Wizardry

[Skeletor]

I just finished Call of Juarez and CoJ: Bound in Blood. Pretty good games with a good story...I love westerns.

Anyways, looking for something new to play and I've been just doing some google searches for underrated PC games I might have missed and I saw some videos of Wizardry 8 on youtube and it looks pretty interesting.

Can anyone who played tell me if this is worthwhile? Also, if I want to catch up with the story in Wizardry 8, what Wizardry title should I start with? Is it mostly dungeon crawl or is there room for sidequests given by NPCs?

[ArmouredBlood]

I've heard they're good, but haven't really looked into them. Another underrated game you might consider is might and magic, or rather MM 6-8. They're all pretty good games, although I like 8 the most and 6 the least, heh.

[dew]

the links connecting wizardry parts aren't so strong. you'd have to be an oldschooler to enjoy them, anyways. it's an 80's saga so they're quite dated today. and then wizardry 7... i won't lie, i never finished it, i'm not hardcore enough. but only a few selected persons on this planet are that badass. it's one of the biggest, longest games ever made, so go for it... if you have a spare year to finish it!
ninja edit: i'd say pick wiz8 directly.

[Ahcruna]

I've only played Wizardry IV back on the Super Nintendo, found it to be a fun game. I'm more familiar with the Eye of the Beholder series though.

[Belial]

TBH I've never liked RPGs using that engine. I've tried playing all 3 EoBs, Lands of Lore and one of the Wizardry games and all of them made me lose interest after a few days.

The ones I did like were Swords of Xeen and Yendorian Tales Book I Chapter 2. MM6 was nice too, haven't played any newer games from the series though.

Bah, what I really wanted to say is if you want to play an oldschool RPG the best and most unique choices are Betrayal at Krondor and Darklands. Keep in mind though that if you really want to get the most out of Darklands you'll probably have to dig into the 115 page manual at some point.

[dew]

i think i'd enjoy betrayal at krondor much more had i read at least one feist book. the story runs too fast and confuses ignorants like me with unexplained rift war lore. i gave up somewhere in chapter 7 when i completely lost the grasp of what's going on. on the other hand the game is worth playing just for the lovely riddle boxes.

[Belial]

The only one I've read was, surprise surprise, Krondor: The Betrayal :P

That was a couple of years after I'd finished the game, and I didn't even like it that much. With the way the game was structured playing it already felt like reading a book, which is what I think they were aiming for in the first place with the style of narration, splitting storylines and switching characters between chapters.

I think the game is a pretty self-contained experience, at least I didn't feel the need to find out more about the world it's set in.

Now I have most of his books in various formats on my HD, but I probably won't read them anyway.

[Viewtiful-Chris]

You MUST get Wizardry 8. I know an excellent, prepatched precracked (DETAILS OMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH FORUM RULES) which you can PM me for since it's very hard to find nowadays.

I actually haven't seriously played any Wizardry's beside it, and the plot stands very well on its own. It's certainly a more fitting end to an epic CRPG series than (gag) Might and Magic VIII or (double gag) IX.

The graphics even now aren't hard to look at, it's incredibly deep and overflowing with personality, and it's one of the last CRPGs in recent memory with a compelling (and mandatory) opening dungeon.

Is it mostly dungeon crawl or is there room for sidequests given by NPCs?

Many, many sidequests. The dungeons and other spelunking places are all entirely unique and a blast to explore.

Read a few reviews, they'll convince you.

I believe one said something to the tune of "Hearts and souls have been poured into this game, and it shows".