2004 is going to
see a tidal wave of fantastic games if the ECTS convention was anything
to go by. One of the games set for a 2004 release is the highly
anticipated Spells of Gold, a role-playing game from Jonquil Software.
The story behind Spells of Gold is as follows; the game is set in the
world of fantasy, inhabited by elves, dwarves, undead ones and other
curious and weird creatures. The universe of the game is supposedly huge
and consists of a number of separate worlds. Each one has several
states, which represent isolated economic and political systems. The
Hero, an apparently ingenious and pivotal character in the game, is able
to transit from one world to another through special space Gates, called
Portals. His main activity is trade. For this purpose, the Hero has a
special item - a Magic Sack of Monroke. (Don’t ask me!) Thanks to it,
he can easily carry a vast amount of goods.
Apparently, much has be undertaken, before the Hero can find more
advantageous trade routes and get significant profit. On his way through
this mystical world, he is going to meet with robbers and bandits,
warlocks and undead ones, tax collectors and envious competitors, hired
assassins and wandering warriors. One might say that it is possibly
predictable that such a meeting should end with a harsh ending. “To
feel sure and ready for any unexpected accident and adventure, the Hero
may choose one of the given ways: he may develop and master his fighting
habits and become a Warrior, or
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he may acquire some magic skills and
dwell into mysterious and strange world of the Secret Learning.
Regardless of the choice, there is a plenty of schools and teachers,
ready to share their knowledge in exchange of a good sum of money”.
In the gaming charts, it is not uncommon to find a fantasy game, many
riding on the success of the Zelda and Final Fantasy series. But what
seems to make Spells of Gold different from the rest is its non-linear
storyline, meaning the game will not always the play the same levels and
routes if you play it all over again, giving the potential for hours of
not interesting game play.
In Spells of Gold, you travel, trade and fight to gain experience and
the hero slowly but surely begins to understand the very essence of the
universe. This is a game where the hero will inevitably battle the
various elements of good and evil. These predictable elements are
essential to a game of this description and should help Spells of Gold
to fulfill its expectations without too many problems.
The main idea behind the game is to develop the hero’s skills so that
you can join a guild… these guilds are “mighty unions that beside
other advantages encourage their members to develop and perfect
themselves.” So far sounds pretty good, but whether Spells of Gold
will deliver the good’s that we are all expecting from this highly
anticipated release, still remains to be seen.
Spells of Gold carries a potentially fascinating fantasy storyline and
the potential to be one of the memorable games of 2004.
Features:
Role-playing combined with elements of trade simulation games.
Non-linear story allows players to replay the game with an entirely new
perspective.
Huge game world inhabited by hundreds of fantasy creatures;
Your character is not limited in experience levels; gain as many skills
and abilities as you wish.
Choose your weapons and armor out of 2000 different types.
And of course… MAGIC: a variety of spells and potions will help your
Hero in his journeys around the world of Spells of Gold.
