a dazzling display of experience. If you don't have any you fortress-Shadowgate, lair of the dreaded computer art. These scenes are can simply create a new party. Warlock God. As the Druid wizard occasionally embellished with spot Lakmir explained prior to your arrival, animation, such as a rat scurrying across Filmon Fills You In you are the only one who can prevent the the stone floor. Other windows show The game opens near the headquarters Warlock God from summoning the inventory, commands and known exits. of Filmon the Sage, whose help proved Behemoth, a monstrous Titan bound on Windows may be moved around and so invaluable in the first two games. destroying the land. That could severely resized, which is especially handy for the He'll send you on the first of a series of damage your real estate holdings in this inventory window. You can double-click quests ... after completing each one you fantasy world, so naturally you mouse on things to examine them, or on a door return to him for further instructions. over, double-click on the door and enter. to open or enter it. The program spans a Your quests will take you to such diverse pair of 400K disks; disk two can be places as the Castle of Light, the dwarven Light My Fire copied to a hard disk for speedier access. burial grounds and a battlefield The interface introduced in Deja Vu surrounding the tent of the legendary Lord and improved in Uninvited is again Slimed ARain! Wood. Along the way you'll have a few harnessed effectively and dramatically. This fortress of fear is lined with run-ins with Nikademus, who threatens a An icon depicting a torch blazes in your boobytraps, secret passages and trap terrible fate to anyone refusing to join inventory window. Unless you doors. I quickly developed a bad habit of him in the service of Evil. constantly replenish your supply of double-clicking on the trapdoors to The dungeons are done in the usual torches you'll soon be dancing in the dark Phantasie style: When you enter one, with an anti-social dragon. But instead of Continued on page eleven you are looking at an aerial view of a typing "get torch" when you spy one on large white space. As you walk through the wall, you drag its icon into the the dungeon, the doors and corridors are inventory window. (Now that's1 object >Inventory drawn on the white space as they become manipulation.) Examine, open, operate Accolade Comics ....... 3 visible, until finally you have a blueprint and five other commands can be executed of the whole area. If you've avoided on a specific item by clicking on your Lord British On fantasy role-playing games because you choice in the command window and then Ultima V .............. 4 hate to map, then the Phantasie series is on the object Walkthrus:Space Quest & definitely worth looking into. You can also operate an object on Hollywood HiJinx ...... 6 another, lighting one torch to with Waiting for Duffy & A New System another, for example. Speech, though The first two games in the series used playing an understated role here, is Keys to the Kingdoms.lo almost the same playing system, but conducted by clicking on a person or Swap Shop ............ 11 Continued on page eleven Letters to the Editor line, including adventures such as Dear QuestBusters: AD&D On Computer Alternate Reality (The Dungeon was still Just wondering-it's May 7 and I didn't SS! has signed a letter of intent to unreleased in late May) and Mercenary. get the May issue yet. But I got the publish computer versions of TSR's April issue on March 31. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. They're Michael Pearson planning "at least ten different role­ Ultima Goes on Paper Your letter was postmarked May 7, the playing and several action games" for and On-line day the May issue started going out. Commodore, Apple, IBM, ST and Sometimes we get an issue out the last Amiga. The licensing agreement will Richard Garriott revealed that the gaming week of the preceeding month, sometimes span five years, and the first games are system developed for Ultima V will be it goes out the first week of the month, expected early next year. marketed on paper so it can be played and occasionally takes an extra week. If like D & D and other traditional RPGs. your QB doesn't show up by the 20th, New Titles Origin is also working on a program that though, it was probably gobbled by a enables one computer to serve as host for Postal sorting machine-in that case, Electronic Arts' Legacy of the Ancients live, on-line Ultima games. Graphics write and we'll send another copy. just arrived and looks like the C-64 game will be stored on each player's disk, so for the summer. It's by Chuck and John only raw information goes over the phone Dear QuestBusters: Dougherty, best known for Questron, and lines, to speed up the game. Garriott also Where can I find the Book of Adventures has several action games built into the said he's working on a new gaming clue books you used to sell? role-playing system. The Golden Pa!h system-but Ultima will continue, so Larry McClain from Firebird was announced but still don't panic. hasn't shown up. Neither has their Guild We've had them back-ordered for months, of Thieves, by the creators of The Pawn. and the phone at Continental Software Wastelands may not materialize until Not Sold in Stores (who bought them from HABA-A"ays) November or even March of next year. A number of Infocom titles were recently was disconnected, as was their 800 Infocom's latest entries, Station/all and "delisted," which means they're available number. If we can find the books, you'll Lurldng Horror, arrived in new packaging only by ordering from lnfocom's 800 see them listed on the back page again. that does not open up like a book. The number (262-6868) or the Status Line. But do not even consider panicldng,for pre-release version of Origin System's The Witness, Starcross, Suspended, Origin Systems will soon be publishing RAGER, an all-text adventure by Muffy Deadline, Infidel and Seastalker were the first QuestBusters clue book, with aml- Miehael- BeFlyn,-looks pretty sharp. -also reducech:o $14.95. A Mind Forever- coaed sorutrons ana maps/Or moslof the Unusual story and excellent interface. Voyaging, 'Zork II and III, Cutthroats, games from 1986 and the first half of this Sorcerer and Spellbreaker were delisted year. (Which subscribers will be able to Conversions with no price cuts. You can get get at a special discount.) Planetfall for $14.95 with a coupon The Amiga Roadwar 2000 should be out included in Station/all, and Lurldng Dear QuestBusters: by late June, and Phantasie is supposed Ho"or has a similar coupon for Suspect.