"This is quite possibly the best game created in the last millenium."

If you're looking for the incredibly obscure and hard to find full version of this game, skip to the very end of the review.

I find it absolutely unbelievable that this game is as obscure as it is. I had the shareware version of the game when I was much younger, and I was so struck by how great it was that I searched for the full version for many, many years. Apparently, the few other people out there that have played the shareware version of the game are also in the same situation. Unfortunately, the game is so obscure that no gaming site anywhere has any information on it beyond the stock paragraph description and the name of the company that made it! That company, United Software Artists, apparently went under long ago, as I can't find any information on them, either. I can find the game available for 'sale' at the price of $49.95 from sites like GameZone, but I would bet money that they only have the shareware version that can still be found with enough internet digging. Also, the game is at least ten years old, and the publisher/developer has long since disappeared. I can't imagine what those websites are charging $49.95 for. Don't be fooled.

As for the game itself...

Story 10/10

Amulets & Armor is a hybrid RPG, FPS, and adventure game, with an intensely detailed and interesting plot, and an oddly fleshed out world. I say 'oddly', because most FPS game zones are 'to the point', with secret zones whose only purpose is to hide some powerups. Not so, in A&A. The FPS areas range from expansive fields between cities, to the cities themselves, to winding caves that seem to go on for miles, to unholy graveyards teeming with undead. The descriptions sound fitting for a RPG/FPS hybrid, right? The difference between other games and A&A is that you will find places mentioned in the main story or the numerous side quests that are not critical to beating the game! It's like the developers had a complete world in mind when they designed the game! For instance - and this one really got me - one of the side quests involves a noble Lady whose husband never came back from a crusade. Out in the world, you may eventually find the locket that she gave to her husband, proving that he is dead. The quest ends there, and you get your reward. However, if, later on, you follow the path that that crusade took many years ago, you may run across a small very-well-hidden cave that contains an elaborate grave. Writing on the stone confirms that it was the dead knight from the earlier subquest. Why? Who cares! It's awesome!

Gameplay -10/10
You, the player, initially choose a character from eleven markedly different classes, and, yes, your character comes complete with HP, Mana, and a host of stats such as Strength, Intelligence, and so on, that raise through experience gained by quest completion or combat. The other review under Amulets & Armor does a good job of explaining the classes. I'll talk about the other parts of gameplay.

There are two 'modes' of play. In one, your character is in a town or city. You don't actually get to (or have to) walk around said city. Everything that you need to use is immediately at hand: the inn, if you need to rest or log out of the game; the bank, if you want to deposite your money, buy magic amulets or rings, or change your money between coppers, silvers, gold, and plats; the shop, where you can buy armor, weapons, food, and magic wands; and the city center, where you learn of the main storyline and any subquests.

The other mode of play, obviously, is where the FPS comes in. You control your character from a first person view, and you travel across the lands, into dungeons, or assault castles. The great thing about A&A is, if you can imagine it, you can probably do it! Your character can creep stealthily to avoid detection, or just walk, run, and jump; but you can also use magic spells or rings to enhance your jump capability, speed up your run, swim, walk on lava, teleport forward, or even fly! These are all very important, as the environment is crazilly interactive. The world is full of items like food, tables, doors, switches, levers, traps, and weapons, all of which can be thrown around and interacted with. One interesting feature is that light is handled realistically - if you close a door, it gets darker in your room, and vice versa! Also, the enemies are intelligent. If you get seen by a weak foot soldier, you can be damned sure that the shouting you hear (and yes, you do hear it!) is to nearby wizards who will start shooting homing fireballs at you.

Your weapons are vast and varied. There are at least fifty melee weapons that I know of, whose use depends on your strength and speed. These melee weapons vary wildly in power and effect, from a rusty dirk to a lightning mace that makes people explode. Depending on the weapon you choose, you can poison enemies, freeze them, do lightning damage, blind enemies, disable their magic casting ability for a short time, and many other strange and useful effects. These effects are almost always balanced by weaker damage, slow attack speed, or some other factor. Also, the weapon types you can use are limited by your class. In addition to the melee weapons, there are also bows and crossbows that can shoot a variety of ammo. These arrows or bolts can be regular, armor piercing, poisoning, and so on.

Then, there's magic. Magic comes in three types: Divine, Arcane, and Mystic. To use magic, you put runes that you have in a certain order and attempt to cast a spell (you can buy them from the shop or find them in the world - and some are extremely rare). You can only cast spells from the type of magic your character is aligned to, if any. Spell formulas are usually found in journal entries hidden throughout the land, or on dead mages. You don't have to find the formulas that way, however; if you decipher the meanings of the runes and use a little logic, you can begin to find magic spells on your own. Formulas range from 2 runes in length to as many as 8, though I've never been able to figure out an 8 rune spell. Generally, the more runes in the formula, the more powerful it is. Magic spells do an incredible range of things, from pushing away objects or enemies, pulling them closer, allowing you to fly, turn invisible, walk through walls, have infrared vision, heal yourself, resist certain types of damage, power up your damage for a short time, night vision, have an automap, fill in that automap in the area around you, and of course all manner of destructive explosions and such. All of these take mana, and depend on your mystical stats. There are also scrolls to be bought or found that duplicate many magical effects.

Oh, there are two more vital stats in addition to HP and Mana. They are Food and Water. You regenerate HP faster the more full you are (100% Food is best), while you regen mana faster the more water you drink (100% is max). Almost every action drains your Food and/or Mana just a little bit, so you should never leave town unprepared. Food and drink can be found out in the world, but you can't depend on it.

Your inventory is huge at first, but it will quickly fill up with runes, food, drink, alternate weapons and armor, and most importantly, treasure! There's craploads of treasure to be had for the adventurous warrior, often hidden in mazes, puzzles, traps, or guarded by a dragon; and, believe me, that dragon is impervious to almost everything, flies, and breathes fire at you. That treasure is worth it!

I feel like I've gone on far too long about gameplay, but have still barely scratched the surface. I can't stress enough how amazingly fun this game is. It's also only as complicated as you want it to be. You can make it through the 'core' of the game with just armor, a trusty sword, and some skill and luck, but it won't nearly be as fun. There's countless puzzles, traps, mazes, dungeons, hidden plot devices, and so on. You can even screw up a certain spell formula badly enough that you are warped through time to a place where a certain band of legendary warriors trains under a god - who you CAN fight! His identity can be uncovered by deciphering cryptic scrolls found throughout the world. Strangely enough, if you don't find this secret level, you'll never have any idea what those scrolls were about! There are many mysteries in the game even for me, and I've replayed it several times.

Sound 10/10
Everything makes noise. Doors opening and closing, the wind in tight spaces, your feet, arrows arcing through the air, even your character bumping into things. That's all well and good, but the most amazing things about the sound are the crystal clear voices. You can have your character say or yell a variety of things, from 'Hello there', to 'Defend yourself!', to 'Where are you going?'. Sure, they are all the same voice (there are no female characters), but it's surprising.

Graphics 10/10
The graphics are great, considering that this game was made in the early 90's. I can't be sure of its exact release date (or if it ever was released!), but everything is very well detailed and animated. I am still amazed by how objects actually affect the light in an area. I didn't even think game developers knew that could be done in the 90's.

Multiplayer 14/10!!
The ENTIRE GAME can be played multiplayer with up to 4 people SIMULTANEOUSLY! EVERYTHING is fully functional, meaning that you can not only play the game, main quest, and subquests with partners, but you can FIGHT EACHOTHER AS WELL! You can kill, loot and mock other players, if you really want to, or you can heal and protect them! Your says and yells (those crystal clear voices) can all be heard by people in your vicinity, too! It's totally amazing! I had countless hours of fun on the shareware version playing multiplayer with my brother - I'd stalk him through a castle that we had taken over, listening for his footsteps while I crept along the shadows - only to find that he was using Temporary Flight and could not be heard because he wasn't walking! It's all just... so intensely fun.

Overall 10/10
You will love this game and play it for hours on end obsessively until you finish. That about sums it up.

Best game of the 90's, period. I still don't know why it's so utterly obscure.
By the way, I do have the full version of the game. I'm not sure where exactly I got it. I'm fairly sure that if you're seeing this at all, you've been looking for it for years. Drop me an email.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/06