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- REVIEW
- WRATH OF THE GODS from LUMINARIA
- FORMAT: PC/CD-ROM
- DATE: APRIL 1994
- PRICE: US $49.95
-
- As Greece is usually called The Land of the Gods, it is not much of a
- surprise that Luminaria's "Wrath of the Gods" is an adventure game based on
- the ancient greek myths.
-
- "Wrath" is the first game ever developed by Luminaria, a small company
- located in the San Francisco area. With the success of this title, we
- have no doubt that Luminaria has a great future in front of them.
-
- As explained above, "Wrath" is an adventure game with commands that are
- common to the other games in this category. Therefore, you can talk to the
- people and creatures that you encounter, walk through the landscapes, look
- at items or your inventory, and pick up objects or use them. What is
- unusual in this game is that the hints for different circumstances are given
- by an Oracle. Depending on how often the Oracle is consulted, the hint could
- be free or cost the player points. At the start of the game the player is
- given a score of 100 points which should be enough to allow the use of the
- Oracle.
-
- In "Wrath of the Gods", it is quite difficult to die unlike many other games.
- Each time you get killed, you are sent to another realm like Olympus (the
- land of the Gods) or Hades (kingdom of the dead) and can continue your
- quest.
-
- Another uncommon thing is the map. Adventure games usually do not feature
- a map and sometimes it is necessary to draw one on paper to be able to
- finish the game. In other games, however, a map unveils along the way when
- new locations are discovered by the player. Fortunately, this game provides
- a complete map and allows the player to see how locations are connected to
- each other. It might be considered by some gamers as too easy, but I can
- assure you that it does not provide as much help as you may think since the
- map does not reveal what you may find in the locations.
-
- The last thing that is very uncommon to adventure games, even unique, is the
- availability of information about people, creatures and myths you will
- encounter in the game. It is not, of course, an encyclopedia about ancient
- civilizations, but it is rather a source of information about ancient Greek
- myths which you may or may not know. For example, maybe you do not know
- why Achilles was invincible even though he was the son of a goddess and
- mortal? Well, it is because his mother (Thetis) dipped him into the Styx,
- Hell's river. Next, why was Achilles's heel his only vulnerable point? It
- was because his mother was holding him in the river by his heel.
-
- Thus, the information included in the game will basically help you to solve
- enigmas about myths you do not happen to know.
-
- "Wrath of the Gods" has photo-realistic graphics with digitized characters
- that are animated and speak to you. You will meet mythological creatures
- like Cyclop, Hercules, Atlas the Titan, the famous Hydra, Medusa and
- many others in dozens of locations that depict ancient Greece. Your
- character will have to solve many enigmas on your quest to reclaim your
- kingdom, and the game will provide you with hours of amusement and
- information.
-
- ──────────┐
- Conclusion│
- ──────────┘
-
- Although this game was released more than six months ago, "Wrath of the
- Gods" remains an excellent adventure game.
- ─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: │
- ─────────────────────┘
- 386 SX-25 MHz or better,
- Min 4 MB memory,
- Windows 3.1 or later,
- Hard drive required,
- Single speed CD-ROM drive (150 Kb/s) or faster,
- SVGA 256 color graphic card and monitor,
- Microsoft Mouse or 100% compatible and joysticks supported,
- 8 Bit sound card.
- ───────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────
- ┌────────┐ ┌─────┐ │Luminaria,
- │GRAPHICS├─────────────────┤ 84% │ │152 Brewster Street,
- │SOUND ├─────────────────┤ 86% │ │San Francisco, CA 94110.
- │MUSIC ├─────────────────┤ 82% │ │Tel: 415-821-0536
- │GAMEPLAY├─────────────────┤ 90% │ │
- │INTEREST├─────────────────┤ 92% │ │
- └────────┘ └─────┘ │
- ┌────────┐ ┌─────┐ │
- │OVERALL ├─────────────────┤ 88% │ │
- └────────┘ └─────┘ │
- │
- ───────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────
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