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DeathlordAl Escudero and David Wong, 1987Commodore 64 and Apple II*Al Escuderorecalls: “I wasgiven 5 weeksto change allthe art, story,spell names,equipmentnames, locationnames, etc.I was quite upsetabout it.”The city of demonsis locatedinside a volcano,so prepare to getsome lava burns.Some say Wizardry IV is the RPG that hates youthe most. Others – the more elitist types whosnicker at something as mainstream as Wizardry– might name Deathlord instead.Combining Ultima’s top down view with a Wizardry-likecombat system, Deathlord takes place in anOriental fantasy world with Japanese names for everything,but it was not originally conceived this way.In a move that will not surprise anyone familiar withthe company’s history, Electronic Arts demanded, justfive weeks prior to the game’s release, for the setting tobe changed to Japanese – from Norse.*As a result, Deathlord lets you play a Toshi and anObake, a Mahotsukai and a Ronin. There are 8 racesand 16 classes, including 4 mage classes, each with itsown compelling set of spells. The character systemis solid, and every level-up brings you a significantincrease in power, allowing you to brave areas youpreviously would not dare to.And with Deathlord’s 17 continents and archipelagos,there are a lot of areas to brave. The game’shuge world may feel too empty at times, but the locations,from towns to dungeons, are consistently good.They have traps, clues, and secrets to find. They areoften cleverly designed. Many show more than theyexplicitly tell, by way of their surroundings and theNPCs that inhabit them, such as the masterful portrayalof the eternal yet unstable opposition betweenFort Demonguard and Malkanth, the volcanic city ofdemons.Another high point is how exploration is presented.There are no quest objectives, or quests at all.There is only the starting clue that Deathlord, thegame’s villain, gives you. Further clues are obscureand difficult to find. There are some places, such asprisons or private residences, that you cannot simplyenter; you can only break into them, with the consequenceof taking on the entire town guard that comerushing at you. However, you might learn somethingvaluable if you do take the risk – all the greater giventhe game’s “permadeath” save system with only one,automatically overwritten slot.At its heart, Deathlord is a hardcore Wizardry-styledungeon romp translated to a top-downview with an added overworld. The ingenuity ofDeathlord’s design is to make this transition flow reallywell despite the difficulties involved in bringingtraditional dungeon hazards, from chutes to secretdoors to teleporters, over to a top-down perspective.Most dungeons have a unique and memorabletheme, and are as unforgiving as they are inventive.You will not make it far without accurately mappingthem out, and some secrets are only noticeable if youstudy the map.To an enthusiastic dungeon crawler, Deathlordis one of the ultimate games. CB32