Subject: REVIEW: Black Crypt
From: [email-masked] (Ken Sequeira)
Date: 16 Nov 1992 03:50:41 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  This review was updated slightly on November
	24, 1992.  Look for "MODERATOR'S NOTE" to see the updates. - Dan]

PRODUCT NAME

	Black Crypt

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	This is a game of the Dungeon Master genre.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Electronic Arts
	Address:	P.O. Box 7578
			San Mateo, CA 94403-7578
			USA

	Telephone:	(415) 571-2787

	The game was designed and programmed by Raven Software.

LIST PRICE

	$49.95.  I paid $39.95 retail.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	The game comes on 3 non-copy-protected disks.  You must have at
least 1 megabyte of RAM to run the game.  Other than the RAM requirement,
there are no other special hardware or software restrictions.

	EA claims that the game runs on all Amigas and all versions of the
operating system up to 2.0.  I dispute this, as I could not get Black Crypt
nor the install program to work correctly under 2.0.  Under 1.3, the game and
install program ran flawlessly.

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  I have received e-mail from two people who were
	able to run Black Crypt under Kickstart 2.0 on Amiga 500 and 3000
	computers.  Apparently, the game requires a lot of CHIP RAM.  If you
	have only 512K CHIP RAM, you may have trouble running the game from
	your hard drive.  You may have to boot on the game, or play
	immediately after booting. - Dan]

COPY PROTECTION

	Black Crypt uses a manual based copy protection scheme that is
nicely integrated into the game.  Throughout the game there are plaques on
the walls that you can read, at various points in the game in order to
preceded you must answer a question from a plaque.

	The game installs on a hard drive and comes with a hard drive
install utility.  I could not get the install utility to work correctly
under 2.0; it would copy the first disk fine but, would fail after that. 
The hard drive utility works fine under 1.3.  If you will be running the
game from a floppy-based Amiga, you will need a blank formatted disk for
your saved games.  Since the disks are not copy protected, copy all the game
disks, and run it from the copies.

REVIEW

	Black Crypt is a 3D, real-time Dungeon game.  It follows the genre
of previous games like Dungeon Master and the Eye of the Beholder series.
The game consists of 28 levels of monster bashing, magic throwing, puzzle
solving mania.  Now, don't go "OH! WOW! 28 levels!" -- there are many levels
that consist of only a few grids.  There are roughly 17 serious levels.

	The interface is very intuitive and easy to grasp, after the first
level it will become second nature.  I especially liked the magic system,
which consists of finding spell books throughout the game.  When you learn
the spells they appear in a graphic of a spell book.  To cast a spell, just
click on the spell and it appears in the spell stone (ready window) ready
for casting.

	The game graphics are very nice, with different levels having
completely different color schemes and designs.  This helps the game
environment. The screens are drawn in 64 colors (extra half-bright) which
are used quite effectively.  The monsters are nicely drawn and animated. 
The sound effects are good, about as many as you should find in a dungeon:
the usual grunts, slamming doors, and monster foot steps.

	The object of the game is to defeat Estoroth the evil cleric gone
bad (sound familiar?).  He was defeated long ago and sealed in a crypt, but
the crypt has sprung a leak; Estoroth may get out, and if he does, it's
curtains! You job if you decide to accept it (no, your computer will not
self-destruct in 5 seconds) is to gather four buddies and go to the crypt and
cause Estoroth and his buddies some bodily harm.  Your path is littered
with many creatures, puzzles, and traps.  The game is difficult but, not
impossible, and the maps at the end of the manual are indispensable.  It
took me about 2 1/2 weeks of playing every day to win the game.  I did
need a few tips, though:  I could not solve it cold.

	To defeat Estoroth, you will need four artifacts.  Watch the
opening sequence (3rd screen) for a big tip and read the "History of the
Black Crypt" in the manual for some useful information.  If you do not
obtain the four artifacts, you can beat on Estoroth all night and not put a
scratch on him.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	There's not much to dislike here gamewise.  Maybe more monsters to
fight and a pause button would be nice, but overall they did a nice job.

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  I have been informed that the game does
	have a "pause" feature which is explained on page 9 of the
	manual. - Dan]

I did have some quality control problems.  Game disk 3's sliding metal
protective clip was broken off and laying in the box; I can't see how
anybody could miss that.  I was able to pop it back on make a copy of the
disk.  I could see someone destroying the disk trying to get it back on.
Normally, I would chastise a developer for the game breaking under 2.0, but
since the game installs on a hard drive and works with accelerators, I'm not
as harsh.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	It's understandable that people will want to compare Black Crypt to
the veteran Dungeon Master.  Visually, Dungeon Master does not compare to
Black Crypt, and gamewise there will be arguments. I would say that Dungeon
Master and Chaos were more difficult than Black Crypt. Not to say Black
Crypt was easy, it just had better access to water and food.  Overall,
Black Crypt is a better game.

BUGS

	I could not find any bugs in the game.

CONCLUSIONS

	Generally, the game is very good and will provide you with hours
of entertainment.  If you like dungeon games, add this one to your
collection.  My 3 year old son loved the game; he would sit on my lap for
long periods of time and just watch me do battle and explore.  Not too many
games have done that.

	I will use a rating system based on numbers, with 5 being the best
and 1 the worst.

	5 - Excellent
	4 - Very Good
	3 - Playable
	2 - Should have bought something else
	1 - Took to the cleaners

Black Crypt overall rating:  3.9 (very good)

	Graphics      4.5
	Sound         3.0
	Documentation 3.5
	Playability   4.0
	Intangibles   4.0 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1992 Ken Sequeira.  All rights reserved.

---

   Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
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