Swords and Sorcery: Underworld Gold Review
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As you fight your way through the hordes of enemies in the underground dungeons, you of course find an assortment of equipment. Characters don't have a "paper doll" that you fill out. Instead, they can simply wear nine items and hold nine more. That means, for example, that a character who wields a two-handed weapon isn't penalized for not being able to equip a shield. That character can simply wear an extra ring (or some other item to fill out his nine) instead. Items can also have a +1 to +3 bonus, but this bonus doesn't make the items "magical" in the D&D sense. Instead of increasing the armor or damage of an item, the bonus adds X10 to an attribute. As an example, a Plate Helm +3 adds 30 to Endurance.The story in Underworld Gold is fairly minimal. Early on you learn that a demon named Amahaaru is trying to take over the world, and so most of the campaign consists of you building up your party so you can face him at the end. There are a few side quests here and there, which can net you some nice equipment if you complete them, but there aren't any decisions to be made. NPCs simply talk at you (or rather they send text your way since there isn't any voice acting), and then you decide if you want to complete their quests or not.
The maps in the world are more enjoyable. During your explorations you eventually come up with a teleporter, and one of the Sorcerer spells allows you to pass through walls. That means you don't just walk around until you've explored every square of a map. You have to be more creative. This is especially true in the Water map, where flowing water sends you sailing along, and you have to be careful to select the right "current." There are also a couple of minor puzzles to solve, just to keep you on your toes.
Along with the mechanics of the game being old school, the graphics are that way as well. Underworld Gold uses a fixed 1024x768 resolution that you can stretch out to full screen or play in a window. All of the locations and enemies are in 2D, and the colors use a basic palette. The good news here is that while you won't ooh and ahh while viewing the scenery, the system requirements are minimal. You should be able to play Underworld Gold on just about any computer.
I played version 2.0.16 of Underworld Gold, and sadly it's still a little bit sloppy. Some parts of the game haven't been implemented yet (you're supposed to get attacked sometimes when you rest, but it doesn't happen), some parts of the game don't work (a strength-increasing beverage always claims you've already drunk it), and there are a host of silly typos (like "antichamber," "prisonner," and "pondered silk gown"). Fortunately, none of these problems prevent players from completing the game, and Charles Clerc has been very good about releasing updates, so hopefully he'll get everything straightened out soon.
Overall, I had mixed feelings about Underworld Gold. It reminded me of my youth playing RPGs (and breaking out the graph paper and colored pencils), but I'm not sure if I wouldn't have been better off playing one of those older games rather than this new one. That being said, Underworld Gold is only $15, it works just fine on Windows 7, and it gives you about 40 hours of content. It wasn't my favorite game of the year, but it seems like a fine risk if you're looking for something different to try.
