 Lands of Lore III is a role playing game produced by Westwood Studios. The
player assumes the role of Copper LeGre in a quest to regain his lost soul and redeem the
kingdom of Gladstone. Many different enemies stand in the way, but with the aid of a
stalwart familiar and the sanction of one or more guilds, victory is nearly assured.
Nonetheless, the trials are enjoyable and the level design is excellent.Rather than
complicating the gamer’s life with thick manuals and a detailed character creation
system, Westwood Studios chose to incorporate the manual and class system within the game
itself. Copper must find the different guilds within Gladstone and make a choice to join
one or more of them. The guilds include the Iron Ring (warriors), the Talamari (mages),
the Order of the Finch (clerics), and the Bacchanal (thieves). Each guild offers various
skills to the character, as well as access to guild stores and libraries. My own
incarnation of Copper was a fighter/mage/thief, which was a worthy combination despite the
division of experience amongst the three classes.
 To offset the loneliness that is inherent in the single-player
first-person-perspective RPG, a different familiar is offered by each of the guilds. The
familiar will aid you in any manner that its capabilities will allow. It is even possible
to choose a familiar from a guild in which you are not a member—in fact, it is
advisable! A mage would find the golem, Lig, to be an indispensable damage-absorbing asset
in the field, while the warrior would appreciate Goldy’s healing abilities. The
familiars add humor and provide advice, and are a particularly welcome addition to this
RPG.
Copper’s diary forms the real manual for the game. As Copper meets new enemies,
finds new items, and explores new areas, the information is inscribed within the diary.
The familiars also help flesh out the diary with "stories about monsters" and
information regarding particular items in Copper’s possession. While I enjoy being
able to read a well-constructed paper manual, I found this method to provide greater
continuity and "realism."
 The basic story is rather familiar: the protagonist must travel through
different dimensions to seek different components of a broken mirror in order to save the
realm. This is almost exactly the same story line as in Kings Quest: Mask of Eternity
(another excellent game). However, there are many plot twists to the basic story that make
it more than just another rehashed plotline. The different dimensions often have their own
mini-plots, and the character interaction is intriguing.
The different portal worlds that Copper must face include a world of fire, a world of
ice, the underworld, an alien homeworld, and a post-apocalyptic futuristic world,
reminiscent of the Fallout universe. My particular favorite was the underworld, which was
actually a haunted Victorian manor. The butler was a ghost, and the puzzles included
finding the dismembered head of headless gardener and preventing the ghost of a young girl
and her sisters from eternally reliving their fiery demise.
 Unfortunately, Lands of Lore III is far from perfect. I did not find it to be
terribly visually appealing, especially in regards to the monsters and the forest. The
monsters sometimes appeared to be little more than angry, amorphous collections of pixels.
This was particularly obvious in the world of fire. The forest was constructed of
intermittent polygonal tree trunks connected by flat panels (with "distant"
trees on it). After playing for more than a day I came to ignore these problems as I
became immersed in the story. Even punctuated by the occasional crash and occasional
struggles with the controls, it was a difficult game to put away. My final problem with
the game is its relative ease. It didn’t necessarily feel too short (although I beat
it in five days), just too easy. I had the sword that I chose to use for the remainder of
the game after beating the second portal world. I never died, even once, except by falling
off of a cliff, and even my familiar never died until the very end of the game (whereupon
I promptly resurrected him). In some ways, despite the constant battles, the level
increases, and the search for more powerful items, this made the game seem almost more
like an adventure game than an RPG.
Nonetheless, I haven’t enjoyed an RPG (played from this perspective) this much
since Might & Magic VI. While this game is not a Baldur’s Gate, it does afford an
enjoyable story and an excellent role-playing experience. It has something to offer
everyone: the hardcore gamer will appreciate the level design of the portal worlds, while
the weekend warrior will appreciate its ease of play despite the uninspiring graphics
quality, even with a 3D accelerator. Lands of Lore III is definitely a worthwhile
experience.
--Jeff Peterson |
