Wizardry comes to iOS
| Filed under Software showcase; 3 comments. |
Back in March, I wrote that Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, a new entry in the classic RPG series, was coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3’s PlayStation Network (or the PS3 PSN). But in this age of multiple gaming platforms, it is rarely economically feasible to dedicate one’s product to a single audience. It therefore is only mildly surprising that Wizardry is now available for iOS (though, oddly enough, not optimized for iPad). Behold the opening sequence and 15 minutes of gameplay:
The game, released on November 3, is a free download, but the press release states a caveat: “While players will initially be able to level their characters up to level five and explore the entire first floor of the ‘Dungeon of Trials,’ brave adventurers who want to dig deeper into the depths of Labyrinth of Lost Souls will be able to unlock the full Wizardry experience for $9.99 via In-App Purchase.”
A bit too expensive for you? Then kick it old school for just $1.99 with Akalabeth, an iOS version of the precursor to Ultima. Though not the same series as Wizardry, they share a common history as predominantly first-person RPGs. Or go the free route on classic hardware with similar to Silvern Castle for the Apple II. Sounds like the best of all fantasy worlds to me.
(Hat tip to Eli Milchman)
There’s also Sorcerer on the iPhone (free), which is about as close to the Apple ][ version of Wizardry as you are going to get — none of these pretty graphics there!
This is Wizardry in name only at least in the roots of the Apple. After Wizardry V, it took a weird turn and then they only released games in Japan. This one also looks like a typical jcrpg.
Thanks for the Sorcerer mention, that, kickin it old school.
I played Wizardry in high school on the ][+. At first, “Wow! 3D!”, then, “geez, again, this is repetitive and boring.” IIRC, the “world” was a 10x10x10 cube.
This demo was a snoozer.
I’ll stick with Zork, et al for now.