Wizardry 1 - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord

by NEXOFT

Product Features

• Includes Game Save Memory Feature

Product Details

• ASIN: B000Y44YRW
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,800 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #9 in Video Games > Nintendo DS > Video Cartridges

Product Description

Wizardry began as a simple dungeon crawl by Andrew C. Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. It was written when they were students at Cornell University and then published by Sir-Tech. The first five games in the series were written in Apple Pascal, an implementation of UCSD Pascal, and was ported to many different platforms by writing UCSD Pascal implementations for the target machines (Mac II cross-development). David W. Bradley took over the series after the fourth installment, adding a new level of plot and complexity. Woodhead went on to found the North American anime import company AnimEigo, and Greenberg to become an intellectual property lawyer and contributor to the Squeak open source project. Greenberg also wrote another game series, Star Saga. The earliest installments of Wizardry were quite successful, as they were the first graphically-rich incarnations of Dungeons & Dragons-type gameplay for home computers. The release of the first version coincided around the height of D&D's popularity in North America.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still One of the Best, 20 Years Later, February 17, 2010

By 

M. Haller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wizardry 1 - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Video Game)

It was only recently I got a chance to play this fine game, and let me say for fans of console roleplaying games that there are few better options.

Wizardry is an old game, just barely bridging the gap between the old computer text adventure games and modern RPGs. It's light on graphics and story, and heavy on puzzles and strategy, along with a healthy dose of tough combat. Thus, it might not be for everyone who considers themselves RPG fans. This game is more of a simulation. To that end, it mimics its subject matter (Dungeons and Dragons, most probably) very well.

The game is certainly challenging, especially in the beginning. Even the weakest monsters can be a challenge for fresh characters, but if some die you can always create extras or raise them at the temple. Later in the game, the pseudo-3D maze starts to throw tricky puzzles at you. You'll be tempted to bust out graph paper as you start to get lost and worn down by wandering monsters. The last few levels can only be described as a struggle for survival.

The game looks its age, with very little in the way of graphics. The pseudo-3D dungeon effect was truly awesome for its time (so I read) but is severely lacking in interest today. The monster portraits and sound are ordinary, but functional. Just about everything else is white text on black. You get used to it.

This is a game every RPG fan should try, simply because its a masterpiece of its time, that filled the void between two genres of fantasy gaming. I can't guarantee everyone will like it, but if you have a little imagination and thirst for challenge... this game will have you pulling your hair out, and you'll love it for that.

Note: I played the DOS version long before the NES one, and to be honest they seem pretty similar. The only real differences are spell names are listed instead of typed, and you get a smaller reward for winning the game. Also, I like the NES graphics, there's more color than the DOS version.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Satisfied, May 30, 2008

By 

Miroslava L. Conn "mconn" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Wizardry 1 - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Video Game)

We received the product in great condition. Shipping was fast and we have already been playing it and enjoying it.