Computer Graphics Memory Disk Space
Minimum 386 VGA 4 MB 5 MB
Max/Rec. 486
Control: CyberMan, mouse (recommended)
Sound: SB family, MPU-401 interface General MIDI
Notes: no keyboard control available; SB16, MPC level 2 system or 100%
compatible required for speech; 8-bit soundcards can still play
both speech/sound effects and music with an accessory cable
(CD-ROM audio cable) - the speech files uses the "Redbook"
Standard for digital audio.
Reviewed on: 486DX-33, 16 MB RAM, Trident 8900 SVGA card, SB16 ASP + Wave
Blaster, NEC CDR-84J, MS-DOS 6.2, QEMM 7.03, Norton
Speedrive 4.0
As there were already two reviews of Shadowcaster in GameBytes #15, I will only concentrate on the features of the CD version here. There isn't really much enhancement in this version. Apart from full speech, two extra levels, and the ability to play directly off the CD, the game is essentially the same as the disk version.
There are no speed problems whatsoever in playing off the CD drive. Disc access only occurs for the cinematics, saving and loading of games, and between levels. When these events take place, a few seconds will elapse before play can resume, but this is barely noticeable. Kudos once more to the Origin software engineers for making CD play smooth, although this time I think it was a lot easier to achieve this than with Strike Commander CD where there was a lot of disc access (even here, the engineers were successful at making it as unobtrusive as possible, see my review in GameBytes #17).
There is very little speech in the game itself, since this is a pure action game of hack and slash (with a few puzzles thrown in) and there is no interaction between the protagonist, Kirt, and other characters. Most of the speech is found in the introductory and end sequences, and also in the cinematics, although there may be speech during the game itself when you pick up certain books and scrolls. There are only two voice actors throughout, the narrator and Kirt's grandfather. Both are done adequately, and actually, I felt that the two actors sound the same. For those who are hearing-impaired, Origin has let the descriptions accompanying the scenes remain, although they are not the exact same lines that are spoken. The ability to turn this off is, however, not present.
The two extra levels in the CD version are levels 24 and 25 just before the endgame (which is now level 26). A walkthrough of these two levels is provided in the manual. The two levels are full of traps, but not overly difficult. However, one would need to use at least four of Kirt's forms to get through them. After acquiring the Grost form, I only needed to switch between it, the Ssair, and the Caun (for healing) in going through the remaining levels, but in doing levels 24 and 25, I had to invoke the Kahpa and Maorin forms as well. The Caun even sees combat on these levels! There are also several new creatures to battle like the Flying Skulls and Thorags.
Is this CD worth getting? If you had already played the disk version of
Shadowcaster, probably not, as I don't think the two extra levels of play
would justify going through everything again. However, if you have yet to
play this and are thinking of it, go ahead and get the CD. So long as you
are not expecting a role-playing game, Shadowcaster is a fun, not-too-long
action game which is graphically impressive and accompanied by a splendid
musical score (something which we've come to expect from Origin games). I
certainly enjoyed it a lot more than Wolfenstein 3-D. Doom? Well, I've
not seriously played that one yet!