Betrayal at Krondor entered the CRPG field in the early '90s emphasizing an idea long realized by Japanese designers but rarely touched upon by Western RPGs developers: the art of storytelling. With celebrated author Raymond E. Feist behind the story, Betrayal at Krondor managed to weave fascinating prose with elements of traditional CRPG gameplay. After a lengthy soap opera, Sierra is now prepping up Return to Krondor, the true sequel to Betrayal at Krondor (as opposed to the dud, Betrayal at Antara), and just like Betrayal, it emphasizes storytelling above other elements. After playing a preview version of the game, I think RPG fans may be in for a pleasant surprise when this installment hits the shelves.
Each of the ten chapters is preceded by a summary of events narrated by Pug, one of the staple characters of Feist's novels.
Return to Krondor started out as a script with lots of accompanying art. PyroTechnix Inc. stepped in to flesh out the game design and generate an actual game engine to play. Since PyroTechnix got involved later in the design process, a lot of the early effort is naturally plot and character design.
The original Betrayal was a nine-chapter saga that concentrated on protecting the Lifestone, a staple in Feist's Riftwar and Serpentwar series. Return is a ten-chapter game focusing on hunting down and retrieving a valuable religious artifact, the Tear of the Gods (the quest is alluded to in the novel Rage of a Demon King).
The story is rich and full of foreshadowing; for example, those fancy, innocent gentlemen are actually quite devious, and while nothing is happening here, you'll find them up to no good at a later date.
You'll be playing the role of Squire James, a reformed thief who is now a member of the court. The rest of the player characters are: Jazhara, a sorceress, William conDoin, a city guardsman, Kendaric, a mage, and Brother Solon, a warrior-priest. The game opens as James is sent into the city of Krondor to rendezvous with Jazhara. The two player characters go through a mini-adventure before ending the chapter, and it's the next chapter where an attack at a local bar starts them on their quest. The plot swiftly unfolds as time progresses, and what starts out as a simple mystery becomes a quest for the Tear.
