Game Giveaway of the Day

#40

Love this game, it's nostalgic for this gamer, and the quests are more creative than todays mmorpg's. Now I will also check out the eye of the beholder series that I missed back in the day. Thanks ggothd!

Reply | Comment by Tony – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#39

@Whiterabbit

Photobucket blows. Give my free image hosting site a shot and get rid of those nasty "Bandwidth Exceeded" messages. I don't put bandwidth restrictions on hosted images.

http://www.picdepict.com

I hope you don't think this is spam - it isn't intended to be such. Just offering a helping hand since Photobucket seems to be pulling all of your images.

As for the game.... I agree that there are better available in the forums.

....moderator comment....

I'll check your site out. I am getting fed up of having to create new email and photobucket accounts. They used to be a lot more lenient with the number of images you uploaded and the band width, but over the last couple of years they seem to have tightened their belts.

okay.... registered... that was painless.

Reply | Comment by PicDepict – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#38

Just a note about Eye of the Beholder and the link given above by Legolas III. It appears that Eye of the Beholder is still protected and cannot be downloaded. At least we still have today's giveaway. Thanks GGOTD!

Reply | Comment by Frique – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#37

I had been always been a fan of adventure games. Today's giveaway is the first person version of it. This category has been forgotten due to third person RPGs and action games.

I have played a few good hours and have accomplished almost all except one of the quests available and would recommend it to any fan of the genre. Although some battles are quite difficult even at the normal level. But once you are able to accomplish something you want to go further and explore more!

The interface is easy since all you do is point and click once you figured out the menus. It is easy to see how this game would translate well to the Iphone and eventually phones with touch interfaces.

I personally recommend it for the fans of the genre, but some who are not familiar with these types of games will probably get frustrated and give up. For those who give it a try, perhaps you will enjoy it once you start understand what you need to do.

...moderator comment....

Well said edchuy

Reply | Comment by edchuy – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#36

Runs on Windows 7 Home 32 Bit.

Reply | Comment by Randy – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#35

For someone who has never played this game before, it's very difficult to try to figure out what you're supposed to do, how to move, etc.
Simply by randomly clicking buttons, I finally killed the rat with my characters, not knowing what I was doing, not knowing how to choose things on purpose, just clicking.

Once the rat was gone, I can't figure out what to do next. Random clicking things gets msg that I either have to move the party together or click hourglass which does nothing that makes any progress.

I found the occupations when creating characters, without knowing exactly what to click on that brings up the occupations to choose from. Nowhere in the online handbook did I see anything that clearly said what to click on that would bring up the occupations to choose from.

After I got message that a character had already moved in an attack,and I had to use another character, the only way I found to get to the screen to choose another character was to go back to main menu first.

Right now, the rat is gone and I have no clue as to what to do to advance any further in the game except to save the game and keep researching the handbook hoping to find some kind of clear innstructions.

Not everyone who downloads a game and starts trying to figure out how to play it, is experienced at knowing how to play games and how to find their way around game menus, etc.

I rarely ever play games because most of the time when I'm on the computer, I'm researching, answering questions, etc. or working on photos and data to put onto my own sites or to use for offline purposes.

So when I do find time to try to play a game, it's frustrating when there is no clear instruction to tell me how to do the simplest things that most players probably have learned from experience of playing many games and being familiar with how such games as this one are set up.

...Moderator Comment...
Hi Spiritwof, you may be better trying the game si've suggested; they are much more user friendly and come with the appropriate help files. :)

For someone who has never played this game before, it's very difficult to try to figure out what you're supposed to do, how to move, etc.
Simply by randomly clicking buttons, I finally killed the rat with my characters, not knowing what I was doing, not knowing how to choose things on purpose, just clicking.

Once the rat was gone, I can't figure out what to do next. Random clicking things gets msg that I either have to move the party together or click hourglass which does nothing that makes any progress.

I found the occupations when creating characters, without knowing exactly what to click on that brings up the occupations to choose from.  Nowhere in the online handbook did I see anything that clearly said what to click on that would bring up the occupations to choose from.

After I got message that a character had already moved in an attack,and I had to use another character, the only way I found to get to the screen to choose another character was to go back to main menu first.

Right now, the rat is gone and I have no clue as to what to do to advance any further in the game except to save the game and keep researching the handbook hoping to find some kind of clear innstructions.

Not everyone who downloads a game and starts trying to figure out how to play it, is experienced at knowing how to play games and how to find their way around game menus, etc.

I rarely ever play games because most of the time when I'm on the computer, I'm researching, answering questions, etc. or working on photos and data to put onto my own sites or to use for offline purposes.

So when I do find time to try to play a game, it's frustrating when there is no clear instruction to tell me how to do the simplest things that most players probably have learned from experience of playing many games and being familiar with how such games as this one are set up.

...Moderator  Comment...
Hi Spiritwof, you may  be better trying the game si've suggested; they are much more user friendly and come with  the appropriate help files.  :)

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Reply | Comment by Spiritwolf – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#34

Thanks, Stephen

Sorry about the personal note, it's just an incredible coincidence. I served with Kay in the Navy. Talk about 6 degrees of seperation.

Kay, this is Paul, one of the ETs (Electronics Technician for you folks that are wandering) when you were in Sunny Sig.

If you have any interest in conversing (if not, I won't take offense) considering joining our forums. It's really a good community. If you join, you can search my screen name, Watcher13 and you'll see tons of threads there that I've posted in (actually it will show the posts of others who've responded to me, but, if you search up you'll see me). You'll see under everybody's name, "PM this user" and you can send me a personal message.

That's the best way to do it. They don't like to, for understandable reasons, post email addresses here.

In any case, hope your doing well.

Paul Pavlich

Reply | Comment by watcher13 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#33

Thanks for everyone’s input today especially Watchers, ibwebbs, Mad Ollie, Legolas III and others who contributes some excellent info. I just wasn't up to writing a full review on this one which is a real shame as I love r.p.g games.

There's a whole world of brilliant r.p.g games out there to explore. I highly recommend Oblivion, Morrowind and Fallout 3, which for me have been the accumulation of the past few decades of r.p.g games. There are more recent ones such as Riven and Dragonquest: Origins, but after playing both I found the FPS perspective of the three games I’ve mentioned above much more immersive than the third person viewpoint of Dragonquest and Riven plus many other recent additions to the genre. Those three are amazing games that really put you into worlds that seem so real, they are a far cry from this game, which to me seems to want to emulate the games from days gone by. It was only created three years ago. I really think they should have left it alone as there are many games of this quality and better available for free - (as I mentioned in my opening comment, The elder Scrolls I & II, which immerse you in an amazing world. Oblivion is the final installment in the Elder Scrolls and Morrowind the third and penultimate Elder Scrolls. The first two are available for free from Bethesda's web site (the developer) or via our own games synopsis. You can download Daggerfall, the second Elder Scrolls installment which is vastly superior to today’s game via the following link:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/home/home.php

The first Elders Scrolls is a little more basic, but just as enjoyable. I highly recommend you try them out. I did neglect to mention that both games require DOSBox to run, which is free. Wizzard of Oz has written a simple tutorial on how to use DOSBox which you can find as a sticky in the games discussion forums.

The first Elder Scrolls game called Arena can also be downloaded from the same link above. Just follow the link at the top of the page to th downloads page. You'll find both games listed in the games synopsis as well. :)

Thanks for everyone’s input today especially Watchers, ibwebbs, Mad Ollie, Legolas III and others who contributes some excellent  info.  I just wasn't up to writing a full review on this one which is a real shame as I love r.p.g games.

There's a whole world of brilliant r.p.g games out there to explore.  I highly recommend Oblivion, Morrowind  and Fallout 3, which for me have been the accumulation of the past few decades of r.p.g games.  There are more recent ones such as Riven and Dragonquest: Origins, but after playing both I found the FPS perspective of the three games I’ve mentioned above much more immersive than the third person viewpoint of  Dragonquest and Riven plus many  other recent additions to the genre. Those three are amazing games that really put you into   worlds that seem so real, they are a far cry from this game, which to me seems to want to emulate the games from days gone by. It was only created three years ago.  I really think they should have left it alone as there are many games of this quality and better available for free -  (as I mentioned in my opening  comment, The elder Scrolls I  & II, which  immerse you in an amazing world.  Oblivion is the final installment in the Elder Scrolls and Morrowind the third and penultimate Elder Scrolls.  The first two are available for free from Bethesda's  web site (the developer) or via our own games synopsis. You can download Daggerfall, the second Elder Scrolls installment which is vastly superior to today’s game via the following link:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/home/home.php

The first Elders Scrolls is a little more basic, but just as enjoyable.  I highly recommend you try them out.  I did neglect to mention that both games require DOSBox to run, which is free.  Wizzard of Oz has written a simple tutorial   on how to use DOSBox which you can find as a sticky in the games discussion forums.

The first Elder Scrolls game called Arena can also be downloaded from the same link above. Just follow the link at the top of the page to th downloads page. You'll find both games listed in the games synopsis as well. :)

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Reply | Comment by Whiterabbit-uk – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#32

This is a GREAT download. the language is a bit off (at least in English) but over all it took me back to my childhood game days. If you like a good RPG I recommend this one as a must have!

Reply | Comment by Plato – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#31

Thanks GOTD and Rake and you, Stephen, for the detailed and useful introduction. I recommend that everybody that doesn't have RPG experience - like me - take a look at the handbook link that #20, Mad Ollie, posted. Thanks, Ollie! I don't know if I'm going to be able to get into this or not. I kind of prefer games with a medium learning curve. I like to master stuff, and I don't know if I'll want to put in the time to try and master something with a complex interface - for us newbies, anyway - and a large set of choices.

Of course, I realize it's a Catch 22, or sort of paradox for those not familiar with that literary reference. The best way to master such a game is to play and play and play, but I'm too anal to not want to study up on it first, and I don't know if I can invest all the time to do it the trial and error way (or, for that matter, the time to really get the interface and the options down before I do a lot of questing - another Catch 22). So I'll likely not be able to add any more to the discussion.

However, I do have one practical suggestion. For those troubled by the small windowed mode who are lucky enough to be running Vista (Vista haters, I'll bet you never thought anybody would say that!), change your compatibiliy settings to have it run in 640 by 480. You'll have to set your taskbar to auto hide, if you haven't already, but it is basically a 640x480 and you won't lose much. So this will automatically give you a full screen mode every time you play. I don't remember if there's anyway to do that in XP. Is that option available in the executable's or shortcut's properties in XP? Anyway, good luck.

....Moderator comment .....

Thanks, that's a great idea. :)

Reply | Comment by watcher13 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#30

Yep, I sure was. Navy Journalist at the on-base radio/tv station.

....moderator comment...

sorry this was held back initially as I thought it had no bearing on todays giveaway and I missed the connection to Watchers previous comment. I hope you don't miss this watcher. :)

Reply | Comment by Kay Kreisle – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#29

Игра отличная, но графика не та, что на скриншотах с iPhone...

google translate:
The game is excellent, but the schedule is not the one that in the screenshots to iPhone ...

Reply | Comment by Инна – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#28

I too found this game to be a 'blast from the past'. Yet, I say that in a bad way as much as a good way. One of the first games I ever engrossed in was a Dungeons and Dragons game on my Commodore 64. This game has many of the same controls and feels of that. A bonus from the one I played then is that I don't have eight 5 1/4 inch disk that I have to keep switching between, but then the graphics really don't seem all that much better either. I dislike having to play in the small window and think that also makes the graphic seem worse (since I am trying to focus on a small window of graphics). I only played this game a short time because I became annoyed at the window and poor graphics. I have played on many MUDs (multi user dungeons) that do not offer any graphics at all so I am not one of those people that are stuck on having to have the best of graphics. I just feel that this game is very 'lacking' in a feel of quality for a game. I think there are many free games out there that offer better game play and quality as well as in the price range of this one as well.

I appreciate the game and the fact that it is offered to us for free to try, but feel it would be unfair to not give the company my honest opinion in hopes that they might offer more. They are looking for the honest opinion and I hope that they can respect it. I usually agree with WhiteRabbit but not this time. I would only give this game a 4 out of 10 because of the many free games out there that offer a much higher quality in game play, replayability, and graphics.

Best Regards,
ibwebb

Reply | Comment by ibwebb – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#27

I INSTALLED AND FOUND NO INSTRUCTIONS. UPON GOING TO THE WEBSITE I FOUND OUT IT WAS A GAME FOR IPHONE. WOULD LOVE TO PLAY IT BUT WAY TO SMALL TO SEE

Reply | Comment by lunarcub – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#26

Kay, it's an option under properties. You right click on the game shortcut icon and select properties. Then click the tab that says "Compatibility" and you'll see the compatibility options right near the top. When you click on the little box you'll enable the drop down menu and you can select the appropriate operating system to try and run the older software under in, what is obviously, a simulated mode. You'll see other options for running older software, like running in 256 color mode, or 640 by 480 resolution. Doesn't always work, but it's worth a try.

By the way, your name seems so familiar. Where you ever in the Navy? Assigned overseas in Sicily. I served with someone from Michigan over there many years ago.

Reply | Comment by watcher13 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#25

Downloaded & installed OK. Selected characters, skills, etc. BUT, how does one play? I've a "small rat" in a dungeon, a choice panel to the bottom right ... & all I can get to function is the "save" option - not much good if I can't find out how to play?????

Normally I'm a fan of Rake in the Grass games: are you sure this is one of theirs? Must have been written after a heavy night out!!!!

Still interested in learning the secret of how to proceed.

Reply | Comment by Caroline – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#24

This is nothing like the games that I normally play, and I am having a ball with it. I installed and started playing it without reading any tutorials, so at the moment I am discovering the many ways in which my hapless characters can die. Thanks, GAOTD for the chance to try something out of my usual.

Reply | Comment by Dolores – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#23

D/l'd and installed fine. This really is a retro style game; it reminds me of old Amiga/Atari games. The play are (box) is tiny though, wr is probably right about being an ifone version.
Still, if retro adventuring is your bag (adventuring, generally is mine) then this is a cool game to have stashed away for those retro cravings.
I've played for about half an hour to get the feel of the game and ended up losing my mage in a battle. Haven't yet worked out if there's a ressurection place yet, so I just quit at that point.
A keeper though... one I'll come back to when I fancy a bit of fancy-graphicless roaming.
Thanks for another cool game, team. :~)

Reply | Comment by gb – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#22

Whiterabbit/Stephen

I hope this day finds you feeling better than you did yesterday. Keep up the good work.
John

....moderators comment...

Thanks John
Thanks John

Reply | Comment by john – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#21

Guday from New Zealand

Whiterabbit I'm sorry to hear you have to go to hospital for an operation on 3 broken vertebra in your back, so best wishes for a speedy recovery, and take it easy, so things heal up quickly.

Undercroft looks interesting, but it only displays half size in my 19 inch monitor. Apart from the obvious of changing the resolution setting in XP, is there a way of getting it to display full size, as all my other games do.

Regards Bill3.

Reply | Comment by Bill3 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#20

There's a manual on their homepage. Maybe this will provide some help for newbies:
http://undercroft.rakeingrass.com/handbook/index.html :-)

Didn't try the game myself, though.

Reply | Comment by Mad Ollie – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#19

How do run a game in XP compatible mode with Vista? I'd love to try the game.

Reply | Comment by Kay Kreisle – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#18

It installs and runs (based on a 5 minute trial) fine in Win 7 x64 but plays in a smallish (estimated 640 x 480) window with slightly pixelated graphics.

Reply | Comment by DocSid – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#17

Hello, all!
I look forward to Whiterabbit's comments on the game downloads; he has never misled me. His mostly-objective reviews provide enough information from which I can determine whether or not I want to take the time to download and install a game. Thank you, Stephen, for taking the time to post your views on the games being given away.

I also am pleased to see moderator and developer comments. I believe it would be useful for the community to note that the purpose of this site is not solely to enrich the game playing capabilities of the select few who obtain free games from this site; but, more importantly, for the developer to gain useful, constructive criticism on their product.

Finally, I have to express why I will not vote on today's game - it doesn't particularly interest me. I can't give it a favorable vote because I won't play it to determine that it is good (assuming it is). I also can't give it a negative vote for the same reason. for me to vote negatively based on not liking the genre would be comparable to voting against World of Warcraft or Dark Ages of Camelot - two fiercely-popular games that I don't play.

A big "thank you" to the developer supporters of the GiveAwayOfTheDay site for giving us the opportunity to evaluate their software!

Reply | Comment by DaBayer – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#16

By the way, if you do want to download and play the old eye of the beholder and other very old rpgs, on modern machines, you almost always have to have DOS box, or at least I do. www.dosbox.com/ It's freeware, lets you play most DOS games and older window games. For eye of the beholder, you have to tinker with the frame speed options, otherwise the game will seem too slugish. Again, it might just be me or windows XP.

As for the game Undercroft, so far so good, no major glitches or problems, though I've only walked around for a bit. Graphics aren't the best, but it kind of gives it more of an oldschool vibe. I also like that you can choose how many party members and the difficulty. After you beat it on say, normal with 4 members, you could try using only one member or moving to hard. The fights are pretty fun compared to most turn based rpgs.

Reply | Comment by Jason – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#15

This game is indeed in the same genre as Eye of the Beholder, but it is also almost an exact ripoff of Legacy by Redhsift - a classic game for Palm, PPC and PC offered at www.redshift.hu.

Reply | Comment by Phillip – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#14

wellp, tried it...it freaked out my firewall and took SIX!!!!! attempts to install...

and then it doesn't DO anything on my machine...a dell inspiron 1300 w 2 gigs of ram, running xp, completely up to date.

sucks, cuz it LOOKED cool, and like something i would have really dug playing.

oh well...

i can't comment on the game, as i can't get it to do anything.

guess i gotta add to the thumbs down team.

thanks GAOTD for trying, irregardless, i keep coming back.
peace.

Reply | Comment by pinkster – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#13

Hi vokes! I've been here only since yesterday and the software I see is everything I can use. I've never played games before, at least not at my desktop. I did on my mobile phone though, but you can never compare that with the games that are offered here. I'm very happy that you guys do this for us, the peoples of the world. Last night I'd put the links (html codes from this site) on my blog from both the software as well from the games. I want everyone to know about this site. I give you BIG 10!! Keep on doing what you are doing now. I enjoy it looking every day and to let me surprise with your presents. ThanX, Kirsten Visser. http://webcommunicationsonline.wordpress.nl Bye!

Reply | Comment by WebCommunicator – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#12

Couldn't understand how to play the game. Got stuck on just selecting player name. and there is no help section. Don't like games that you first have to decode how to play. It's getting uninstalled right away I'm afraid:-( And I needed a nice game to play this week

......Moderator comment......

I agree, there should be some sort of help file included; Rake in Grass do seem to be remise on such details. For those of you whove played this type of rpg before it's probably common sense, but I'm sure there will be many community mebers at a loss.

I did write a brief description of how to set up the gameand select your charaters etc. in my first comment above.

Reply | Comment by anuradha – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#11

This almost looks like a more up to date version of the one and only original to me: the "Eye Of The Beholder" series. Maybe I´ll give it a try later. If you like this one, take a look at the beholder series too ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_the_Beholder_(video_game ). A lost jewel from the 1990s, the good old days of Computer where PC games did offer you a much deeper gaming experience than most actual gemes do.

........Moderators comment..........

Wow your right. The games looks remarkably similar to the lay out of the screens and the graphics. The good news is you can get three of the series free from several sites. The following link takes you to the download page for the first in the series. At the bottom of the page you'll find links to Eye of the Beholder II - The Legend of Darkmoon and Eye of the Beholder III - Assault on Myth Drannor plus links to other similar games such as Dungeon Master I & II and some of the earlier Might & Magic series. You'll find some of these games have also been posted in our free games for the weekdays project, which was started to fill the void when the giveaway project went to weekends only. We've posted well over a thousand decent free games since last year. Thought the last several weeks postings haven't been added to the synopsis yet.

Get Eye of the Beholder HERE and check out other games of this genre via the games synopsis HERE

Reply | Comment by Legolas III – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#10

Do you give away games every day? I thought there wasn't a game when I didn't get an e-mail notification. And there was a time I didn't get notification for a long time. I'm writing this because I've read Tanya's (5.) comment.

....Moderators Comment.....

Hi Ahmet, no games are only given away at weekends. It was supposed to be temporary, but the economic situation at the moment hasn't helped matters, plus (as I mentioned yesterday when someone complained about the lack of good games) there are lots of other sites now that give away arcade games, so there are fewer sources that are willing to give games to this project.

Reply | Comment by Ahmet – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#9

I installed it under Vista and ran it in XP compatibility mode, which seems to work.
Pity it runs in a small window which looks quite pixelated ...

Reply | Comment by Rick – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#8

@3 and 4

I guess that a lot of people rate the game by seeing the screendumps. Personally i'm not a fan of the Rake in the grass games. For me no reason to put thumbs down, but others may think otherwise..

good day to u all.

Reply | Comment by der Fliw – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#7

will this play on vista

Reply | Comment by lady – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#6

I played online rpgs years ago that looked just like this, and I remember having Undercroft on one of my pocket pcs, never knew it was also a pc game! thanks for a blast from the past, all I will miss is Hail Fellow Well Met and Huzzah, but I never did get into all that rpg-speak online anyway ;p

Reply | Comment by rsmik – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#5

I check in everyday! So glad to see the games offered on the weekends again, even, if they are not things I am interested in. Just nice to see you guys back! Keep up the good work. I am sure I will find a game eventually(The price is right)!

Reply | Comment by Tanya – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#4

- "I find it odd that a game that hasn’t been given away before can get any sort of negative points within minutes of it being released. There’s no way anyone could have installed and played this game effectively within that time frame."

This is nonsense. Please consider the possibility that people already know a game from playing it *before* is was given away here!

...Moderators Comment...

That's true, :) but unlikey in my opinion as this is one of those games off the main stream and is also directed to a specific market, but I do concede your point as there is always the faint possibility that the several community members had played the game before. :lol:

Reply | Comment by Johannes – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#3

I find it odd that a game that hasn't been given away before can get any sort of negative points within minutes of it being released. There's no way anyone could have installed and played this game effectively within that time frame. That's why I think we should adopt a similar system to the giveaway side of the project. You'd have to be logged on to vote. That would stop the fly by night voter and those bothered enough to sign it would probably give a more erudite and fairer vote. (Just my opinion). I think that would give the developer and the community a much better measure of what the community though about the game play and not the idea or what it looks like from images. Some of the ugliest games I've seen have actually been brilliant games with respect to game play.

Reply | Comment by Whiterabbit-uk – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#2

Nice, an adventure full of magics and warriors!

Reply | Comment by People – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#1

Unfortunately I’ve only received notification that Sunday’s game had been changed at the last minute. There just wasn’t enough time for me to play the game then review it, so I’m just going to basically post what you can find over on Rake in Grasses web site including a link to a video of game play.

From my very limited experience of this game, which was released three years ago, it reminds me of the earliest Elder scrolls rpg games, though the graphics are of a slightly higher resolution in Undercroft. You’ll actually find several free abandonware and freeware games similar to this in the forums, most of which are based on the DOOM engine. (see the free games synopsis over in the forums for details) The two Elder Scrolls games that are available as freeware are brilliant and contain much more in game content than undercroft.

Its unfortunate that I’ve missed this one as it looks so different to the usual games we get. Maybe I’ll add something later in the day. :lol:

For a r.p.g. its a very small download at only 6.27Mb, so a reasonable size for downloading even for those on dial up. It actually installs as a smaller file than the downloaded zip file. For a change we get a desktop and Start Menu program folder shortcut for this game and you'll also find an uninstaller in the Start Menu short cut.

b.t.w. the price quoted above is odd. They are selling this for only $4.99 at Rake in Grass and their partner 300AD it's up for $19.95???? Unles the advertised game at Rake is the iphone version as those tend to be cheaper than the PC version.

Todays game:

Rumors go around the land that a great evil has risen on an old abandoned graveyard near the city Dolbrad. Dead are walking around the place killing everybody, who try to explore secrets of the tombs.

You get control of the party of hotheaded adventurers, who start twists of erratic events with just one unwise bet. Lead them to the horror graveyard only to prepare future, they could never expect.

Undercroft is a great epic adventure in fantasy world full of magic and monsters. It brings together atmosphere of classic role playing games with plenty of new features packed together with cool graphics and sophisticated level design.

Reference accessed 3.45am Sunday 29th Nov 09: http://undercroft.rakeingrass.com/index.php

The game unusually starts in a window on first start up. Looking through the options menu it looks like there’s no full screen mode and checking through the files in the installed folder there’s no configuration file that will allow you to change to full screen. Looking at the graphic, it does look like this is actually the iphone version that's been configured to play on a PC (see my conclusion for the reasons).

When you first start the game the menus are in English but you can change the language via the options menu to Deutch and Czech as well. On starting a new game you are then given the option of changing the difficulty level. Once this is done you have to select your party. To the top right of the playing area are four question marks, just click on one of those. This brings up several character portraits. You can select any one of these to choose the first characters appearance, once this is done you have to name your hero using a screen keyboard (I tried using the normal keyboard but it doesn't work). Once you've decided on a name and typed it in click on the return button.

You then have to choose the heroes occupation from a list of 5. these include Warrior, Mage, Priest, Summoner and Assassin. Then you have to distribute all the free points into the character skills and statistics You get 2 skill point and 3 stat points to distribute at the start of the game. You do this by selecting one of the skill icons that are valid (red ones can't be used until you attain higher levels) then click on the + sign to attribute the spare skill pointsTo attribute the stat points click on the icons to the bottom right that are situated just above the OK and Start buttons. Again click on the desired stat such as strength (depicted by a strong arm) then click on the + sign. Each occupation will give different stats for example the Warrior class can improve on Strength which adds to the heroes health and attack power, , Constitution which raises the heroes stamina and resistance to fire, cold and poison and finally Dexterity which improves the heroes defence and ranged attacks (ranged attacks are crossbows and bows or any throwing weapon such as a spear). Take care when attributning your skill and stat point because once used you cant undo the change, so make sure you've though about what the particular characters strengths should be before you attribute the points. The developer should have added a remove points button as well IMO, but only for the initial points sharing. Once you've completed the stats and skill points for your first character click on OK then repeat the process with the other three empty slots. It's good to select a diverse range of occupations for your party otherwise you may find yourselves at a disadvantage at some point in the game.

Once the character selection is complete you can choose to watch the introduction which is so like the old rpgs of 10 or more years ago or you can skip the dialogue and still images and jump straight into your first adventure.

The game field is divided into an information bar at the bottom of the screen that shows your heroes health and constitution (the red and blue indicators, which should be full at the start of the game). You'll also find to the right of the character mug shots your weapon selection button and a skill button ( arrow pointing down) which is used to select spells etc. The crossed swords changes the fighting style of the character selected to an offensive hero who concentrates on causing damage, wheras the shield will indicate a defensive hero who concentrates on avoiding damage. this is an ideal setting for the weaker members of the party. A end of turn button that looks like a hour glass to the right of these are six movement and look buttons which are activated by your mouse.

You will get tutorial screens popping up at the beginning of your first quest, so I wont go into any more details. It will take a little getting used to, but I think if you persevere this will be a rewarding game to play. From my memory of he video (see elow) there are five quests to complete.

Video of Gameplay:

There was no video of the PC version of the game so I’ve posted videos of the iphone version of the game. The graphics in the PC version are okay, though somewhat pixillated. I think they are basically the same game with some configuration files that enable it to play on PC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZIN-_8JJbA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXZCIu2ZsfU

GAME FEATURES

• 20 hours of gameplay with great replay value!

• A party of heroes - because the whole is more than a sum of its parts! Enjoy building of unique specialised classes that do not blend. Combine their powers to overcome their weaknesses and make them a horde to remember!

• Intricate plot with dozens of quests and plenty sidequests to gather extra experience!

• Unique turn-based combat system suitable for well thought out strategic moves as well as for fast fluent attacks!

• 5 hero classes with great wariety of skills and spells for unique development!

• More than 750 items and 60 enemies!

• Sophisticated interface with all the extensive functionality quickly on hand!

• Many environments ranging from fiery pits and dark underground to forests, snowy mountains and large city!

Conclusion:

Something different from the usual stuff is always welcome, though I do think this game will only interest a small minority of the community despite it being a decent game from Rake in Grass. However I hope I’m wrong. It’s unusual to see a r.p.g. adventure game in the guise of an arcade game. :) I do think the lack of a full screen mode detracts from the game play. I personally don't particularly like playing in windowed mode. However that said it looks like this is basically the iPhone version that’s been configured to play on a PC because the graphics remind me of games of 10 years ago in that they are pixilated quite distinctly. I do think if you enjoy this game you should check out the games I mentioned above which can be found via the free games synopsis HERE. That said I do like this type of game, so would tentatively give it 8 out of 10 despite its limitations.

The game is free standing which means you can play it via a flash drive.

Unfortunately I’ve only received notification that Sunday’s game had been changed at the last minute.  There just wasn’t enough time for me to play the game then review it, so I’m just going to basically post what you can find over on Rake in Grasses web site including a link to  a video of game play.

From my very limited experience of this game, which was released three years ago,  it reminds me of the earliest Elder scrolls rpg games,  though the graphics are of a  slightly higher resolution in Undercroft.  You’ll actually find several free abandonware and freeware games similar to this in the forums, most of which are based on the DOOM engine. (see the free games synopsis over in the forums  for   details)  The two Elder Scrolls games that are available as freeware are brilliant and contain much more in game content than undercroft.  
  
Its unfortunate that I’ve missed this one as it looks so different to the usual  games we get.  Maybe I’ll add something later in the day.  :lol:

For a r.p.g. its  a very small download at only 6.27Mb, so   a reasonable size for downloading  even for those on dial up.  It actually installs as a smaller file than the downloaded zip file.  For a change we get a desktop and Start Menu program folder shortcut for this game and you'll also find an uninstaller in the Start Menu short cut.

b.t.w. the price quoted above is odd.  They are selling this for only $4.99 at Rake in Grass and their partner 300AD it's up for $19.95????  Unles the advertised game at Rake is the iphone version as those tend to be cheaper than the PC version.

Todays game:

<blockquote>Rumors go around the land that a great evil has risen on an old abandoned graveyard near the city Dolbrad. Dead are walking around the place killing everybody, who try to explore secrets of the tombs.</blockquote>

<blockquote>You get control of the party of hotheaded adventurers, who start twists of erratic events with just one unwise bet. Lead them to the horror graveyard only to prepare future, they could never expect.

Undercroft is a great epic adventure in fantasy world full of magic and monsters. It brings together atmosphere of classic role playing games with plenty of new features packed together with cool graphics and sophisticated level design.</blockquote>

Reference accessed 3.45am Sunday 29th Nov 09: http://undercroft.rakeingrass.com/index.php

The game unusually starts in a window on first start up. Looking through the options menu it looks like there’s no full screen mode and  checking through the files in the installed folder there’s no configuration file that will allow   you to change to full screen.  Looking at the graphic, it does look like this is actually the iphone version that's been configured to play on a PC (see my conclusion for the reasons).

When you first start the game the menus are in English but you can change the language via the options menu to Deutch and Czech as well.  On starting a new game you are then given the option of changing the difficulty level.  Once this is done you have to select your party.  To the top right of the playing area are four question marks, just click on one of those.  This brings up several character portraits.  You can select any one of these to choose the first characters appearance, once this is done you have to name your hero using a screen keyboard (I tried using the normal keyboard but it doesn't work).  Once you've decided on a name and typed it in click on the return button.

You then have to choose the heroes occupation from  a list of 5.  these include Warrior, Mage, Priest, Summoner and Assassin. Then you have to distribute all the free points into the character skills and statistics  You get 2 skill point and 3 stat points to distribute at the start of the game. You do this by selecting one of the skill icons that are valid (red ones can't be used until you attain higher levels) then click on the + sign to attribute the spare skill pointsTo attribute the stat points  click on the icons to the bottom right that are situated just above  the OK and Start buttons.  Again click on the desired  stat such as strength (depicted by a strong arm) then click on the + sign. Each occupation will give different stats for example the Warrior class    can improve on Strength which adds to the heroes health and attack power, , Constitution which raises the  heroes stamina and resistance to fire, cold and poison and finally Dexterity  which improves the heroes defence and ranged attacks (ranged attacks are  crossbows and bows or any throwing weapon such as a spear). Take care   when attributning your skill and stat point because once  used you cant undo the  change, so make sure you've though about what the  particular characters strengths should be  before you attribute the points. The developer should have added a remove points button as well IMO, but only for the initial  points sharing. Once you've completed the stats and skill points for your first character  click on OK then  repeat the process with the other three empty slots. It's good to select a diverse range of occupations for your party otherwise you may find yourselves at a disadvantage at some point in the game.

Once the character selection is complete you can choose to watch the introduction which is so like the old rpgs of 10 or more years ago or you can skip the dialogue and still images and jump straight into your first adventure.

The  game field is divided into an information bar at the bottom of the screen that shows  your heroes health and constitution (the red and blue  indicators, which should be full at the start of the game).  You'll also find to the right of the character mug shots  your weapon selection  button and   a skill button ( arrow pointing down) which is used to select  spells etc.  The crossed swords  changes the fighting style of the character selected to an offensive hero who concentrates on causing damage, wheras the shield will indicate a defensive hero who concentrates on  avoiding damage.  this is an ideal setting for the weaker members of the party.  A end of turn button that looks like a hour glass to the right of these are six movement and look  buttons which are activated by your mouse. 
 
 You will get tutorial screens popping up  at the beginning of your first quest, so I wont go into any more details.  It will take a little getting used to, but  I think if you persevere this will be a rewarding game to play.  From my memory of he video (see elow) there are five  quests to complete.

Video of Gameplay:

There was no video of the PC version of the game so I’ve posted videos of the iphone version of the game.  The graphics in the PC version  are okay, though somewhat pixillated.  I think they are basically the same game with  some configuration  files that enable it to play on PC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZIN-_8JJbA
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXZCIu2ZsfU

GAME FEATURES

•	20 hours of gameplay with great replay value!

•	A party of heroes - because the whole is more than a sum of its parts! Enjoy building of unique specialised classes that do not blend. Combine their powers to overcome their weaknesses and make them a horde to remember!

•	Intricate plot with dozens of quests and plenty sidequests to gather extra experience!

•	Unique turn-based combat system suitable for well thought out strategic moves as well as for fast fluent attacks!

•	5 hero classes with great wariety of skills and spells for unique development!

•	More than 750 items and 60 enemies!

•	Sophisticated interface with all the extensive functionality quickly on hand!

•	Many environments ranging from fiery pits and dark underground to forests, snowy mountains and large city!

Conclusion:

Something different from the usual stuff is always welcome, though I do think this game will only interest a small minority of the community despite it being a decent game from Rake in Grass. However I hope I’m wrong. It’s unusual to see a r.p.g. adventure game in the guise of an arcade game. :) I do think the lack of a full screen mode detracts from the game play. I personally don't particularly like playing in windowed mode. However that said it looks like this is basically the iPhone version that’s been configured to play on a PC because the graphics remind me of games of 10 years ago in that they are pixilated quite distinctly. I do think if you enjoy this game you should check out the games I mentioned above which can be found via the free games synopsis <a href="http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4534 " rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. That said I do like this type of game, so would tentatively give it 8 out of 10 despite its limitations.

The game is free standing which means you can play it via a flash drive.

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