The only RPG of its kind...
User Rating: 9.3 | Darklands PC
There are some games that are so great you just don't know where to begin. For me, Darklands is one such game. Bare with me as I try to describe why I love this classic that never got the attention it so richly deserves. Darklands is an RPG like no other for many reasons, but one key reason is seen at the start: character creation. The player begins by constructing a party of up to five player characters. The cool thing is, he or she more or less creates entire life history of each in this process. First you select a character's class. I don't mean as in fighter/mage/etc, I mean his or her social class. Is this a peasant boy? A rich young nobleman? A prosperous urban craftsman? Up to you. Different classes may take different jobs (closer to the "character classes" of traditional RPGs) and have different base attributes and skills. Do you take the social standing and opportunities of a nobleman, or the strength and survival skills of a rural peasant? At this point, you character is created at age 15. You may then advance his life 5 years as many times as you wish (within reason) by adding a new job. This creates a narrative of the character's life up to this point. For instance, if you want to create a veteran, he must first spend five years as a recruit. As you add years, the character becomes more skilled, but weaker. He also learns less and less with each passing year, so a 40 year old hunter won't learn as much archery as a 20 year old one. Before you even start the game, you have an interesting plot that you generated completely by yourself. The next intriguing element of the game is the setting. The game is set in historical 14th century Germany. No goblins or elves or +5 longswords here. The land is a brilliant combination of realistic medieval Germany, and the superstitions of the people of that time. For instance, there is no magic per say, as any "magician" in those times would be considered a devil worshipper and shunned or executed. Instead of magic, your party relies on alchemy and catholicism, both based on the beliefs of the time. A priest must learn the different Saints much like a wizard would learn spells and know which to call upon under which situation (don't worry, the game prompts you.) Additionally, said priest must do virtuous acts to prove himself to God and the Saints if he wants them to answer his prayers. Similarly, players may use alchemy to help them in combat and in other situations. Alchemy is based on "real" documented alchemical formulae of the time. Potions can do anything from burn enemies to create slippery surfaces and can be useful in a variety of circumstances. Gameplay itself takes three different forms. First, the players can travel around a life sized map of Germany, complete with historically accurate locations and cities. The game tracks the time, date, and year as you trek across the wilderness. At anytime, you may encounter random events, such as storms, bandits, or even wild animal attacks. You will also find small villages, castles, and large urban towns littered across the map. Any of these may be entered. Once inside a location, the player is offered a text adventure sort of interface. The game keeps it interesting by offering beautiful illustrations behind the text, depicting the current situation or location. The party can move freely about the town as the time of day changes with each in game movement. From prowling the side alleys at night for robbers to visiting the local universities and churches for new knowledge, the towns offer some really interesting opportunities to players. Like in the map view, the player can randomly encounter situations of peril and/or opportunity. Often times, these are fights. At anytime in wilds of Germany or within a town a party may find an opponent or opponents looking for a fight. Though certain areas and times of day are safer than others, getting into battles in these dangerous times is all but inevitable. These skirmishes take place on isometric planes where you control your team in real time. You may pause the game at anytime and this is very useful when you need a second to give detailed commands to your adventurers. Commands range from using potions, to firing arrows, to attacking, or even retreating to a safer distance. The gameplay is somewhat like a realistic tactical RPG that takes place in real time. Also, unlike most RPGs, the enemies "drops" are exactly what they were using. No wild boars carrying gold here. The game doesn't so much have a "plot" as it simply gives the player the task of creating one him/herself. Rob and amass riches or fight for the rights of the downtrodden; battle demons in the name of God or have tales told of your exploits across the land (yes, you go through varying degrees of fame.) If you want to see freeform done right, there is no better place to see it than in Darklands. The stage is set, all you have to do is create the actors, and tell your story. If you enjoy traditional RPGs or want to see the stagnant genre taken in a direction never attempted before or since, then you owe it to yourself to try this game. With its current status as freeware, you have no excuse not to. Stop games featuring other people's stories. Get DosBox, Google "Darklands," and create your own legend.
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