Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant - intro & gameplay - Sir-Tech, 1992 - PC / DOS - CRPG RPG
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More about Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (from Wikipedia):
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (originally known as Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Sir-Tech. It is the seventh title in the Wizardry series and is a sequel to Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge. It is also the second entry in the 'Dark Savant' trilogy. The game was originally released in 1992 for DOS. A port for the PlayStation developed by Sony Computer Entertainment was released in 1995 only in Japan. In 1996 it was remade into Wizardry Gold, designed to work on Windows and Macintosh, and distributed by Interplay.
The setting is a science fiction/fantasy universe, featuring interplanetary space travel and cybernetic androids, alongside high fantasy arms, armor and magic. The story picks up where its predecessor left off. The recovery and subsequent theft of the magical artifact known as the Cosmic Forge in Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge has revealed the planet Guardia, the hiding place of another power artifact, the Astral Dominae. Multiple factions have converged on Guardia attempting to locate this artifact, including a party of adventurers controlled by the player, and the principal adversary, the eponymous Dark Savant.
The game is notable for featuring an early example of a well developed diplomacy mechanic. It features multiple competing factions with different interests in the world of Guardia. The player may engage in diplomacy when key NPCs of the factions are encountered, and may attempt to bribery, peaceful negotiations, or threaten force. It is also an early game to feature NPC competition with the player; as time progresses NPCs may beat the player to obtaining certain quest items, forcing the player to change their priorities. It was also the first game in the Wizardry series to feature 8-bit VGA color graphics.
Release
The first main difference between the original Crusaders of the Dark Savant and Wizardry Gold is that they are designed for different computer platforms. While Crusaders of the Dark Savant can be played on Windows 3.1, Windows NT, and Windows 95 computers (and beyond), Wizardry Gold will not work in DOS by itself. A major development in the Wizardry Gold version was the introduction of speech, primarily in the form of a narrator. Wizardry Gold was included as part of Interplay's Ultimate RPG Archives, that was released in 1998, and an enhanced version is available in the Ultimate Wizardry Archives that contains the first seven Wizardry titles. Gamepot re-released Wizardry Gold bundled with Wizardry VI for Windows on May 13, 2013, and for OS X on November 15, 2013, in GOG.com. On September 10, 2013, Night Dive Studios released a port for Windows, OS X and Linux on Steam, although the Gold edition is only available for Windows.
Reception
Scorpia of Computer Gaming World in 1993 stated that Crusaders of the Dark Savant was "the first Wizardry that has a real-world feel to it ... there are towns, ruins, wilderness, mountains and even a small sea" with the player interacting with multiple races that cooperated and competed with each other. She approved of the improved inventory management, but criticized the small automap. More seriously, she called the open world design "deceptive" as backtracking and "hours in a fruitless search" were often necessary to solve a puzzle. She nonetheless concluded that "Crusaders of the Dark Savant is certainly an improvement over the last couple of games", and recommended it to "Wizardry fans and experienced gamers (who are willing to put up with some of the frustrations)". Later that year, she stated that the game "should not be missed, especially not by Wizardry fans", and named it Role-Playing Game of the Year. In 1996, the magazine named Wizardry VII the 105th best game ever.
In PC Magazine, Barry Brenesal remarked, "When it comes to an interesting, complex plot, Crusaders handily beats the rest [of the series]." He wrote that the game "gets high marks for its humor, its excellent characterization, and its thorough and well-detailed documentation."
PCGames and Computer Games Strategy Plus both named Wizardry VII the best role-playing game of 1992. The latter magazine's Joan McKeown wrote, "As grand an experience as that provided by Ultima Underworld could hardly be topped by anything short of the best game ever: Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant from Sir-Tech has topped everything out there, including Underworld."
Chris W. McCubbin reviewed Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant in Pyramid #1 (May/June, 1993), and stated that "Despite its flaws, Wizardry remains far and away my favorite FRPG series. If you're looking for a state-of-the-art gaming experience big enough to keep you busy through the whole summer vacation, look here first."