The_Onesin
First time out of the vault
Wizardry 8 is a turn-based RPG game developed by Sirtech-Canada. It features gameplay very similar to previous Wizardry installments, with some major improvements on general balancing and features. It is also the last of the Wizardry series, with Sirtech closing down after the release of Wizardry 8
Wizardry 8 is an excellent game. It can be brutally challenging for 21st century gamers due to sheer amount of odds that are featured to both the player party and the oppositions. Instead of your typical RPG enemies who will attack you like Stormtroopers (taking turns *cough cough), enemies in Wizardry 8 will gang you up with maximum of more than 20 entities at once (maximum number of monsters I had in one battle was 23). In addition to that, your spells have chance of being cancelled and backfired even though there is no external interference. This means that almost every battles have odd of you screwing up very badly with one miscast spell no matter how much you were owning that fight. Although these elements seem unfair, these are essentially one of the things you will love in Wizardry 8. Battles are almost never a walk in the park with these challenging elements.
- Look at all those monsters
Challenges put aside, Wizardry 8 also features complicated character development system with 15 classes to choose from, with numerous skills which some are unique to certain classes, and 11 races to role-play with. The level of complexity in Wizardry 8 is nigh incomparable to many RPGs out there today, and it takes good several hours spent to grasp the basic outline. Of course to understand advanced features such as skill leveling and multi-classing, it takes another great amount of time to figure those out!
- You will see at least two more different screens before you get to roll your character.
While the character development itself is also extremely fun, the way developers handled the combat is also godlike. You are in control of so many options present in combat (e.g. : Will you 'protect' or 'guard' enemy attacks, or will you make tactical retreat?), and the level of depth is incredible. You have to think about positioning, distance, turn initiatives, to hit ratio, conditions your characters are in, which items to use, and which spells are risky to cast. There are still many more than these options!!
- Uh oh. Looks like someone's in hot water. What you gonna do?
The way this game handles the story is also great. Its somewhat similar to 'Dark Souls' in that you have to find out the story yourself, decide which side to take, and which decisions to make when you are presented with one. There are also good amount of interactions present between NPCs, and even your own party members! Not only that, Wizardry 8 has massive game world with sheer amount of explorations to be done, and secrets hidden around every corners.
- When was the last time you interacted with Keywords system?
But even though Wizardry 8 is such a masterpiece, it is not without its flaws. First, there are WAY too many combats in this game, and sometimes you will get tired of it. You actually need a rest outside the game itself when this happens, and next time you play the game it will be better. Second, the difficulty level fluctuates in some instances. First time you finish the tutorial level (Monastery), prepare to have your ass canned from all directions. Enemies scale to your level after the Monastery, and if you are not familiar with the game soon, you will suffer. These fluctuations also occur mid to late game with some enemies that can be INSANELY difficult to deal with (damn unicorns). Expect some unpleasant surprises. Third, the balance isn't too great. Its not as bad as Wizardry 7 in which the Rangers were walking trashes that contribute nothing to your party except charting a map, but there are some discrepancies. For example, Bishops easily outperform any spellcasters due to the fact that they can train to cast any spells. This issue was not too serious in previous installments in which the dices were rolled randomly and it was insanely hard to create a bishop, but it became bit of an issue in Wizardry 8 because you could create a Bishop without any hassles when you start the game. But this is the least of the problems because generally all the classes are playable. Heck, even the psionics can be useful with strong resistance and useful disables. Finally, some of the NPCs are very hard to interact with. Some NPCs will force you to type the word they want, which you have no clues about. I won't go further because it can be a spoiler, but keep in mind that NPC interactions can be tricky and pain in the ass sometimes.
- Does 3v7 look easy enough? Well you will see...
Other than that, this is the masterpiece of an RPG. Graphics are quite good for its time, the sound is awesome with amazing varieties, and the production value is just spectacular. Wizardry 8 also has great replay value, and you will always enjoy more out of it.
Overall, I recommend this game because of excellent game mechanics and production value. This really is one of the best games ever made.
