Wiz 8 - should I get it?

[Hayashi]

I saw a few copies for sale at the Harvey Norman's near where I stay. Having heard nothing but good things about this game, I was sorely tempted to buy it.

However, having played W7:CotDS, I am a bit wary as I really didn't like W7 all that much. The puzzles were really obscure, and there was no automap in that game, and I ended up using half a pad of graph paper for mapping! lol

So, how's this one, especially compared to W7? I have played, and enjoyed BG2 SoA & ToB, and am halfway thru' BG1 & ToSC right now. I also completed IWD/HoW/ToLM and found it a bit too much hack n' slash for my liking (as in having completed it, I doubt if I'll reinstall and have a second go at it).

Does W8 have any features that take the pain out of RPGs? I'm thinking of automaps (that can be annotated by the player) and journals that help keep track of the quests & take important notes and clues.

The sci-fi element, while a bit jarring & out of place, doesn;t really bother me that much.

Thanks for any advice.

[Wolfie]

Originally posted by Hayashi: Does W8 have any features that take the pain out of RPGs? I'm thinking of automaps (that can be annotated by the player) and journals that help keep track of the quests & take important notes and clues.

Yes to all of the above. You could consider downloading the Wiz8 demo (about 148Mb), all the details can be found here. There's also links to a preview movie which is about 22Mb (zipped).

Personally, I can fully recommend Wiz8, it's replay value is excellent, the monster AI is top-notch, you will have hours of fun, not just slaying monsters etc, but solving quests, making alliances (or playing the double-agent), and building up for characters.

[img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-28-2002, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: Wolfie ]

[The Kiwi]

Originally posted by Hayashi: I saw a few copies for sale at the Harvey Norman's near where I stay. Having heard nothing but good things about this game, I was sorely tempted to buy it.

You should have done so!

However, having played W7:CotDS, I am a bit wary as I really didn't like W7 all that much. The puzzles were really obscure, and there was no automap in that game, and I ended up using half a pad of graph paper for mapping! lol

Wiz7 was rather difficult, I agree. Never completed that one, myself!

So, how's this one, especially compared to W7? I have played, and enjoyed BG2 SoA & ToB, and am halfway thru' BG1 & ToSC right now. I also completed IWD/HoW/ToLM and found it a bit too much hack n' slash for my liking (as in having completed it, I doubt if I'll reinstall and have a second go at it).

It's better than Crusaders.

Does W8 have any features that take the pain out of RPGs? I'm thinking of automaps (that can be annotated by the player) and journals that help keep track of the quests & take important notes and clues.

It has both of those.

The sci-fi element, while a bit jarring & out of place, doesn;t really bother me that much.

I don't consider any such elements jarring at all. In fact, they are a "traditional" part of computer-based RP-gaming. Ultima I and Phantasie had it from th eget-go. When Might & Magic came along, that one included SF as well. I don't recall that the first several Wizardry games had such features, however.

Meanwhile, did anyone else notice that although the Ironworks forum server was connected to the net, it was unresponsive for the past eighteen hours or so? This thread has the newest answer to it, from last evening. I tried both IE and Netscape last night and earlier today. Both timed out before the server ever responded to the net log-in request.

Kiwi

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[ 04-29-2002, 08:12 PM: Message edited by: The Kiwi ]

[MasterPooBaa]

yeah. out for almost an entiere day here.
melbourne, Oz.

the only 2 bad things that could be improved with
this game are the time it takes for battles and monster movement, even on fast, and the slow map when using direct3d video mode.
apart from that its great.

[armakh]

The automap is far from perfect, but I think it's very serviceable. I have been absolutely thrilled with my game, thougj. I think it's fun, with exceptional replay value...I haven't finished the first time yet, and I am already planning at least two more runthroughs to try out some different parties and chars.

As for the sci-fi part of it, it really fits in nicely. I usually hate that kind of stuff, but the androids don't really detract from it, and my gadgeteer with her cool gadgets and her omnigun is probably my favorite character. I like wiz 8 better than any of the M&M series (6 was my favorite of that), better than BGII and IWD. You can build your characters however you want..focusing on whatever skills you want, and especially when you get to hybrid classes, it actually matters how you decide to play them. A magic-heavy samurai, a melee-based sam, and a mix all play differently. You can't just reroll until you can max out all of your important stats, so building your character takes on a lot more strategy.

I love the game, and would recommend it to anyone who has an inkling of love for RPG's.

[pokey]

the combat system is so slow and tedious

[Charmy]

There are a ton of posts throughout the forum on this topic, but as I've said before, I wholeheartedly recommend Wizardry 8 if you like in-depth strategic RPG combat, as well as wonderful character creation and management, an ice-smooth interface, and superb voice acting and scripting. The graphics are dated, but that does not by any means dictate that they are ugly or out of place. Everything is nicely animated, good choice of colors, and areas are clearly discernable from each other. Heck, the musical score isn't half bad either, especially the battle tunes!

All in all, the best CPRG I've played since Wizardry 7 (which it surpasses)! Get it!