Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike (NES)

DragonStrike on computers was a pretty novel idea - a D&D-licensed flight and aerial combat sim.  The NES did have a few such games like Top Gun and Airwolf, but they were all pretty primitive, held back by the limitations of the hardware.  So rather than trying to adapt the PC version of Dragonstrike, Westwood chose to make an entirely new game - in this case, a top-down free-roaming shooter.  Given a choice of three dragons to control with slightly differing stats, you fly around large maps, shooting down enemies with projectiles.  One can fly low to attack enemies on the ground by pressing the B button, then switch back to aerial combat to engage other flying enemies like beholders, dragons and wizards on flying carpets.  Every couple of stages you're pitted against a boss, ranging from a giant squid to a fortified castle to a heavily armed ship, and the final battle pits you against big-time D&D baddie Tiamat, the five-headed dragon queen.  The game does look quite nice on the NES, with detailed environments and little sprite flicker, and the music is provided by Westwood alumnus Frank Klepacki, who would become famous for composing the soundtrack to Command & Conquer only a few years later.  A decent if not amazing experience, though it is commendable that they decided to make an entirely new game rather than trying to adapt the computer version onto hardware it wasn't suited for; more than I can claim for some other NES games, for sure.

Developer: Westwood Associates
Publisher: Strategic Simulations
Released: 1990
Platforms: NES

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike

DragonStrike (not to be confused with the similarly-named D&D board game) is certainly an odd take on Dungeons and Dragons, exhuming RPG design in favor of an aerial flight and combat sim game.  The player is put in the role of a knight riding on the back of a dragon, and over the course of numerous missions they shoot down enemies with dragon breath or defeat them in melee combat using their dragon's claws, teeth or their lance.  There's quite a few of them too - dragons, manticores, wyverns and beholders all attack at various times, and flying too low will put you in range of enemy archers, so that's something to avoid.  Per Westwood standards the game is quite impressive visually with its smoothly animated (albeit undetailed) 3D environments and enemies, and the 2D artwork on display between stages is quite beautiful to behold.  While not a particularly deep game it is fun while it lasts, and if nothing else it's probably the only flight sim that will ever be attached to the D&D license. 

Developer: Westwood Associates
Publisher: Strategic Simulations
Released: 1990
Platforms: Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, PC-9801, Sharp X68000

Eye of the Beholder II

The first Eye of the Beholder was a pretty well-received game, taking the familiar first person dungeon crawling format of numerous earlier games (particularly the genre classic "Dungeon Master"), adding a dash of real-time action and a heavy focus on puzzles, though it was pretty minimal in terms of storytelling, with its very abrupt ending being heavily criticized by many reviewers and fans.  The sequel (released the same year) utilizes the same engine and makes few changes to the overall gameplay, but puts significantly more focus on the storytelling element.  There are now substantially more NPCs to interact with and dialog options to pick from, and a larger variety of areas to explore from forests to caverns to temples, which adds quite a bit of variety visually.  Its more streamlined and linear design overall may be a turn-off to some, but even with that it's a fine dungeon crawler that showed off Westwood's talents as a developer.  It's a shame that the third Eye of the Beholder would be farmed out to SSI, who were on the verge of shutting down at the time and ended up rushing it out just to try and make a quick buck...

Developer: Westwood Associates
Publisher: Strategic Simulations, Cybille, Capcom
Platform: MS-DOS, Amiga, FM Towns, PC-98
Released: 1991, 1992, 1993

Nox

Westwood Studios was a pretty big name in the late '80s and most of the '90s with several well-received PC titles to their name - Eye of the Beholder, Command & Conquer, Toonstruck and Blade Runner probably being their best-known ones.  Nox was their attempt at an isometric action-RPG in the vein of Diablo, and a pretty inventive one for its time.  Gameplay is relatively fast-paced as movement isn't rigidly restricted to a grid, you can push around objects to safely trigger traps or find hidden passages, some walls can be broken down with your weapons to reveal secrets, and you can even jump to make a quick escape from groups of enemies or avoid ground-based hazards.  The game sports a relatively innovative "truesight" mechanic which dynamically blacks out portions of the map that are out of the character's line of sight, requiring you to approach dangerous angles with a bit more caution.  You get a quickbar that can store several pages of five spells or items each, cutting down on cumbersome inventory management and spell preparation during tense moments.  You also get a choice of three classes - Warriors can wield almost any weapon and heavy armor, but no magic or bows, Wizards have comparatively limited equipment choices and low health but can use any spells, and conjurers fall somewhere in the middle, mostly focusing on summoning or subjugating monsters to aid them in battle.  Multiplayer is also more varied than Diablo's, and in fact has game modes more reminiscent of a first person shooter - deathmatch, capture the flag, king of the hill, and so forth.  All good stuff; however, Nox was released only a few months before Diablo II, which eclipsed it in popularity almost immediately and continues to have a strong following even today.  Nox's fame was very short-lived in comparison, but it still enjoyed a fair bit of fame in its time thanks to a promotional tour by Westwood, which allowed visitors to play the game before it launched and provide feedback, as well as a company-sanctioned post-launch competitive tournament that allowed players to compete against one another, with top prize being a new gaming computer.  Sadly, not long after its multiplayer-centered 1.2 patch launched, rights for the game were lost to Electronic Arts, who officially ended its support cycle, canceled a planned sequel and closed down the official multiplayer servers, effectively capping off its legacy for good.  A mostly forgotten game these days outside of its small but dedicated community, but if you enjoy isometric action-RPGs of this type, it's one that's worth a go.

Developer: Westwood Pacific
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC
Released: 2000

Eye of the Beholder

Westwood's third attempt at a Dungeons and Dragons game, taking on a more traditional format after attempts at an action-driven design with Hillsfar and Dragonstrike.  But does Eye of the Beholder prove to be a worthwhile dungeon crawling adventure, or is this just another forgettable effort from Westwood?

Westwood took a couple of experimental turns with the D&D format, attempting to create something that would, at the very least, make their contribution to the franchise distinct.  Hillsfar was an interesting idea with a lackluster execution, while Dragonstrike opted for a more action-oriented style of gameplay, becoming something more akin to a medieval flight simulator.  It was better received than Hillsfar but not a strong seller for SSI, so it didn't really do much for either company involved in it.

Eye of the Beholder went for a more traditional format in many ways, being a traditional first-person dungeon crawler like many popular RPGs from the 80s, many of which were directly inspired by D&D itself.  Taking cues from the earlier dungeon crawling classic "Dungeon Master", the game uses a similar UI and moves in real time for the most part, though combat is still broken into distinct "turns" with players and enemies' actions locking the other out until the current animation is finished.  It also largely uses a mouse-based interface, so getting good at manipulating spell/equipment menus and clicking icons efficiently is a very essential part to winning battles.

Make no mistake, however; Eye of the Beholder is an old-school dungeon crawler in every other respect.  It's viewed from a first-person perspective and largely based around solving puzzles in between battles - finding keys, searching for hidden walls and scarce equipment to utilize and solving a plethora of puzzles to advance.  Traps come in many forms, from tiles that discreetly rotate your party's facing to pit traps (which damage you and can dump you into further danger) and, of course, enemy ambushes, which can be dangerous even for a very well equipped party.  Saving frequently is highly advised, as is utilizing basically any equipment you find - even a humble sling, dart or dagger can save you from some damage by taking out an enemy from afar, or press a switch you can't walk to by throwing it through a window in a gate.  There is no automap feature, however, so it would be wise to either have the hint guide handy or make your own on graph paper; it's very easy to get lost among the mazes of similar-looking walls.

Of course, the game is still quintessential D&D at its core.  You can create up to four characters at the start, with the usual class/race restrictions applied.  Most non-human classes have far fewer options than humans for classes, but often get bonus stats and resistance to some effects to compensate - Dwarves are more resistant to poison, for example, while elves are resistant to charm and sleep effects.  As usual, having a variety of classes will quickly prove essential - fighters or paladins or rangers for the front line, Clerics to heal and turn undead, Magic users to kill enemies, and Thieves to disarm traps and pick locks (which can skip some puzzles).  Amusingly, the generator also includes a Modify command that lets you tweak your characters' stats however you like with no repercussions.  Allegedly this is included as a way to import your characters from the tabletop game, but let's face it, nobody ever used it for that.   Experience is earned through combat, but the majority of it is gained by completing objectives and solving puzzles.  Each floor also has "Special Quests" that grant some bonus XP and useful items; these are often quite obscure and may require a guide (or a lot of trial and error) to figure out, but are very often worth doing.

This isn't always strictly enforced in-game, though.  Clerics can wield non-blunt weapons with no repercussions, for example, and almost any class can utilize throwing knives, darts and slings to attack from afar (useful as at least two of your characters are always relegated to the back row and out of direct attacking range).  You're also allowed to do things like change equipment mid-fight or pick up used projectiles and use them again, which is pretty uncommon for games of this type.  It's somewhat necessary given that the game gives you very limited resources to work with, but still a strange thing to see, especially in a D&D game.

Despite a few rules tweaks, though, this is a quintessential D&D experience in computer game form - you're put into a dungeon, given an objective, and the rest is a bunch of solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles in your path until you achieve just that.  Those who are accustomed to top-down perspectives or more action-driven design may not find a lot to appeal to them here, but for fans of old-school RPGs with a lot of emphasis on the journey rather than the overarching story, Eye of the Beholder has plenty to enjoy.

Developer: Westwood Associates
Publisher: Strategic Simulations, Capcom, Sega, Pony Canyon
Platform: MS-DOS, Amiga, PC-98, SNES, Sega CD
Released: 1991, 1992, 1994
Recommended Version: Most editions of the game seem to be relatively similar, though the computer versions are considerably easier to play with a combination of mouse and keyboard inputs.  The Sega CD version is notable for having an exclusive soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro that, while not really fitting the mood of a medieval adventure, is of high quality and worth checking out in itself.  (This version can also be run in ScummVM with some setup).

  The Game Boy Advance game called "Eye of the Beholder" is actually a loose remake based on 3rd Edition rules, with combat taking on a top-down perspective and tactical gameplay slightly similar to the Gold Box games.  It's also not particularly fun, so I'd say skip that one.

Hillsfar

Developed by Westwood and released by SSI not long after Pool of Radiance made a big splash, Hillsfar tried to go for a more arcadey role-playing experience.  But did it succeed in doing so, or is this a poor attempt to mesh RPG elements into an action format?

With the advent of the NES and the runaway success of Zelda, RPGs proved they could successfully work in a more action-oriented design, providing just as much depth and storytelling potential as any slower, menu-driven experience.  In the years that followed, numerous other games would attempt to mesh action elements into RPGs with varying degrees of success, and a lot of them would become groundbreaking classics in their own right.

One of the earliest attempts I can think of at combining action and RPG elements on home computers was Hillsfar.  While it does retain some elements of its Dungeons and Dragons roots (you get to create a character and select their class, and your choice determines what guild hall you accept quests from throughout), the game for the most part does its own thing, being a largely open-ended adventure reminiscent of a very early Elder Scrolls.  Indeed, between missions you're allowed to basically do whatever you like - fight in the arena, practice archery, visit bars, visit areas outside of town or break into buildings to search for gold and items.

That all sounds awesome on paper, but unfortunately Hillsfar isn't nearly as captivating as one might expect from that description.  It does make a strong first impression with its detailed graphics and smooth animations (particularly as computers of the time weren't exactly known for such), but the gameplay itself is relatively basic, being primarily comprised of a handful of simple minigames.  Combat takes place only within the city's arena and has the player block and attack with keys on the numpad (three each for left, right and "special" maneuvers).  Customers in bars and random townspeople on the street will occasionally dispense clues for particular opponents, though I generally had more luck just mashing left and right attacks constantly than trying to employ any kind of strategy.  Horseback riding is equally simple, having the character run down a short path leaping obstacles or blowing them away with "Wands of Blasting"; each fall will cost them some HP and may injure or kill their horse, which they will then have to pay to replace.  Archery is a little more involved (though it requires a frustrating amount of precision), getting tougher as the game progresses with swinging and vanishing targets that award more points, as well as the ability to shoot a rat or bird instead of the target for bonuses, earning you some gold if you manage to rank on the scoreboard.  Probably the most inspired of these is the lock-picking minigame, used to break into buildings and the chests therein - you get a selection of eleven lockpicks (each with two shape patterns) and have to match 3 or more of them to the locks' tumblers before time runs out.  Messing up too many times will break your picks (requiring you to pay to repair or replace them) and tumblers will frequently "jam", which just wastes time as you have to use the right pick on it multiple times to force it open.  Still, it conveys an effective sense of tension and puzzle-solving and is actually a bit of fun for a short while, though before long I started forcing locks open with Strength and using Knock Rings for particularly stubborn ones as it was much more expedient to do so.

By far the most common mini-game is entering various areas to search for chests and items - whether breaking into buildings and houses or simply burgling sewers and a handful of areas outside town.  These are somewhat randomly-generated mazes full of chests and traps, and you're given a short time limit to go searching for your objective or loot chests for money.  Once your time hits about 1/3 of the total, the exit appears in a random place and you must get to it to escape.  Being touched by a guard causes your time to drain faster, and if they make contact while your time is at zero, you get booted out and the guards take any money you've collected (and may force you into an arena battle).  However, you can find randomly-placed scrolls to temporarily stun the guards and slip past them, which can buy you a few extra seconds to escape.  Again, this is fun for a bit, but disappointingly shallow - NPCs seen in the buildings pose no hindrance to you whatsoever (in fact, you can't interact with them in any way), the only traps that exist are "sleep traps" that knock you out for a few seconds or teleport traps that send you to a random location, and there simply isn't much to it beyond that (aside from occasionally having to locate a hidden passage in a wall as part of a quest).

More problematic is the fact that the numerous minigames throughout Hillsfar are not really tailored to your choice of class at all.  Regardless of who you're playing as, you'll probably end up doing all of these tasks at some point as part of your questline, often multiple times.  Clerics and Magic-users don't get any unique minigames at all; in fact, they don't even get to cast spells outside of doing tricks at taverns, which is pretty disappointing.  There are also very few weapons and no armor to find; most that you do use are simply provided for a particular quest or minigame and then taken away immediately after.  If you pick any non-Thief class, you'll still have to do a lot of breaking and entering even though you don't have lockpicks - meaning you'll either have to spend tons of money on Knock Rings, force every lock or hire an NPC thief who takes half the gold you find as a fee.

Beyond the questlines for each guild, there really isn't a lot to do either.  As mentioned, it's fun for a bit to challenge yourself with arena combat or archery or plundering random houses, but there is very little variety in what you can find, and the few items there are only exist to aid you in further minigame sessions.  Interactions with townspeople are minimal, primarily consisting of bar events (few of which serve any real purpose) and random encounters where they will sell you clues, healing potions or Knock Rings for a bit of gold.  There's just a staggering lack of variety overall, which is more than a little disappointing for D&D-based RPG, let alone an action game.

So why does the game exist if not to tell a good story or at least provide some engaging gameplay?  Well, that's the interesting part.  Your character does still gain experience and levels through arena battles and completing the various tasks set before them, and Hillsfar is compatible with two of the Gold Box games (Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds), letting you import your characters from those games into this one and export them back out.  Essentially, it's a way to let you power up your characters a bit more, either because you've run out of substantial quests to do in Pool or you want to gain a bit more experience and HP before starting up Curse.  It's basically what would be a handful of mini-games or short sub-missions in a modern game, except that back in its day it was a full-priced, boxed piece of software in its own right.  Ouch.

Hillsfar was at least a relatively ambitious game for its time period, attempting to introduce some mini-games and action elements to create a unique, less dice-oriented Dungeons and Dragons experience.  But with only four barely-adequate questlines, a lack of substantial RPG elements beneath the hood and very little variety in what it does have to offer, it gets tiresome to play rather quickly.  Even the developers seemingly knew this, as once you get some skill at the various minigames you can go through an entire questline in only a couple of hours and then move on to something else.  So while it may not be especially good, Hillsfar is at least aware of its shortcomings, being built as a brief experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.  If you want to gain some extra experience and a little more HP for your Pool of Radiance/Curse of the Azure Bonds characters this is a less tedious alternative to farming random encounters in those games, but only to a point.  Hillsfar may also be worth a look on its own merits as an interesting experiment and because it has some nice visuals for its time, but if you're looking for a more substantial minigame-driven RPG experience, you have plenty of better options.

Developer: Westwood Associates, Crosstalk

Publisher: Strategic Simulations, US Gold, Pony Canyon, FCI
Released: 1989, 1993
Platform: Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, NES
Recommended Version: The NES version is a lackluster port overall, having less-detailed and muddier graphics, awkwardly stiff movement and speeding up the time limit for the lock-picking minigame, making it significantly harder.  This version also lacks any ability to import or export characters (to say nothing of the fact that Curse of the Azure Bonds never had a console release at all), making playing it at all rather pointless.  The most easily-found version now is the DOS version available through GOG, which is also compatible with the Gold Box games on the same platform, so that's the one I'd suggest playing.