Kingdom: The Far Reaches
Published by MacPlay, Kingdom: The Far Reaches, is a
game in which the
player is a "good guy" taking on the "bad guy" in medieval times. Cost is
$29.95. The box cover includes the words Book One, however MacPlay leaves it out of their title on their
homepage and there is not a Book Two listed in their coming attractions.
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Accompanying Materials
A game sampler from MacPlay was included on the front of the package and gave a preview of six other games available.
Inside a rebate of $10 could be mailed in for the purchase of another game by MacPlay. A manual came with the game and it included a hi
story of how Lathan came to be looking for the "hand" and other objects. The manual also included installation guidelines.
In addition, the manual included a profile for each of the main players in the game, called a Character Personae.
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Audience
The publisher states that this program is for ages 13+. I would agree
that a player should be
at least 13 years of age. It is a game, so the purpose is for the player
to have fun. Frustration could become a part of this game very quickly.
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Purpose
The outside of the box gives the caption "from the creator of Dragon's Lair, An Animated -family adventure". Everything but the words "family adventure" were covered by the sampler CD. Therefore, it made it seem that this product would be a game for the
family. However, while this game could be played together if working collaboratively on "where to go", it is only for one player. The whole tone of the game is medieval.
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Gimmicks
This was almost like watching a Disney movie. The graphics were great and the voice and music wonderful. The whole game takes place in medieval times so there are a lot of forest scenes, wizards, castles and magic involved. Even the manual extends thi
s fantasy by writing as if on scroll pages. Character names fully support the theme with Daelon, Torlok, and the main character - Lathan Kandor.
Most of the game consisted of traveling to different places to see if what you were searching for was there. A problem was that the places were limited and as you played, you increasingly visited the same places. It was frustrating and having to listen
to the same clips got boring very quickly. I had read the manual very carefully before starting and remembered there was a function that would fast-forward you through the clip. It took me a long time to find this again in the manual and I couldn't find
the information in the help button on the screen, but believe me I searched until I found it because the alternative was unbearable!
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Fun Factor
This game could be frustrating! It would be important to save notes on how one successfully moved through the game to the point where they were killed. In the promotional explanation on the MacPlay Home Page, it says that it is a non-linear game and is
different every time. I found that in the apprentice level, the game repeats so when beginning again, you will want to make use of the "fast-forward" feature and proven pathway. This was detracting because it could take a while. Eventually, the game wo
uld be figured out and would no longer be fun, though this would take quite a while! As long as you were not killed you could save the game if you were ready to quit.
There were two levels available, apprentice and wizard. The wizard level has the same clips as the apprentice. So, even though the player is challenged to find new items, he is dealing with the same old stuff.
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Interface and Navigation
There were never any directions explaining that the film would
pause and at that point the player is expected to notice new items
at the bottom o the screen to use or that the map is to be used at
that point to travel elsewhere. However, once this is mastered,
it is easy to follow, using the cues. I was able to move around very quickly.
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System Requirements and Installation
This information was not readily apparent from the box. It was written in very small letters on a sticker on the bottom of the box - not the front or back where all the other information was listed. It's a very "busy" package and the words "See bottom of box for system requirements" was extremely small. In fact, a CD was attached to the front and its system requirements were given, which could easily be misleading to the purchaser of the product.
This software requires any Macintosh with a 68040 or PowerPCmicroprocessor, a double speed (or faster) CD-ROM drive, 3900K free memory, System 7.0 or later; a 256-color 640x480 (or larger) monitor, "thousands" of colors recommended, and Quicktime 2.0 or
later. In addition, the manual specifies 8 MB of RAM and a mouse. It never listed sound as a requirement, but it did have that feature.
Installation was very easy. Only one disk is included. For optimal play, the publisher recommends installing at least the Kingdom application to your hard disk, requiring 5MB of space. There were good instructions in the manual for loading the software.
It took no more than a couple of minutes. The only problem was that the instructions were right in the middle of the manual, not at the front where you would normally expect to find them.
I used a MacIntosh Power PC with a 4 speed CD-Rom Drive and a 7.5 system. I was able to use the "thousands of colors" feature, although when I switched to 256 I did not notice a difference.
An envelope was included for registering although I could not find a card. In addition, there is the option of electronically registering.
Technical support was offered via the Internet. Addresses were listed for America Online, Prodigy, Compuserve, and Interplay BBS. A telephone number was listed as well, but it was not toll free. The MacPlay hint line (1-900#) does not include this gam
e.
The product has a 90 day warranty, in which time it will be replaced free. After the 90 days, send $5 along with original CD and a statement describing the defect in order to receive a replacement.
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Conclusion
This is well done and is a Compact Disc Interactive Association Award Winner.
The graphics will appeal to children but they will not be able to play the game.
I would strongly caution against purchasing this for a school or public library.
Hours could be spent on this game. An adult would be easily challenged by it.
Buy for personal use only if really into medieval games!
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Reviewed by Valerie Smith, student, Graduate School
of Library and Information Science, University of Texas at Austin.
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June 20, 1996