Both computer games and paper-and-pencil roleplaying games started building their respective audiences in the late 70's and early 80's, and often the players were the same people in both areas. As such, it's no surprise that the computer RPG is one of the most popular genres in the field. But with so many inexperienced players getting multimedia PC's these days, many game designers have chosen to abandon the hard-core statistics and die-rolling that make up so much of the RPG experience. Germany's Attic Entertainment is determined to stick to their guns with the popular Realms of Arkania series. The third and final game of the Northlands trilogy, Shadows Over Riva, will be available in the first quarter of 1996, distributed in the States by Sir-Tech.
Although Shadows Over Riva is a "hard-core" gaming experience, that doesn't mean it will be inaccessible to newcomers to Arkania (or RPG's in general, for that matter). There are two modes of play: one for the novice, which will keep the rolls and abstract information hidden, and another mode for the experienced gamer, showing all the stats. Players can shift between these difficulty levels at any point during play.
Perhaps the reason that the folks at Attic are so determined to keep their games as true to the genre's roots as possible is that Realms of Arkania started its life as a paper-and-pencil game. The success of that incarnation led to the first RoA computer game, Blade of Destiny, another strong success. The next game, Star Trail, took advantage of burgeoning CD-ROM technology, with a better dialogue system, cinematic sequences and digitized speech. Shadows Over Riva once again will take the technology a significant step forward.
The game begins where Star Trail left off, with the elves and dwarves reunited by the mystical power of the Salamander Stone. Yet, this new union may not be enough to stave off the bloodthirsty Orcs. What has caused them to be so vicious and powerful? The answer lies somewhere in the unsettled town of Riva, and it is up to the player to discover it.
Star Trail was a wide-ranging and epic adventure, requiring the player to travel over hundreds of miles of terrain to complete the quest. This was one of the least popular aspects of the otherwise almost universally acclaimed game, so Shadows Over Riva is a study in contrast. The entire adventure takes place in the title city, its taverns and sewers, its slums and mansions. In Riva's dank streets, the player will discover a race called the Holberks, half elf and half Orc, who are rumored to be the catalyst in the Orcish wars.
There are over 150 NPCs (non-player characters, controlled by the computer), and the dialogue system has become considerably more flexible since Star Trail. A player can ask the same question in a polite or a belligerent style, getting a different reaction from each. The characters will also recognize the player's party if they meet for a second time, and will react accordingly, pulling them deeper into the action. There are also 8 NPCs that the player can choose to include in the party, allowing for a more unpredictable and interactive experience. To further enhance this interaction, there will be lots of digitized speech, recorded by professional voice actors. Of course, that's more or less a standard package these days, but a full orchestral CD audio soundtrack complete with leitmotifs and situational variations is still something of a novelty, and that's what Shadows Over Riva has to offer.
While staying true to the world established in the earlier Arkania games, Attic has also added new elements to almost every aspect of Shadows Over Riva. There are new spells, new monsters and new magic items to keep even the experienced Arkania traveler guessing. The play screens now include a 3D first-person perspective for dungeons and the town. Shadows also includes some impressive cinematic sequences which can be viewed in either VGA or SVGA, depending on your system's capabilities.
In fact, if you have a party that worked particularly well in Blade of Destiny and/or Star Trail, you will be able to import them to Shadows, where they will be updated for the game at hand. This is an aspect of paper-and-pencil games that is almost universally ignored in computer RPGs, but it's a hallmark of Realms of Arkania, and will continue to be implemented well past the Northlands trilogy. And have no fear, the RoA games will continue long after the end of Northlands.
