Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg (
More info?)
On that special day, Michael Vondung, (mvondung@gmail.com) said...
> Been looking through the bargin bin of my games dealer and noticed an
> action/strategy CRPG that I had not heard of before: "Evil Islands". It
> apparently came out in 2001 already, so isn't really fresh anymore, but has
> anyone played it and can comment?
It was on the cover of one of those magazines last year (I think
PCGames). The interface ist a bit like Diablo, ie the games is done in
realtime combat, yet the engine is completely 3D (allows rotating the
scenery, which is required when you are crawling through caves). All in
all, it is more strategic than a clickfest.
Still, it is not an easy game to play. Your character may hire up to
two persons, but you have to tell them, how to behave (similar to
dungeon siege), and it is hard to have them not run into enemies by
accident, as ?the "monsters" have a ridiculously high detection range.
There are areas where you can't beat the enemies, no matter how much
you pump your character, as they are wrapped in heavy plate, and still
can run like hell. Or they are "iron golems" automatons, which will
smash you with one hit. So, sneaking up to them one by one, and only
then attack, or carefully avoiding them, is often crucial; and it
doesn't become easier, if the enemies (very often they are guards) are
on their watch rounds. Make ampole use of the "crouch" command, or you
won't be able to survive.
The commands are issued by the keys on the board; one row of four keys
is used for movement (normal, crouch, and so on), another for the use
of spells.
There is a walkthrough on
http://gamesurf.tiscali.de/spielewiese/loesungen/evilislands.htm
which gives a fairly well impression of the game itself. It is nothing
for beginners. theroetically, you can create your own spells, but there
are harsh limitations, first money wise, later on by the objects which
are supposed to contain these spells.
The spells need time to reload, and the stronger they are meant to be,
the harder it is to obtain the money and the "vessel" to keep them in.
Also, each of the islands offers other spells, the first one is
specialized in fire, the second on lightning (beware the unicorns, they
hit hard), the third on poison.
There is no means to return to the former islands, once you have been
transferred, and If you didn't buy enpough spell components on the
first, there is no way back to get another fire component or two.
The game itself had me save and reload very often. It is hard to beat
the enemies, even if your character has been running around on his own,
and so harvested all experience points for himself. It is an intersting
game to play, but nothing for people who get easily frustrated. If its
price is less than ten bucks, it is at least worth a try.
Ah yes, it is done by russians. Russians seem to be fond of
frustrations, maybe it is because of that, that this game is so hard.
Gabriele Neukam
Gabriele.Spamfighter.Neukam@t-online.de
--
Ah, Information. A property, too valuable these days, to give it away,
just so, at no cost.
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