Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
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Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
- Release Date: 1989 06
- Genre: Adventure
- Style: First-Person Adventure
Game Description
You are the young Arthur in Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur, raised in the household of Ector and his son, Kay. One morning, a sword in a stone appears in the churchyard. However, before you can pull the sword from the stone, King Lot's men appear, put it into a cart and remove it to the castle. Merlin appears, telling you that you are the late King Uther Pendragon's son -- the true king, "but you have much to learn." He gives you the ability to turn into five different animals, and so starts your quest to gain the power and wisdom to be King of England. Along the way, you will receive help from some unlikely and powerful sources, including Merlin and Thomas the Rhymer. You will finally get the chance to pull Excalibur from the stone, proclaim yourself King, and make King Lot pay for his crimes.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
In Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur you start out as Arthur, a mere boy, Uther Pendragon's unknown son. You begin in the churchyard, standing in front of Excalibur -- the sword in the stone. But when you try to pull it from the stone, Merlin appears to say you are not ready to be king, but must prove yourself before pulling the sword from the stone. You will need to find and fight many foes, most of them knights. Hints are available in Merlin's cave, or you can cut-off access to them to test your own ingenuity. In addition to items, you get magical assistance from Merlin, which enables you to take one of five animal forms to do things otherwise impossible for your human form.This game is very challenging and enjoyable, even if the interface takes some getting used to. Talking to people gets frustrating when the game doesn't know the word you are trying to use. In spite of this, the story is wonderful, with great color graphics that convey a medieval feel. If you think you have what it takes to become a king, you can finally find out in Arthur: Quest for Excalibur.
~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
Enjoyment depends on how adept you are at solving puzzles and using proper game language, because trying to phrase things in a way the game will understand becomes incredibly frustrating.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
The sometimes-cartoonish graphics are limited to occasional pictures of places and people with a medieval feel, while some versions of the game are only in black and white.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
No sounds whatsoever.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Once you solve the game, there is little reason to go back.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
The manual gives some game hints and shortcuts, as well as instructions for using the Book of Hours.~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Written by: Bob Bates
~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
| Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur | |
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| Developer(s) | Infocom |
| Publisher(s) | Infocom |
| Designer(s) | Bob Bates |
| Artist(s) | Darrell Myers, Tanya Isaacson, Sophie Green, Donna Dennison, Jim Sullivan |
| Engine | ZIL |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Apple II, MS-DOS, Macintosh |
| Release date(s) | Macintosh/Amiga: June 6, 1989 Apple II: June 22, 1989 MS-DOS: July 14, 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media/distribution | 3½" or 5¼" disk |
| System requirements
128K for Apple II systems |
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Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an interactive fiction computer game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. Typically for an Infocom title, it was released for many popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Macintosh, PC, and the Apple II series. Quite atypically for an Infocom product, it featured illustrations of locations, characters and objects within the game. It is Infocom's thirty-fourth game.
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Contents
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Plot
The player assumes the role of a young Arthur, before the legendary days of Camelot. The "sword in the stone" (which in the legends was not Excalibur, but is often confused with Excalibur by people unfamiliar with the legends) that would signify Arthur's destiny to rule, has been stolen by the evil King Lot. In the quest to regain the sword, the player must prove to Merlin that he has the qualities needed to be a great king: chivalry, experience, and wisdom. Merlin assists Arthur by giving him periodic advice as well as the power to transform into animals, but also tells Arthur that unless Excalibur is recovered within three days, Lot will usurp his destiny as a king of legendary stature.
Feelies
Although Arthur was one of the last interactive fiction games Infocom released before closing, the packaging still included a modest attempt at the extra objects, or feelies, that had been a long-standing tradition for the company. The package for Arthur contained a copy of a Book of Hours, which explains the Canonical hours such as Matins, Lauds and Vespers. The book also contains a poem, lines of which are used as passwords in the game as a form of copy protection.
Notes
Arthur was one of only two games Infocom published under the "Immortal Legends" banner; the other was the 1987 release Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels.
By the time of Arthur's release, Infocom had stopped rating their games in terms of difficulty. Arthur roughly corresponds to the level of their previous "Standard" games.
External links
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