Rating: 
Summary: difficult but excellent game
Review: The variable turn-based combat is fantastic with genuine tactical and strategic options. If you liked Jagged Aliiance, you'll like the combat in this game. This is not a game you can just casually play, and anyone who says the game is "too hard" should be playing Diablo 2 instead. Random mouse-clicking will get you killed in this game. Really my only complaint is that you can't escape from combat easily. Otherwise it is well-made and fun to play through to the end.
Rating:
Summary: The Best RPG in Years!
Review: The first Wizardry game hooked me on CRPGs back in the early 80's, and I have played most of the major and some of the minor releases since then. As good as many of the new games (particulary the Black Isle and BioWare games)are, it has been years since I was as immersed in a game as I was in Wiz8. Highly recommended!Wiz8 has a strong story line, with interesting twists; but the real key to this game is in choosing, balancing, and improving your party. Characters skills develop and improve both through use and by training them when the characters level up, so you can develop your party members to meet your needs and preferences. There are a number of races and classes available to create your party, and interesting specialties avaible as well. In fact, you can change your character's career choice at any level change, and they retain their abilities gained in the other profession. It is a tragedy that the game that has been winning Best RPG of the year awards all over the place is the final swan song for Sir-Tech. A game this strong deserves an expansion pack -- and a Wizardry 9!
Rating: 
Summary: Something of a disappointment
Review: I did not follow the Wizardry series and did not plan to buy this one, but the magazine reviews were so good that I decided to get it. This game is big--you certainly get your money's worth in terms of play-time. The combat system works well (but too slowly, see below.) The plot is complex. There are many, many combinations of character races and types to choose from. The dialogue tree offers many possibilities. The game was carefully made and, with the patch, seems quite bug-free. (Mine has a problem with the sound cutting out, and then the game freezing, during combat occasionally, but that may be my machine's fault. HOWEVER, there are numerous things which players will probably find frustrating or maddening (or both): 1) You will never get through this game without consulting a walkthrough at least occasionally. There are too many adventure-game elements in it. Where does the blue marble you found go? Of what use is the box with the hinged lid? Etc., etc. 2) You will die A LOT. If you, like me, hate reloading and think a good player should be able to get through a game with minimal deaths--sorry, you're out of luck. You will die a lot, especially at the start of the game. 3) The combat system, as noted in other reviews, is slow. You will spend a long time in most battles and 4) there is way too much fighting. The system which generates "random monsters" in areas you have cleared will throw dozens of opponents at you when you merely want to walk from point A to point B along a route you have taken many times. 5) The whole game world contains one town, Arnika. One town. There are merchants in other places, but this sure isn't Daggerfall. You will get very tired of Arnika. 6) Managing the inventories of EIGHT characters is far too complicated. 7) The transition areas you have to walk through over and over and over again to get from one map to another permit little maneuver and are visually boring. Every few minutes you fight, try to rest, go on a bit...there are teleporters, but you won't find them until mid-gaame and even then you will walk and walk and walk..... 8) Your characters have a lot to say,and they will talk until you will probably be shouting "shut up" at the screen from time to time. I can't quite understand why this game gets such great reviews. At best it is something with which to pass the time until Morrowind and Might and Magic IX appear--which, fortunately, should be quite soon.
Rating:
Summary: A sad goodby SirTech you built some great games
Review: After seeing some of the negative reviews I just had to comment.
First this is a turn based game. That means that combat isn't in real time but each character within range gets a shot at their opponent based on their speed and then the game pauses. This makes for slow combat but that is not a bad thing. It gives you a chance to plan just how to attack your enemy. You can plan where to cast your spells and which weapons to use. This is important because your enemy doesn't just stand there but can move out of spell range or surround your characters to attack the weak characters in the back. It took me several days to appreciate the subtlety of the attack interface. As your characters get stronger so do your opponents so every combat is a challenge and you must find ways of conserving spells and weapons until you can rest and replenish them. The combat is slow too because every character near your group is moving during each turn and this takes computer time. I use this time to plan my next moves. There is a continuos mode as well where the game doesn't stop between rounds and you can adjust each character on the fly but in a lot of cases if combat starts to go bad you might not have time to switch back to turn based before some of your characters die. Death is not very permanent in this game there are plenty of spells and potions to fix the problem but it weakens the team during a fight and as personal preference I just go back to a saved game and try again. Good Luck when you meet Nessie. The only strategy I found was run and hide. I experienced some of the speed problems with this game and found that the program was going to the disk more than I thought it should. I increased my memory from 128 meg to 256 meg and it solved most of my problems. It is a BIG game and uses a lot of disk and memory space to run. For some gamers a hint book could be of some help with some of the adventure style puzzles but because the game depends on previous actions any walk through won't match your game play. The monsters you meet and the treasure you find depends on the strength of your characters and in some cases how you have played the game. This also adds to the fun of the game if you let yourself just walk through this world and talk to the NPC's that inhabit it. They will give you good ideas for what to do next and how to play the game. All I can say is I thoroughly enjoyed this game and am currently making up my second set of characters to try it again. I have never had a game so diverse that it really could be played again. This time I think I will try a bard. I've never had a bard because I always thought they were too weak but I got a rusty robot to level 20 this time so why not?
Rating:
Summary: Thou young kids! Lo! Now you know what is a classic...
Review: As a faithful Wizardry fan from the apple time, I am deeply moved by Wizardry 8. I really hope newbies and youngers of the gaming world can know why the Wizardy series occupy such a special status in the mind of us old gamers.... Any teenager gamer of nowadays will surely be moved after 20 years if he still has something like Baldur's Gate 8 to play... It is said that this is the last game of the wizardry series. What I want to say is that this is truly an excellent game, and at the same time a perfect ending of this series. Farewell, Wizardry. Farewell, Young days.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect but pretty close for a RPG with style
Review: It took a long time to finally get this game onto the shelves but I think it was worth the wait. For the RPG fans out there this game is a must have. Any fan of the earlier Wizardry series will also find this game vital to their collection. It was a change of pace to be in a 3d environment and it is pulled off nicely. In one sense it feels odd to be in a first person perspective but its easy to get used to and personally I think it really shines to help immerse you into the story and game. Nothing like seeing a group of bad guys coming at you and you can either make a run for it or duke it out. Character development is as usual top notch. Unlike earlier versions of Wizardry game where you had to roll and roll and roll to get that Ninja Fairie you could just make one. The game of course allows you to import any previous parties you created in the earlier Wizardry games, although its been so long I don't know how many people still have their old parties. Combat can be either turn based or realtime. Realtime is really only good for those battles where you know you will win and don't need to use magic much. Not real practical but good for when you are advanced and don't want to wade through combat. Combat can be slow though but they do a good job at keeping tension during combat as monsters advance with you. So you may encounter something you can mop up or be running for your life. Its a good mix really. This is pretty typical with RPG games though. The game does have a few problems but most are not too bothersome. I would probably give this game 4.5 stars but since I have to choose between 4 and 5 I say its a 5. My biggest complaint is that this might be the last Wizardry. But you never know.
Rating: 
Summary: It was fun...for a week
Review: At first I was very excited about this game. The graphics, combat system, and character development system are well made. I quickly found the battles to be time-consuming and boring. I would sit there while my party battled group after group of wandering monsters, when all I wanted to do is go somewhere nearby. The monsters automatically get stronger as you gain levels. This is a [jterrinle] feature, I think. RPG's should get easier as you gain levels, not more difficult (it made me not want to raise levels, because the battles only get harder). Another annoyance is the way your party is interrupted EVERY TIME it's your turn to walk or run during combat. I don't think that anyone could figure out the many clues and quests without the hint book. I certainly could not, and am not about to waste ten or twenty bucks to explore every nook and cranny of this game. The game world itself is small when compaired to simular games. After a week, I have been just about everywhere I can go (and that's only after playing about two hours a day).
Rating:
Summary: Would have been Perfect 7 years ago
Review: I think Wiz 8 is a good game IF you are a fan of the Wiz series and have played the other games. If you are new, you will indeed, not get what all the fuss is about. I can understand that it would be hard to jump into Wiz 8 and be excited by it. It does, on the surface, interact a whole lot like M&M. The graphics are OK, but nothing special or new. The story line is OK, but you appreciate it much more if you played Bane, Savant...etc. This game will be loved by Wiz fans, like me, that waited years for the next (and sadly final) chapter in this series. But, if you are new to the Wizardry story line, weren't even alive when Wiz I came out, or think that games like Final Fantasy are examples of an RPG....you are too young and spoiled by technological advances to appreciate this game and the rest of us are too old and reflected to see its flaws.
Rating: 
Summary: Bewildered
Review: I have no idea why this game is so highly recommended by so many.The graphics are dated,and I can't imagine why directx 8 is needed for this game.I tried very hard to enjoy it but I can't see what's there that's new or different.I hate the interface,and have found no way to see your stack or even your own character.In a first person view you should be able to see your other party members,decide who you like ,check out their skills and move them around in position,but not possible in this world.I haven't played the previous Wizadry games,and maybe if I had and come along with the story as computer technology progressed,I might find it more interesting,but I don't really think so.If you are looking for fast paced action,great graphics,and an engrossing story Don't look here.All in all, Wizardy 8's only wizardry seems to have been in the pr.1 star
Rating:
Summary: A very nice role-playing experience.
Review: This game is just fun. The graphics are nice, sometimes, very, very nice. The characters say funny and witty things(which will add replay value), and the plot is deep. The role-playing experience is very deep, also, with four pages of stats on each character. You can control up to six characters, four you create, and two NPC's. I patched the game, but had no problems with the game out of the box. I guess the patches do correct some issues, several serious, later in the game. If you like role-playing games, I recommend this one with no reservations at all.
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