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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