Okay, I'm intrigued. This game has been out for some time and yet this is a very active board which means this game has something that Arx Fatalis and others have failed to generate. So tell me, what is it about this game that you like so much? Why does it have such staying power? Is it buggy? Hard to learn? I did hear that the battles can take forever and put you to sleep OR you can walk away, have lunch, come back and the battles still rage on. True?

I thought it was surprising, too. I bought the game when it came out and finished it. Later, I started playing again, don't remember why and now I'm here. Maybe we are all just either naturally insane or need to find a certain helmet to wear.

heh. Like that, a helm, to protect us from the Mesmogrifier at Sirtech that makes us have to play...and play...

im playing it for the 1st time,
hoping i'll find time to play it once more after.

But i do get annoyed when your running after scared or blinded monsters lol.

This game captures much of the essence of what makes good role playing. Although you have to run around on quests some, it is very open and you have options. The advancement system is better than most if not all. I am playing M&M 8 again just as a contrast. Although open, too, its promotion system and statistics are not nearly as intriguing. Wiz 8 also has superior strategy and tactical situations, i.e., better battles and more planning. I liked Wiz & Warriors as well, but it took longer to get into and never quite got the "you are there" feel.

Edit : W & W also is a good example of some basic needs: a good interface and few or no bugs really help any game. Outside of those 2 negatives, that game would have been much more successful since D.W. Bradley is a genius at designing RPGs (like Wiz 5-7).

[ 03-16-2004, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

It's definately a difficult game, but because of the different character options, and non-linearity, it has a lot of replay value. The battles are diverse, but after a while they can get monotonous.

Sometimes it can be player-hating, as the enemies can move a full movement and STILL get more attacks than you even if you're lucky. This is why I'm only about halfway through the game (I think) and my characters are around level 20, because I'm a game-hating player. :-P

I enjoy "power-building" when I play RPGs, which is something W8 is very good for. In fact the W8 system of level/skill advancement is the EPITOMY of power-building. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Those are some of the reasons the game keeps me playing.

I like it because very much of the game is random. You start, but after that no game is like the others. Every time you open a chest, you find different things.
There are some fixed monsters but usually there are random groups .

You can create all kinds of different parties ( Fighters, Hybrids or Mages only, Parties based on ranged combats, "normal" parties etc) and every party needs different handling.

There are different ways to reach the circle. There is no "fixed" way to finish the quests . And, of course, there is a difference between "normal" or "expert" difficulty level, so you have a new motivation after some games if you change to expert.

Wombstar: Why do you waste time to make them afraid or blind ? Kill them [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img] !

[img]graemlins/monster5.gif[/img]

[ 03-17-2004, 12:40 AM: Message edited by: Loudhy ]

I think for me, it's the fact that I don't know if I can win the next battle or not. Every other RPG I've played gets too easy too quickly. I've never known as much about a game than I know about Wiz8, but it will still kick my sorry butt if I get too complacent. Wiz8 can still make me laugh, even after 3+ years or so, and that's so rare in a computer game.

I just like it how your enemies explode and die.
[img]smile.gif[/img]

It has a great replay value, because you can create very different parties, and each one is able to finish the game. For example, i have played magic-only or missile-only parties. Others have played melee-only.

Then there's really a difference between normal and expert, but expert still is doable. For real experts, there is the ironman mode.