Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse

Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse
Developer(s)	Cyberlore Studios
Publisher(s)	Strategic Simulations Inc.
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
Release date(s)	1994
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Media/distribution	Floppy disk, CD-ROM

Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse is an action role-playing game for the PC set in the Al-Qadim campaign setting of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. It was developed by Cyberlore Studios and published in 1994 by Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Plot

The player is given the choice of choosing a name, and is referred to by that name throughout the game. The player is part of the Al-Hazrad family, one of the two main families in the town of Zaratan. The player returns home and quickly enters the ongoing family feud, and is then required to sign a treaty of peace with the Wassabs. Things quickly go awry shortly after the signing of the treaty, as the ship carrying the player's betrothed, the Princess and her father, is destroyed, with the survivors claiming it to be the work of a genie. The Sultan, who is later found near the beach, then incarcerates the player's family for violating the treaty, based on a vague testimony from Muliban, the family genie, who answers their questions in a cryptic manner. The player is then forced to clear his family's name and rescue his bride, while investigating into the Genie's Curse.

Gameplay

The player can interact with various people in the game, their reactions directly linked to the nature of the player's response. Depending on how a player chooses to answer a question with various responses; such as answering in an honourable manner befitting a corsair, an unscrupulous manner akin to a villain or a simple answer based on simple ideals, the player may receive various rewards, or may suffer penalties as a result.

Various items can be obtained along the way such as gold and gems, which are interconvertible at a fixed rate. Other items such as shards, potions and oils of elemental immunity, can also be obtained in shops, or throughout the players journey.

The player may only engage in combat with hostile creatures or combat zones, and may do so by using either a sword for melee, or magic and slingshot for ranged combat. The player obtains various shards throughout the game, and only two weapons, namely the family sword, and a sling given by the player's sister as a wedding gift.

The player's stats increase provided the player has earned enough XP and the player can also increase attack strength by means of a combo system, which can be increased twice by visiting a corsair and training.

Reception

The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #208 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.^[1]

References

External links

• Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse at GameFAQs
• Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse at MobyGames