DUNGEON MASTER review
By Wayne Short
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
Dungeon Master is a Fantasy Role Playing Game for the Apple IIGS. It continues the standards set by predecessors such as WIZARDRY and THE BARDS TALE and in fact manages to surpass them.
The game is supplied on one 800K disk and another blank disk is required for saving each game in progress. The game is very playable if you have only one Apple 3.5 drive but two drives is even better. An Apple IGS with 1.25 Megabytes of RAM is required for play.
Lord Chaos seeks rule over every living creature and is bent on destroying civilisation. To stop him you must assemble a party of champions to seek out the Firestaff and the Power Gem and become the "Dungeon Master".
The task is not an easy one. Lord Chaos has created deadly puzzles of logic and created hideous monsters to guard his treasures.
The Graphics quality of the IIGS allows you to "live" the fantasy. The dungeon which occupies 75% of the monitor screen looks "real". Pick up that torch with the mouse to light the way. Pick up the key and try it in the locked door. maybe there's a treasure on the other side or maybe there's a hungry monster.
The dungeon occupies 14 levels with each succeeding level being different in character and increasing difficult to traverse. The first level contains the "Hall of Champions" and is used to assemble each party for exploration. A party may have up to 4 champions. There are 24 champions here to choose from.
There are 4 skill types available to a character: Fighter, Ninja, Wizard or Priest. A champion can exhibit up to all 4 of these skills. Fighters are good are using weapons like swords or axes. Ninjas are good at using weapons like crossbows. Wizards have the ability to cast attacking spells at monsters. Priests have the ability to cast healing spells.
Each champion is distinguished by the physical attributes of Health, Stamina or Mana (magical energy). These attributes increase as the character gains experience and progresses to a higher skill level or by gaining new skills.
When a champion's health drops to zero, the champion will die. There are 10 skill levels attainable ranging from "neophyte" to "Master".
Spellcasting draws upon magical energy or mana stored in the champion's body. Beginning magic user's can hold only limited quantities of Mana and thus only cast low level spells. But, with practice, the novice magic user can progress to higher levels and more powerful spells.
The game screen is divided into three main areas. Information about your champions is shown at the top. Menus top. Menus for controlling the game are shown on the right;
and the large area at left centre show either a view into the dungeon, or the inventory for a particular champion.
For example, with the right hand menu, six movement buttons turn and move the party within the dungeon. You may move the party by placing the mouse arrow over one of the screen buttons and pressing the mouse button.
Each champion may carry an inventory of items which may include armor, weapons such as battle axes or crossbows and potions for healing and special items which are used to solve puzzles within the dungeon. A character's attributes determine the weight of inventory that can comfortably be carried. A champion is limited to using one item being carried as an "action" object. For example, a sword can thrust or a wand may cast magical power.
While exploring the dungeon you will encounter creatures which are the servants of Lord Chaos. Killing these monsters is required to gain experience and may result in the discovery of a valuable item for use. Up to 12 different monster types may be encountered such as Skeletons, Demons and Beeholders. They may be solitary or in groups up to four. All are animated and make for superb scenes during combat. Each turn during combat allows your champion's to use a weapon or cast an attacking spell.
Hints:
* Practice your spells when you have the chance, and learn to prepare useful potions in advance. The more you practice your spells, the faster your wizards and priests will grow in abilities.
* Fighters and ninjas need practice, too, if they are to get better at fighting. Try to choose your fights so that your champions have the advantage.
* Learn to be a careful observer. Examine the dungeon surrounds for hidden traps or items. Examine each newly found object carefully and determine which character can make be use of them. Some objects may even be just "junk".
* To complete your quest successfully you must be prepared to construct a map of each dungeon level.
* Each champion needs food and water to maintain their current level of health and stamina. Remember to get fresh water when it is available, and grab as much food as you can get your hands on. You only source of food may be the creatures you find and kill.
Like any role-playing game patience and perseverance are virtues. However, the intricacy of its puzzles and the beauty of its graphics make Dungeon Master a winner... recommended.
Available from Two Series Software on phone (02) 606-9343

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