SamNMax

Back in '88, Sierra, the most dominate company in PC gaming, sent the adventure and RPG genre on a collision course and the results were a game known as Quest for Glory. As time went by, the game spanned several sequals and became one of the best series that adventure and RPG gamers alike had ever played. This was because of its great adventure elements and ever-improving combat system. Some might even say that the Quest for Glory series was the best of Sierra's archives.

But, as the mid-90s came along and took it's toll on adventure games, Sierra's main focus became it's action lineup of games, and adventure was secondary on their agenda. This was proven by the 8th installment of the infamous King's Quest series, Mask of Eternity. The game, to much dissapiontment of fans, was much more heavy on action and light on adventure. Some fans just didn't have a lot of hope after KQ8.

That attitude changed, however, around 1998 as Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire was announced. The game promised the traditional, beloved gameplay of Quest for Glory, with an all new combat system and a leap into the third dimension. Some gamers were a little disheartened with the 3D movement as a result of King's Quest VIII. Still, those thoughts were overshadowed by the excitment of this grand series coming back for one last quest. Did it live up to its promises? Just about.

Your story begins as you have just ridded the land of Mordavia of the evil that has plauged it for hundreds of years. You have just been teleported out of your honor's banquett by your old friends form your early days in Speilberg, the wizards Erasmus and Fenrus. They have informed you vaugely of the dire state that the kingdom of Silmaria, the land that he has just teleported you to, is in. He then sends you off to the Hall of Kings to learned the whole story from the counceler of Silmaria himself. As you listen to the kingdom's troubles, you find that it could very well be the toughest challenge of your career. You learn of the former king's assassination. You learn of the Roman mercianaries that have been capturing the fishing villages. You learn of the creatures that have been terrorizing Silmaria's islands. You learn of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis and its people attacking fishermen. You learn of the history of the great dragon and how the dragon pillers throughout the kingdom has been keeping it asleep for centouries. But most interestingly, you learn of the contest that is being held to decide the new king of Silmaria. It seems odd to you that these series of events have been accuring at the same time. Is this a major conspiricy? If so, who's behind it? Sounds like this place could use a hero around here.

I didn't think the story would be anything special, but it was very epic. The game unfolds very slowly and has more layers than an onion. Like most sequals, you'll meet new friends and enemies and undoubtably run into some old ones. But, this time, much more than usual. You'll pretty much run into every main player in the series. Though the story is exeptional, a big dissapointment was the humor. I really like the series because of the subtle, but spot-on, humor. This time it's just some bad puns every now and then. Other than that, the story is quite entertaining.

The biggest change was easily the graphics. Gamers were a tad worried that the lack of a 3D accelerator would make the game look outdated (Once again KQ8 is to blame). Their fears were in vain, however, as the backgrounds look very smooth and has a solid feel to it. The game plays like a side scroller instead of going from room to room, which is a big step into the future. The only complaint about these graphics is the character models. There are very blocky and the body acting is really stiff. If you talk to someone, while they're talking, their bodies will shake a little. It's pretty amusing. Even though the graphics feel right, they're not much to right home about. I mean compare this to Grim Fandango, a game that came out the same year. It's not much competion, is it? Still, the graphics are solid and you won't be complaining.



Though graphics were the biggest change, the music is the biggest improvement. Thanks to music composer, Chance Thomas, the music is just spot on. This is easily some of the best music that you'll find in a game. The music hits whatever mood its going for every time. You'll be much more intence in battles. You'll feel calm underwater. You'll feel alert in stealth moments. All because of the music. In fact, the Quest for Glory V Soundtrack is one of my favorite CDs in my catalog.

But, even if the music is great, the voice acting is sub-par. Some are okay, but most are really annoying. It seems like all the annoying voices belong to the characters who crack bad puns and really make you angery. Expect a lot of dialog skipping. When you meet your old friends who never had voices, you're unpleasently surprised by either they're fake greman accents, or their high pitched voice.

The interface also is a change. They've simplified the action icons, with just a point arrow, and a look icon. Some may be put off by it, but with the new battle system, the change makes a lot of sence. There are many more items you have to get than the other games and they weigh you down a lot. This wasn't a critcle factor in the other games, but the luggage you carry around weighs your energy down way too much. The equipment interface is also more complicated. It will take some time for you to learn how to equip your character and the instruction booklet isn't very helpful.

A huge improvement is the incredible length and amount of side quests. This is easily the most open ended adventure ever created. I couldn't imagine anyone completing this game 100%, let alone four times. You might even have to play it more than four times to get everything. If you actually decide to do this, than it would take well over one hundred hours to complete the game four times.

Unfortunatly, QG5 is more heavy on action than adventure. Yes, there is the standard exploration and puzzles that the series is known for, but most of the main and side quests are fighting. But, the adventure aspects are solid. Theives will have quite a good time in stealth quests. Especially with the new knockout and pickpocket abilities. But, that's almost all the quests theives will have; stealth quests. I think this is the only game in the series where it's the most fun to be a wizard. They have the best quests and it's really fun with the spells.

Fighters will have the least amount of fun, though. This is because of the bad battle system. This is a huge leap back from Quest for Glory IV's system. It's really not much of an RPG anymore, as it is an action game. There are really no RPG elements in it. The combat is real time and has no real strategy. You can either use the mouse or keyboard to fight. If you choose to fight with the mouse, you can just click on the enemy franticly and they'll be out like a light. If you choose the keyboard, you'll be increibly frusterated. Since the AI is pretty solid, they tend to dodge your moves. You have to hit with your keypad, but you have to move your body with the arrow keys. You pretty much need three hands to do that. It just depends on if you want to be board or frusterated. Such is not the case for wizards. There are a ton of funny spells and they are really cool to use. Even just using them on puzzles is fun.

To top it all off, the game is buggy. There are a lot of crashes in certain areas and also some getting stuck in walls. I would strongly reccemend using the patch before starting.

So, it's not the best in the series. That honor belongs to the original game. But Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire is a decent end to a great series.

7.6/10

MDMaster

I never get around to play a lenghty session of QFG5, so I said to myself: I'm gonna play the whole series again from start, so I can enjoy it better.
Yeah, right, the kind of things you always say but rarely do

__________________
Pushed back to square
Now that you've kneed her
In the throat
So there you go