Wizardry 8

"Sir-tech's final entry in the series does not dissapoint..."

Before I begin this review, I'd like to say that I only review sleeper hits, or underrated games that haven't been represented properly. The most recent review I can remember doing is my Septerra Core review. That was, and still is, an excellent game that didn't get the recognition it so rightly deserved. I also reviewed Legacy of Kain: SR way back when, back when it was still an underrated gem that ppl were calling (back then) a Tomb Raider knockoff. That has no chance of happening today, as LoK is now a bandwagoner's dream.

Anyway, moving on...today I review Wizardry 8, the final hurrah from Sir-tech Software, that is more a homage to the original Wizardry games than a pure sequel. There are a few (well, more like a lot) uninformed souls out there who think that Wiz 8 is based heavily on Wiz 7, when it's not. Trust me, Wiz 8 has WAYYY more in common with Wiz 5 than Wiz 7. Allow me to elaborate further.

Wizardry 5: Heart of the Maelstrom was released for the SNES by Capcom. That was the first Wizardry RPG that I've ever played. And I absolutely loved it. So when I heard of a sequel for the PC, I looked for it at my local EB, but I couldn't find Wiz 6 anywhere. So I missed out on that one. But I did play Wiz 7/Wiz Gold on the PC, and now I have Wiz 8. And from my experiences with the three that I was able to play, I'd have to say that Linda Currie was a big Wiz 5 fan.

And I know about fandom. Until this game, Wizardry 5 was my all-time favorite classic RPG ever. You don't know how long I played that game (I believe it was around 7-9 months)...how I figured out those devious puzzles without the help of a strat guide. How I found LK and the Lark...ON MY OWN. Yep, I truly loved that game. And I used to dream at night, imaging how awesome the game would be if it was animated, with animated spells and monsters, instead of static screens, no matter how detailed they were.

And Linda must've heard my dreaming, cuz Wizardry 8 is here!

Anyway, enough about my nostalgia; let us move on.

Graphics: 8 - Wiz 8 has nice graphics, and a myriad of options to get your game running. I did have problems getting the game to work with my Geforce 2, but I eventually found the source of the problem (desktop at 32-bit color/old, but VERY stable drivers) and since I wasn't gonna update my drivers, due to me losing too many features on my card by doing so, I instead disk-jockey'd between 16 and 32 bit color to run my games at max efficiency. Still, with all the Geforce issues, the game looks great when running under DirectX.

Sound: 9 - I would give sound a 9.7 if I could. But I can't so I won't. Hehe, double entendres...hehe. Anyway, to the point...Sound ROXORS!! Yep, the theme kicks, the in-game stuff is very listenable, and character voices are some of the best around, with BG2/PS:T being the only games that can even compete with Wiz 8, soundwise. One of the high-points of this game.

Gameplay: 10 - This game plays EXACTLY like Wizardry V, and that game had EXCELLENT playability. So, not much to say here. The work it must have taken to re-create a modern version of the Wiz 5 engine (this game plays NOTHING like Wiz 7, trust me) and make it work so damn well is really quite impressive.

Overall: 9 - It's not perfect, but it's damned close. The game itself is insanely stable, but getting it to work on your system without sacrifice will be quite the challenge. But, once you manage to get the game running well, you will understand why the Wizardry series is a worldwide phenomenon. Highly recommended.

WILDALI.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/01, Updated 12/05/01