First Review of Quest for Glory 2 Remake Release Candidate 2
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:59 pm
As a fan of the original Quest for Glory (QFG) games back when Sierra was a household name (at least among computer gamers), I was very excited to relive the excitement of the exciting remake of Quest for Glory 2:Trial by Fire. Immediately after it went live on Valve's Steam Engine (only in select parts of the world, the American release date is yet to be announced), I paid my $49.95 and downloaded it. Thanks to Steam, it only took about 5 hours to download, though due to my high levels of anticipation, it felt like 6 hours.
Although it has been over ten years since I played the original QFG2, I was a little surprised that the makers decided to turn it into a first-person shooter (FPS) rather than sticking with the 3rd person perspective. More surprising was that the new Shapier, rather than imitating an Arabian atmosphere, was replaced with an underground research facility. Granted, it was still all very beautiful and atmospheric (except for the parts that lacked atmosphere... those were just beautiful).
At the end of QFG1, you view your hero riding off to Shapier on a magic carpet. QFG2:New continues where this one left off, but they replace the magic carpet with some sort of monorail system. I should also mention at this time that while dialogue from our hero was not included in the game, full voice dialogue was given to almost every other NPC in the game. I suppose this must account for the several years delay in production.
Gameplay was also significantly changed. Rather than swords, daggers, and magic, our hero is given an array of more modern weapons, including a crowbar, 9mm pistol, .57 magnum, machine gun, shotgun, crossbow, RPG (not a role-playing game, but a rocket-propelled grenade launcher!), and even some top-secret weaponry such as the gauss gun, gluon gun, and the alien hive-hand. This, of course, leads to much more explosive gameplay than fans of the original QFG2 will remember, but the inclusion of these weapons was necessary to counter the new enemies introduced into Shapier.
Speaking of the enemies, the new AI is amazing! Enemies will actually work together to hunt down our hero! They will hide behind objects and try to flush you out of your hiding place with grenades. Some people might miss the old scorpions and other boring enemies of the older game, but I only ask that you give this one a chance. The new enemies fit in better with the altered story-line.
My only complaint against the game is that I could not find the fabled dragon or singing sword promised by the original game developer. Of course, these have not be officially noted to have been removed from the game, so they might still be hidden there for the adventuring type. What *was* removed from the game, though, included things like trees that actually grew while time passed, open environments, the ability to reproduce (or adopt) a little child of our own, and to actually make a difference in the world around us.
All in all, I give this game 5/5. This is one you certainly do not want to miss!
Although it has been over ten years since I played the original QFG2, I was a little surprised that the makers decided to turn it into a first-person shooter (FPS) rather than sticking with the 3rd person perspective. More surprising was that the new Shapier, rather than imitating an Arabian atmosphere, was replaced with an underground research facility. Granted, it was still all very beautiful and atmospheric (except for the parts that lacked atmosphere... those were just beautiful).
At the end of QFG1, you view your hero riding off to Shapier on a magic carpet. QFG2:New continues where this one left off, but they replace the magic carpet with some sort of monorail system. I should also mention at this time that while dialogue from our hero was not included in the game, full voice dialogue was given to almost every other NPC in the game. I suppose this must account for the several years delay in production.
Gameplay was also significantly changed. Rather than swords, daggers, and magic, our hero is given an array of more modern weapons, including a crowbar, 9mm pistol, .57 magnum, machine gun, shotgun, crossbow, RPG (not a role-playing game, but a rocket-propelled grenade launcher!), and even some top-secret weaponry such as the gauss gun, gluon gun, and the alien hive-hand. This, of course, leads to much more explosive gameplay than fans of the original QFG2 will remember, but the inclusion of these weapons was necessary to counter the new enemies introduced into Shapier.
Speaking of the enemies, the new AI is amazing! Enemies will actually work together to hunt down our hero! They will hide behind objects and try to flush you out of your hiding place with grenades. Some people might miss the old scorpions and other boring enemies of the older game, but I only ask that you give this one a chance. The new enemies fit in better with the altered story-line.
My only complaint against the game is that I could not find the fabled dragon or singing sword promised by the original game developer. Of course, these have not be officially noted to have been removed from the game, so they might still be hidden there for the adventuring type. What *was* removed from the game, though, included things like trees that actually grew while time passed, open environments, the ability to reproduce (or adopt) a little child of our own, and to actually make a difference in the world around us.
All in all, I give this game 5/5. This is one you certainly do not want to miss!