Rating: Summary: The Dragon, the Hero and the Awesome Review: I think Dragon Fire is the best out of the Quest for Glory series. I love the way the completion of the Rites of Rulership is so intertwined and I think it's so cool that your character can get married. There are things you can do that aren't sequecial but that makes it more interesting trying to figure out what else you can do. I also like the fact that, at the end of the game, it tells you what things you didn't do so you can improve you game and earn more and more points. It keeps track of the highest score so you can compare. And if you import a Hero with thief skills who isn't (technically) a theif you can still do the theif stuff like robbing the bank. Of course, I have a Paladin who used to be a theif, so that should be interesting...An annoying thing about a Wizard having theif skills is that he can't get the Summon Staff spell, and I like the Summom Staff Spell. Speaking of spells, there's lots of variety, although, if you give a new charcter (i.e.not imported) who isn't a Wizard Magic skill, he won't be able to get all the spells, there are 6 he won't be able to get. The graphics are great, although the Hero's face close up looks a little strange. The Hero's, Nawer's and Budar's dances are either funny, weird or just plain dumb depending on your point of view. The music is fantasic, I especially like the music that plays when you're swimming, and there's nothing like underwater combat. It's sad though, that you can't rescue Erana and Katrina from the depths of Hades. I always seem to feel guilty when I leave 'cause I left one behind. Feeling guilty is really dumb because it's not real, but it just goes to show how enthralling the game is huh?
Rating: Summary: Quest for Glory V Review: I think this is the best game out there, and sierra was crazy for getting rid of it.
Rating: Summary: What happened? Review: I'm not deterred by the fact that this game is so old now no one is likely to read my review. I feel like I have to put my two cents in. I am a huge fan of the Quest for Glory series and couldn't wait to get my hands on "Dragon Fire." I wish now that I had just quit at QFG4. When I began playing Dragon Fire I wondered if I had mistakenly ordered the wrong game, as there was nothing remotely similar to the first four. I am a firm believer in the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sierra took everything I loved about QFG and changed it into an aloof, tedious, and downright disheartening game. The characters with whom you interact are mind-numbingly dull and inpersonal, the constant-running clock was distracting, the battle/travelling interface was unfamiliar. The one thing I was looking forward to is choosing a wife at the end of the game. I must have missed a conversation or item I was supposed to have, because the game ended after the dragon battle with no mention of a wife. I had to look at a walkthrough to see what I was missing. That's another thing--in the first QFG games the play may have been a bit more linear, but I found myself having to cheat several times on this game. How else would I know to bring an urn (I forget the Greek name) to Hydra island to collect goo for my hot-air balloon? Once you leave the island there is no going back, and if you don't have the goo you find out later on in the game that you can't proceed. Unless there is something else I missed. I wish I were a computer programmer so I could make my own version. To put it bluntly, this game sucks.
Rating: Summary: A mediocre end to the series. Review: I've loved Quest For Glory since the first, but this last one did not at all live up to any QFG fan's expectations. The storyline itself remains more or less true to the earlier games, but the gameplay reeks of being tweaked to be more like traditional RPGs, most likely thanks to the new executives who ran Sierra after Cendant took over. The soundtrack is unimpressive, I'd go so far as to say the MIDI music from QFG2 and 3 was better than the digital music for QFG5. Overall, unless you're a fan of the earlier games, you probably won't enjoy this one very much. On that note, Sierra is stupidly discontinuing sale and production of the QFG collection (as well as the collections of King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, and their other main series from the 80s and early 90s), so Amazon and other retail stores are not going to be selling them anymore. I'd really recommend looking around for them in various places that sell used software (e.g. [URL]); they're really excellent games.
Rating: Summary: Best RPG ever! The BEST in the Series! Review: If you are a fan of the Quest for Glory series, you might want to buy this just to round out the collection. Fair warning though... if you loved Q4G for the fun and spoofs, they are strangely absent in this volume. For some reason Sierra dropped the spoofs and comedy to make a King's Quest clone instead of a spoof. The play is pretty smooth but the interface will drive you nuts until you get used to it.
Rating: Summary: Not at all like the rest of Quest for Glory Review: If you are a fan of the Quest for Glory series, you might want to buy this just to round out the collection. Fair warning though... if you loved Q4G for the fun and spoofs, they are strangely absent in this volume. For some reason Sierra dropped the spoofs and comedy to make a King's Quest clone instead of a spoof. The play is pretty smooth but the interface will drive you nuts until you get used to it.
Rating: Summary: best for die hard fans and for the music Review: Just like others said or meant to say, getting into this series only makes sense if you loved the previous installments, only to pay the tribute to this QFG series that are stil unsurpassed. The QFG 5 is merely the swan song, the nice farewell to the RPG genre as it was when it just came out. It came out on the wave of inspiration, of fresh ideas that gave birth and life to companies like Sierra On Line, to masterpieces like Kings Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest and of course Quest for Glory (Hero Quest), the best of all above mentioned. QFG has everything you need to enjoy a good game: good humor, noble epic pitch, clever riddles to solve, beautiful music and graphics, lovable characters, amazingly real life feel to all of it. No wonder there are guerilla user/developers groups out there that can't accept the fact that the magic is over and try to keep the series running. By the time the QFG 5 made it to the release the role playing game genre as we knew it from the beginning was dying and now it's completely dead as the arts of gamemaking turned to industry, sort of what happened to our movies in 1990s. This shows in QFG 5 already. This installment has a few features of a bone thrown to the pack of pesky fans who innudated Sierra with letters begging for more. All key characters from previous installments brought in regardless whether they belong to the story or not. One thing that has to be bowed to is the music written by Thomas Chance which is truly top-notch. Vangelis would be proud of such music, Ludwig Van Beethoven would be proud too. Most voice talents are pretty good, some are excellent (kudos the guys who voiced Logos, Rakesh, the parrot, to the ladies who voiced Erana, Nawar, Ana grama). Most dialogues are clever, funny. Visuals, animations are beautiful. When it comes to quests/tasks/plot/writing the game obviuosly tried to bite way more than it was safe to chew. The plot is so contrived, so dumb, so illogical that there are whole Web sites dedicated to ridiculing QFG V plot/quest absurdities. So, since there is no way to figure out the plot line by mere logic, my advice - cheat. Get walkthroughs, get a guide, either on the Internet (plenty of sites with walkthroughs) or buy an "official" guide book, get save file crackers/editors, don't waste your time trying to figure out what the designers have to release pressed by time and lack of ideas, just enjoy the music, the dialogue, humor, the fun. Trust me, you'll waste enough precious time even with a walkthrough. Bottom line, this is one big and cool Quest for Glory insider joke, if you played QFG 1-4, this is a must. That will seal your "gaming experience" nicely and for good. Otherwise, probably it will be confusion and nothing else.
Rating: Summary: What Role Playing Games Are Supposed To Be Like Review: Note: this review is of the series as a whole, not just #5 The Quest for Glory games are the only computer role playing games I have ever played that don't rely on hack-and-slash fighting and "invade dungeon X, find magic item Y" treasure hunting to be fun. Rather the humor, detailed problem solving, believable character interaction, and the ability to play the same character through every game in the series, building his skills, connections, and understanding, are what make these games great. The games accomplish this by using a puzzle/adventure -game interface. Like in King's Quest or Monkey Island, you move your character around in a basically 2d environment, clicking on things to examine or interact with them. But unlike one of these games, your success at most actions is determined by how skilled your character is. e.g. the better you are at "throw," the greater the chance you will succeed at knocking something out of a tree by chucking a rock at it. These stats increase the more you use them and carry on to future games. Rather than just clicking on a townsperson to see what they have to say, you think of questions to ask them or stories to tell them (the later games have better conversation features than the earlier ones). There are three classes to choose from: Fighter, Thief, and Mage, and if you act extremely noble and righteously for the first couple of games, it is possible to become a Paladin. Unlike most "rpgs" where your class only determines how your character fights, in the qfg games each class has certain apptitudes and has to find clever ways to use them to accomplish goals. The principle disadvantage that people fault the games with is not giving you complete customization over your character (you can't choose race, skin coloration, etc., and you can't just arbitrarily decide to run off to another kingdom or join the bad guys). This is the side effect of having the games so detailed: they are made for a few particular types of hero ... if they were generalized, they would lose the detail that makes them so great. Anyway, that's probably more than enough information. #5 is certainly not the best in the series, and I hate how they've tried to "diabloify" it to a small degree. It is definitely worth playing, but it is so much better when played after taking your character through the previous games. You'll have to be willing to deal with some primative graphics in the first two games, but they're well worth the effort. If you want to play number 5, first get the Quest for Glory Anthology which includes 1-4 (I can help if you have trouble finding a place that carries it, e-mail: fgarb@ucdavis.edu), and then get #5. Also check out www.hero6.com to see the fan based game this series has inspired.
Rating: Summary: One of the Best Games I ever Played! Review: One of the best games I've ever played, the series is the best. Quest for Glory stimulates my brain adn gets me going for all the hard work that I have to put forth. Its the best, and I have played "The Paladin" ever single game expet the 1 and 2. It was great and this really ops it off. If they're coming out with a six, i can't wait to get it. Is there a anthology for all the QG games? Anyway, this was a great game and I give it the score that defines it! 5 stars!
Rating: Summary: A Fine Finale for a Fine Series Review: Perhaps one of the last quality adventure games Sierra will put out, this game epitomizes the principle that Sierra's game designers, in this case the Coles, are quite proficient at captivating the imaginations of gamers everywhere. While over half of the game's characters are linked to the previous games in the series, it is not necessary to have played the predecessors to understand the interface of QFG5; The interface is actually quite different than the previous games. The fighting sequences consist of a "point and click" interface versus the keyboard strokes of the earlier games. This is the only noticable dichotomy, however. The story is up to par with what I have come to expect. The graphics are rendered quite well, creating brilliant scenary and animation. It could be argued that the musical score from the game outdoes the graphics, which is some of the best original instrumental music I've heard in a long time. The game takes place on the island of Marete, which has fallen under the threat of a dangerous asassin who has killed the king. The council of Marete decides that they will replace their leader by holding tournaments to determine a worthy successor. Our hero has entered this contest, and must complete a series of quests to prove himself worthy of the crown, while trying to catch a murderer along the way. The only thing that disappointed me about this game was that it will be the last one. If you have ever imagined about battling fantastic creatures and heroic acts, I reccomend this game to you. For a minor price it is a great adventur.
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