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 ay
back in ZZAP! 31 a rather enigmatic character called
Nik Wild (Superman fan and Blue Peter Gold badge winner),
reviewed Moebius, the prequel to Windwalker.
It received a cool reception and was awarded a mere
48%. Two years on, have Origin improved this sequel
enough for it to smash through the 50% barrier?
The
Emperor of Khantun, Chao Ti, has been imprisoned by
the evil Warlord, Zhurong and his Alchemist sidekick,
Shen Jang. These two tyrants are ruling the once prosperous
Khantun in true, er.. tyrannical style. You know the
sort of thing, sending menfolk to work in the jade mines,
making sex-slaves of women, killing all who dare defy
their rule, bringing forth evil demons to ravage the
land, and suchlike.
Moebius,
the all-seeing, all-powerful one, has decided that Shen
and Zhurong must be stopped and the rightful Emperor
put back on the throne. 'Only right and proper', I hear
you say. But does Moby tackle the situation himself?
Does he use his incredible powers to put right wrongs?
No! He gets some untrained, inexperienced disciple to
do this dirty work for him . . . which is where you
come in.
Before
you set out on the long and arduous road toward freeing
the Emperor and gaining a bit of enlightenment along
the way, it's a good idea to indulge in a spot of combat
training. Becoming proficient in both armed and unarmed
combat against a variety of foes not only prepares you
for future fights but also rewards you with greater
attributes (karma, honour, body and spirit) for when
your journey begins.
Once
in the adventure proper, you control a head icon of
yourself as it jerks through interesting landscapes
and dull indoor locations. All characters are depicted
in a similarly heady way, except when at sea where a
boat icon takes over.
While
wandering, you talk to other characters, fight a variety
of adversaries, pray for help and find objects such
as money, health elixirs and scrolls to help you on
your way. The idea is that you remain a good disciple
and not indulge in dishonourable deeds such as stealing
or running away from fair fights.
Controlling
your head as it jerks around the play area is particularly
boring -- especially when indoors -- and communicating
with other characters takes an age. Combat is more interesting
but animation remains jerky and limited fight-moves
soon induce yawns.
The
research into oriental medicine, alchemy, archaeology,
mythology, and so on has obviously been extensive, but
it's rendered uninteresting due to simplified gameplay.
Windwalker
suffers the same fate as its predecessor, Moebius
in that it features some potentially good ideas but
remains flawed. It's just too slow and unrewarding to
warrant perseverance.
Difference
between Amiga and C64 versions are minimal, restricted
to the quality of sound and graphics (generally disappointing
for the Amiga) and the ability to use a mouse with the
16-bit rendition.
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