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KING'S QUEST VIII:  MASK OF ETERNITY

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REVIEW

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YEAR:   1998               

 

SIZE:   477 MB

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PLATFORM:  Windows

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+ Powerful music

+ Fantastic, detailed graphics

+ Interesting story

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- Complicated controls

- Awkward camera angles

- Bugs & crashes

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STORY

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King’s Quest has come full circle now, with an aged King Graham

symbolically taking the place of King Edward from KQ1.  So with King

Graham now too old to go on adventures, and Prince Alexander now

living in Land Of The Green Isles, a new hero was introduced. 

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Meet Connor.  

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Connor is a resident of Daventry.  While he was visiting his  friend

Sarah, a sudden storm springs up out of nowhere.  Something falls at

his feet, and as he picks it up… everyone is turned to stone.  

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Everyone except Connor, that is.  But WHY has everyone turned to

stone?  What evil has taken hold of this land?  As he searches for

answers, Connor discovers that the Mask Of Eternity has been broken

into 5 pieces - 1 of those pieces is the thing that fell at his feet.   Only

when all 5 pieces have been found, and the Mask restored, will peace

return to the land, and everyone will return to normal.  

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So it’s up to Connor to travel through 8 sprawling lands in search of

the Mask pieces.  Is he up to the challenge?  Or will evil reign supreme?  

 

 

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BUG REPORT

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King’s Quest:  Mask Of Eternity has several bugs that must be noted.

So please, save frequently, using different Save slots.  

 


1.  Kingdom Of Daventry.  When you first meet the Black Knight at the

windmill, the game may freeze as you are about to fight him.  Music

carries on, but you cannot move.  

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2.  Realm Of The Gnomes.  When you first enter the Armoury and

Apothecary shops, then game may freeze.  

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3.  Frequent random crashes.  

 


You may encounter more.  When you encounter a bug\freeze\crash,

you may have to quit the game.  When you reload, try fiddling around

with the graphics options in the Main Menu.  Turn off special effects,

change the graphics mode, etc.  You may also find some help HERE   

 

 

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GAMEPLAY

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King’s Quest VIII: Mask Of Eternity is a very different beast from the

previous King’s Quest games.  It’s also the only King’s Quest game

which doesn’t feature the King’s Quest royal family, which dis-

appointed me.  Why build up the lore of King Graham, Queen

Valanice, and their children, Alexander and Rosella… only to abandon

them now?  

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It should also be noted that you can die in this game.  And you DO die.

A lot!  While the previous games have been proper adventures, this is

more along the lines of a 3D adventure-action-rpg, similar to Quest

For Glory.  However, there is a LOT of fighting, and it soon becomes a

dull, frustrating chore.  I’d rather be adventuring, exploring, solving

puzzles, and meeting characters, than fighting yet another enemy.  

The 3D aspect takes a bit of getting used to, but I liked it.  

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At the start, you get to choose your level of combat difficulty - I chose

‘Normal’.  You can also choose if you want to have Helpful Tips

showing, and I really recommend you have this option ticked.  The

controls are somewhat complicated, and makes controlling Connor

very cumbersome.  The Helpful Tips guides you through how to play

the game gradually, getting you used to the controls.

 

You can access the Main Menu at any time by pressing Esc.  From

here, you can Save, Load, Start A New Game, Watch Intro Movie, or

Quit.  

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As you play the game, the Space Bar locks\unlocks the Taskbar at

bottom of the screen.  This Taskbar shows your armour and weapons

details, and any potions you are carrying, as well as a health bar.  The

map is located at bottom-right corner, and if you click on it, it appears

bigger on the screen.  It’s an automap, which tracks your progress,

and shows which areas you’ve already explored in each world.  Very

handy, as it’s easy to get lost otherwise.  There is also a Taskbar at

top of the screen (move your mouse up there) which shows any items

you have found, such as keys, Mask pieces, scrolls, and other bits and

bobs.  

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The main part of the screen shows Connor’s environment.  Your

mouse is used to look around, while your keyboard is used for

Connor’s movements.  Like I said earlier, it’s a rather cumbersome

control system.  

 

 

 

 


GRAPHICS

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The  graphics are fantastic.  It’s a 3D world full of rich detail, and you

can choose if you want to play in 1st person or 3rd person.  Every-

thing from the simple houses in Daventry, to the skeletons in

Dimension Of Death, to the flowing lava in another land, to the Ice

Queen in yet another land is just oozing with life, and lovely to see.  

You can even look up, down, and spin round 360 degrees.  

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As I mentioned earlier, there are 8 lands to travel through.  Each land

has a unique theme, and a unique set of monsters.  Lava in the Barren

Region flowed realistically, warning you not to touch.  Fire ants in the

Barren Region scurried along like spiders, and really scared me!  I loved

the Swampland, with all the swamps and witches.  While The Frozen

Reaches was full of ice, and sparkled beautifully.  Each land is just

lovely to explore.  

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Your Health is shown as a red bar along the bottom, and when your

Health gets low, you can drink a variety of health potions to heal

yourself.  How close you are to levelling up is shown as a green bar

along the bottom.  You gain experience by fighting enemies, solving

puzzles, and finding essential items.  

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Connor’s appearance is updated in real time as he progresses though

the game.  So when he finds leather boots, chain mail armour etc, you

can see him wearing it immediately.  

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However, the camera angles are just horrendous!  The camera keeps

moving, and it’s often hard to get a good view of enemies, thus

making it hard to kill enemies.  Because of the camera angles, the

enemies could often sneak behind you, unseen.  

 

 

 

 


SOUND AND MUSIC

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The game is fully voiced, which breathes a lot of life into it.  Each

character sounds just right - as I would imagine them to.  I loved the

way Connor talks, with his ‘Verily’, and ‘Lo’.  I also loved the

unicorn\wretched beast in Daventry, as well as the Black Knights.  But

my favourite is the little girl in Dimension Of Death.  She sounds so

cute.  

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Music plays throughout the game, creating a lot of atmosphere.

Sometimes the music is upbeat and pleasant.  Sometimes it urges

you not to give up.  Sometimes it warns you that enemies are nearby.

 Sometimes it’s serene and peaceful.  A lot of the music is very

beautiful to listen to, and I frequently found myself just enjoying it,

rather than getting on with the game.  

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Sound effects are equally effective.  Skeletons in Dimension Of Death

can be heard shaking their bones.  Fire ants in The Barren Region

squeal eerily when they die, and it‘s very sinister.  Connor himself is

very expressive, with his ‘Oomph’ and ‘Argh’ when he is climbing, or

being attacked.  Even the sound of his crossbow firing, or his sword

swishing through the air is effective.  
 

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