“Oldskoles” RPG today in fashion. But Thomas Rigsecker (Thomas Riegsecker), founder and actually the only employee Basilisk Games, He began to make them even when no Kickstarter was in sight, but leaders Ubisoft Even in a terrible dream, they could not imagine that someday they would release a classic continuation Might & Magic. First Eschalon appeared in 2007-this was an event in narrow circles of connoisseurs of role-playing classics. After 7 years, the final part of the trilogy came out, and during this time the game, contrary to all modern trends, became even hard more hard.
Thomas recently hung on the official website Basilisk Games warning. It says approximately the following: “”Eschalon: Book 3 very complicated, especially for those who have not been familiar with the series. If you like to explore abandoned houses, where at any moment the ceiling can collapse or fall under your feet if you love to swim with sharks, if you always choose your own path, believing that your boss is an idiot, then this game is for you. And if you prefer comfort and a cupo cup, then write to us, and we will send you several modern pop rpg “. In this short message – the whole point Eschalon!
As in the good old days, we teach spells from scrolls. True, you still need to have knowledge in the relevant areas of magic.
Explore, communicate, survive
Before us is more or less modern, with a slightly improved graphics version of some Ultima. In the isometric perspective, you explore a huge world, perform quests, fight, get experience and develop a character. Yes, all these are standard things for many role -playing games, and even the fact that the real time during a simple study of locations changes to step -by -step mode, when enemies are in the field of view of the hero, does not cause much surprise today.
Eschalon takes his details and depth. The first and most importantly is a role system. Your alter ego consists of a combination of race (five to choose from), class (warrior, magician, thief, ranger, healer) and worldview: you are good or evil, atheist or agnostic – all gives different bonuses and fines. But, perhaps, the most important thing is a system of skills, without which there is nowhere. Without skills in alchemy, you will have to run around and buy very expensive potions, without repair – constantly return to cities and repair equipment (things break very quickly);Without studying the art of hacking, you cannot open particularly valuable chests, without the ability to use a sword, onions or a mace – you will receive a fine to attack when using these types of weapons. And without cartography on your mini-card, just nothing will be displayed!
The second most important point is the complete freedom provided to the player. Almost from the very beginning, you are free to spit on the plot and literally go to all four sides, exploring the vast territory (the world is divided into a huge number of maps with a free transition between them) and further deepening into some dense forests and fields.
In addition, in each of the three parts Eschalon Just an indecent amount of text is dialogs, and lengthy descriptions of interlocutors, surroundings, places you visited. Plus numerous books, thanks to which, as in the series TES, You can learn some skills. Dialogs are rarely limited to a couple of replicas, and you have to develop intelligence and wisdom to notice some details during conversations, better understand the interlocutors and generally assimilate and logically analyze information.
Finally, Eschalon – This is actually Survival RPG. The point is not only and not so much that there are very dangerous opponents, the potions are expensive, swords quickly break, and arrows have the ability to end. The fact is that the hero constantly needs food and drink. The acute feeling of hunger and thirst imposes fines to the characteristics and does not even allow you to fall asleep during the halt arranged in the field to restore health points. You can, of course, in the settings to remove this dependence, but in this case the game will lose the lion’s share of its color.
To sell everything that you have, the first merchant will not work – each huckster has his own specialization and his own tastes.
More, more beautiful, more difficult
In the third series, all the same. Having got out of starting forests and fields and reaching the first village, we can still go to explore the surroundings in order to stumble upon a secret location with treasures or meet a dying soldier who will ask the townspeople about the possible attack of goblins. And we can delve into the nearest mine in order to cleanse it of spiders and cockroaches and negotiate with a grumbling gnome regarding the return of the debt to the local innkeeper.
At the same time, you still will at first remind some hungry in a torn shirt that does not know much and knows, wants to eat and drink (you can quench your thirst and replenish water reserves in the wells) and constantly get sick. After an hour of the game, my character picked up either from an aggressive fauna, or from local food a couple of sores that seriously poisoned his life, imposed various fines and even could kill in a dream. To avoid this, you need to develop characteristics and skills that increase resistance to diseases, look for appropriate potions or learn healing spells.
In stores, if there is an appropriate skill, you can knock out discounts, and in step -by -step battles – juggling with different attack modes: in one, the damage increases, but the chance of hitting the hit is reduced, everything is exactly the same, in the third, the wortion chance increases in the third.
IN Eschalon: Book 3 New objects and spells were added, new characteristics and skills have appeared among enemies (which made battles even more complicated), the balance was finalized and a little improved schedule. And of course, here is a new plot. More precisely, this is the end of the history of the two previous games. Classic plot: everything turns around some mysterious and dangerous creatures of an unknown race, who planned something unkind and collect important magic stones for this. Nevertheless, monitoring the plot is quite interesting. Already in the first hour you have to find https://www.manaolahawaii.com/articles/the-influence-of-non-uk-casinos-on-the-rise-of-esports.html a coherent, find out that the hero is specially wiped with a memory, and decide how to get into a city surrounded by water.
Of course, ideally, I would like to have a more complex moral choice and related nonlinearity, a more interesting plot, fractions, conviction or intimidation of interlocutors to appear in the third part. On the other hand, do we want too much from a person who actually makes a huge classic RPG alone alone (he is helped only with art and music) and does not go to Kickstarter with an outstretched hand? Even without all of the above Eschalon: Book 3 can drag on long sleepless nights: here I want to live, survive, look, explore and receive sincere pleasure from all this.
Pros: big world;complete freedom of action;deep role system;Step -by -step battles.
Cons: a bulky interface;A fairly banal plot.