Wizardry 8 is arguably the eighth and final release in the Wizardry series of video games by Sir-Tech Canada, the company that brought us Wizardry III: The Wizard’s Master. It’s the final installment in the Dark Savant series, which consists of Wizardry VI: The Bane of the Dark Citadel and Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, each of which was previously released on home computers. Although it has a few shortcomings that are a consequence of changes that were made to the original game (most notably in terms of its story), this is still a superb role-playing game that any fan of this genre should play. However, there are a couple of things that people should know about in order to get the most out of playing the game. For one thing, there are several differences between this game and its predecessors, and secondly, there are some aspects of the game that aren’t quite as easy to complete as they initially seem.
In terms of story, the first part of the game concerns you going back to the events of your first game in an effort to save your character from the clutches of the evil Lich King. This involves traveling around the world; visiting various places along the way and talking with various people. When you eventually reach Wintergrasp, a magical realm governed by Archimonde, your situation changes; your previous mistakes now have you in a position of seeking out help from a mysterious stranger, whom you learn is actually the Lich King himself.
This raises a number of interesting points, the most important of which concerns your powers and abilities; during this time, you’ll find that you’re not entirely in command of your powers. Rather, your ability to affect the outcome of everything that happens is dependent upon something else… such as on the energy that exists in the “charges” of your special gemstones. When you’re out in the open, you can only use these charge generators for one specific moment; when you are stationary, you are able to use them on a much larger scale. The game can be won either by using the most powerful spells you have or by spending the most time practicing these powers.
There are other features that take away from the originality of Wizardry 8. For instance, instead of a wide variety of weapons and armors, you will be forced to use only “standard” items; this includes the sword, dagger, and mace, as well as one-handed weapons and shields. Also, in terms of spells, you will basically be limited to the basic “area effect” spells; there are a couple “healing” spells in there, but otherwise, the rest are pretty much vanilla. This doesn’t do anything to add any personality to the game; in fact, most people playing Wizardry 8 feel like you are simply playing a hack and slash game where you hack and slash your way through a variety of enemies.
Fortunately, that’s not really what Wizardry 8 was designed to be. If there is one thing that this computer game has over its competitors, it is its online playability. While other games will force you to log in to the game in order to enjoy them, Wizardry 8 allows you to log into the game whenever you’d like. This online play has been improved upon many times over the years and is now considered by many to be the best online game around. It’s free, it’s convenient, and it’s fun.
If you haven’t played Wizardry 8 before, it’s definitely worth your time to check out the online version. That way, you’ll get a feel for the gameplay and how the different weapons and magical artifacts work. Then, if you find the time to go back and play on the game’s original platform, you’ll be able to easily duplicate all of your progress; which is how Wizardry 8 began, anyway. You can also jump right into the high-tech online play to experience a more realistic battle against the enemies.
And even if you’re not into online play, Wizardry 8 has enough content to keep you busy for a long time. You’ll find a variety of different challenges and items to collect as you travel through the game’s 16 levels; each more challenging than the last. You’ll also find plenty of hidden items, each with its own uses and powers. In the end, though, you’ll simply want to return to the familiar screen, where you’ll see your score and time remaining, and move on to unlock the items and levels you’ve already completed.
Like many computer games, Wizardry 8 offers a number of replayable options as well. You can start at any time and work your way through any of the levels; the game will remember your progress so you can try again if you need to. The only downside is that you’ll have to wait until the next season to play since the game is based on the seasons. However, if you really want to play through the entire thing all over again, there’s no reason to worry. There are several different versions of the game available on the Internet, and you can play directly from the site if you’re not interested in replaying the levels.