"As American as the 4th of July..."

OPENING STATEMENT
Taskmaker is an American RPG that is not ashamed that it is one. Taskmaker presents to you one of the only RPGs that is only available on the Macintosh. And (drum roll please) it has to be one of the inspirations for Diablo!

GAMEPLAY--8
The gameplay is very well done. The weapon and defense system is the same as it is in Diablo II. There are different armor and weapon locations, and places next to them where you can equip them. This is probably my favorite equipment screen of any other game. The gameplay is simple once you get into battles or towns. The enemies all show up on your screen so you can run (or try to) if you wish. Each attack is done with certain buttons that I will not get into, since you are required to go through a Tutorial Mode before beginning the game, and this Tutorial Mode teaches you how to do everything.

If I can correctly remember, one of the most controversial things about this game, was the fact that, when your character got to zero HP, your character went to Hell, where he confronted the devil in a battle, that you nearly always lose. Then, you start in the beginning of Hell again. Usually, I quit the game when I end up in Hell, since it is so frustrating and difficult to get out.

GRAPHICS--6
These certainly are not the worst graphics in the world. They are all sprites (I love my two dimensional RPGs) and fairly colorful. Unlike in many RPGs, the characters are not based on Anime at all. (Perhaps this is because it is a western RPG.) The buildings can be very huge, and some have entire towns inside them. Occasionally it can be difficult to find doors and other entrances to areas or buildings because they can be well hidden.

MUSIC--N/A
SOUND--4
There is no music in Taskmaker, though why I have never figured out.

The sound effects will annoy you until your death. Your character runs into people or things frequently (there is no way of getting around this) and he grunts every time he does so. If you bump into something enough, usually more than fifteen times, he yells “Get out of the way!” and goes back to grunting. Both characters (the enemy and yourself) grunt when they are hurt in battle, annoying you further.

CONTROL--9
The movement is all done through the directional keys. Other commands are done through various letter keys. ‘Return’ or ‘Enter’ (whichever it happens to be on your keyboard) accepts all commands. You character respond quickly to whatever you tell him to do, which is especially important in the heat of battle, since the battles are all real time, with the enemies being able to attack you constantly.

FUN--6
Although the game starts out very slow, it finishes up quite nicely. There is not much of a story, but the game keep you hooked nonetheless. If you can survive the Tutorial Mode, you will play Taskmaker until the end. The battles are fun, despite their high difficulty and alarming frequency. But the most fun thing is exploring the towns, especially the larger ones looking for secrets. Of which there are plenty.

CHALLENGE--HIGH
This is one of the most difficult RPGs that I have played. The battles come often, and they are very difficult. Finding everything you need to in the towns and dungeons can take forever, due to the sheer size of some of them. Some of the enemies can especially be difficult if they have long range attacks, which can spell doom from a distance.

REPLAY VALUE--LOW TO MEDIUM
Although it will take you a long time to beat the game the first time, chances are you will never play it again, unless you are really bored. Why? Well the game’s lack of a story finally spelled its doom.

PROS
*A Macintosh only RPG.
*Equipment system works perfectly.
*Lots of free stuff from the Tutorial Mode.

CONS
*Weak story.
*No music.
*Some of the missions will take days.

CLOSING STATEMENT
As this game evolved into the Diablo series, this is a must play for Diablo fans everywhere. There are not many decent western RPGs out there, and this is one of the few worth a look. Especially on the weak RPG frontier of the Macintosh.

OVERALL--5

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/00, Updated 07/18/01