King of Dragon Pass

By: Kirk Hiner

Genre: Strategy RPG

Format: CD

Developer: A-Sharp, LLC

Publisher: A-Sharp, LLC

Minimum Requirements: System 7.5, PowerPC, 24MB RAM, 2X CD-ROM, 640x480 16-bit color monitor.

Network Feature: No

3Dfx Support: No

Retail Price: $37.50

Availability: Out Now

Sometimes I hate being a game reviewer. I know that sounds stupid...like Donald Trump claiming to hate being a millionaire. After all, don't I get tons of games to play, some of which arrive in my hands well before they hit store shelves? Aren't I living out every kid's dream...to get paid for playing video games? Absolutely, and I haven't let my parents live that fact down.

"You're wasting your time, young Kirk, with all those MTV video games," they used to warn me. "If you spent as much time studying as you do playing Super Donkey Man Invaders than maybe you would've made honor roll last semester."

I actually don't blame my lack of honor roll appointments on video games, but on Miss McKenzie. What kind of geometry teacher allows her students to make up their own theorems? I got great grades in her class, and struggled through my junior and senior years when I had to apply what she was supposed to have taught me.

But I digress. The point I want to make here is that reviewing video games has one major drawback...time. No sooner do I really get into a game than Ms. UPS Lady comes-a-knockin' with a another package of electronic entertainment. I mean, would you believe that I have yet to finish Myth II? It's true, and now it looks like I won't be able to complete A-Sharp's King of Dragon Pass.

Of course, this isn't entirely my fault. Blame it on A-Sharp for creating a game of this magnitude. It's huge, it's detailed, and it's very involving. King of Dragon Pass is one great game.

Dragon Pass is located in Glorantha, which is a mythic fantasy world apparently from the game RuneQuest. Now I don't know RuneQuest from A Tribe Called Qwest, so this means nothing to me. But my friend Bill assures me that RuneQuest is a "paper and dice" RPG with many passionate fans out there. If you're one of them, don't even bother to finish reading this review. Buy your copy of the game now. But for everyone else, here are some details.

The goal of King of Dragon Pass depends upon whether you play the short or long version. In the short version, you must build up your clan's reputation and convince other clans to form a tribe. One of your clan leaders must then be elected tribal king, and hold that position for ten years. In the long version, you must also perform seven heroquests, convincing the other tribes of Dragon Pass to join into a kingdom. Of course, to win, you must be elected ruler of that kingdom. Pretty routine, huh?

Not so much. Unlike with real-time strategy games, becoming a good ruler of isn't simply about hunting and gathering, building an army and managing a civilization. King of Dragon Pass requires you to study your land's history and learn the blessings of the gods that are worshipped (of which there are seventeen). You have to manage your clan's farming, relations with other clans and tribes, and trading habits. You need to know when to use magic, and when to wage war, both of which must be researched. What seasons are good for war, and when should you just stay down on the farm? What sacrifice should you make to the gods before riding into battle or attempting to heal your wounded? And throughout it all, you must keep both your clan and the neighboring clans happy.

It's a daunting task, compounded by matters such as one of your clansmen impregnating a woman from another clan out of wedlock. Or what do you do when a trader wants to buy a white horse, and you currently don't have one? These situations may seem trivial, but your decisions can--and most often do--come back to either help or haunt you.

Luckily, you're not on your own here. At the beginning of the game, you're asked to fill your Clan Ring with seven advisors who will assist you in your duties. You can, and in fact will need to alter your choices throughout the game. Who you select for the Clan Ring affects not only the advice you get (should your clan lean more towards war or peace, or be balanced between the two?), but also how your clan is perceived by other communities. And throughout it all, you're expected to prove yourself to the gods by going on heroquests. No one ever said medieval life would be easy.

Because King of Dragon Pass is not played out in real time, you actually get to think through your decisions. That's really what this game is about, which makes it a nice break from the frantic kill-or-be-killed tactics of today's real-time strategy games. There aren't really any levels to complete, just a life to live. And how far you advance in that life is solely dependent upon the decisions you make. The more you know about your history and your people, the better those decisions will be.

So without the real-time action, how do the graphics and sound fare against the competition? Comparing them to those of Starcraft or Total Annihilation wouldn't really be fair, since King of Dragon Pass is more like an interactive book than a computer game. Instead, they should be compared to a well-illustrated copy of The Lord of the Rings or King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. Although the graphics are static, they've got more life and character than many of the more popular games available today. A few artists with widely varying styles contributed to the game, so the visuals stay fresh throughout. And the music? It's pretty much in line with the soundtracks that always accompany such games. It does a great job of setting the mood and pulling players deeper into the story.

I love this game, yet I'm not going to recommend it to everyone. The more impatient gamers out there who are accustomed to the whiz-bang visuals and gameplay of today's fare will most likely grow bored with the subtle style of King of Dragon Pass. Plus, the amount of learning required to play the game effectively will put-off those who like to jump right in and start winning. But if you like a great story and you prefer to use your mind over your reflexes, then King of Dragon Pass will keep you entertained for a long while to come.

Me? I'll be keeping this game around. There will come a time when I'll be no longer writing for Applelinks, or that I'll get fired again. When either of those come to pass, it's good to know that I'll have something to do.

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February 10, 2010