QUEST FOR GLORY IV
SHADOWS OF DARKNESS REVIEW
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YEAR: 1994
SIZE: 414 MB
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PLATFORMS: DOSBox
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+ 3 different classes means 3 different ways to solve puzzles
+ Wonderful blend of Adventure & RPG elements
+ Gorgeous SVGA graphics
+ Superb voice acting
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- Can take some time to build up your skills
- Some bugs still remain
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STORY
You begin your adventure in this gloomy, dark cave. But… how did you get here? Just moments ago, you were with your friends, celebrating your
victory over the demon in Tarna. Then, as if by magic, you wake up in this
cave. You have no clue HOW you got here, and you have no clue WHY you are
here. All you know is, you want to get out of this cave.
Thankfully, you manage to escape from the cave. Outside, you are greeted
by a friendly young peasant woman who introduces herself as Katrina. She
tells you that this is the land of Mordavia, and that it is a very dangerous
place.
After finding your way to the nearby town, you discover that the towns-
people are not very friendly. In fact, they’re downright suspicious of you.
And who can blame them? There have been no outsiders in Mordavia for
quite some time. And judging from the evidence of garlic everywhere, they
have a strong fear of vampires, demons, and other monsters.
After some investigating, you gradually learn that Castle Borgov is inhabited
by The Dark Master. And The Dark Master is searching for the Dark Rituals in
order to summon Avoozl The Dark One. This will bring eternal darkness to
the land, giving vampires and demons free reign to do as they please
without fear of the sun burning them, thus dooming all of Mordavia. That is
NOT good! Someone HAS to stop this from happening!
On top of that, several of the towns-people are struggling with their own,
personal tragedies. Someone has to help them through these tragedies.
Without giving too much away, be prepared for some truly emotional bitter-
sweet moments.
Can YOU be the hero Mordavia so desperately needs?
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GAMEPLAY
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Quest For Glory IV: Shadows Of Darkness is the fourth game in the Quest
For Glory series, and continues from the moment QFG III left off. Just as
before, it’s a wonderful mix of adventure and some RPG elements.
Before you begin the game, you have to create your character. You can
choose if you want to play as a Fighter, a Magic User, or a Thief. Each of the
3 types allows you to overcome puzzles in a different way. For example,
crossing the swamp - a strong fighter can just wade through, while the Thief
can use Acrobatics to jump across, and the Magic User would cast a spell to
glide across. This gives so much replay ability to the game, and will have you
coming back to try the other types you haven’t played yet.
A Point & Click interface is used to interact with the Hero’s world, giving us
icons to control Hero’s actions. What’s more, those icons are safely tucked
away in a Task Bar at the top of the screen (just move your mouse up there),
so it doesn’t get in the way of what’s happening on screen. You can move
your Hero by clicking your mouse on the screen, and he will walk there.
The icons in the Task Bar are: Walk, Look, Pick Up, Talk, which are all self-
explanatory. The next icon in the Task Bar is a kind of fancy square with
string trailing from each corner. This takes you to the Character Menu, and
from here, you can control your Walk Mode (Run or Sneak), Sleep (10
Minutes, 30 Minutes, 60 Minutes, Sleep Till Morning), check your character
Stats (shows your Stamina, Health, Fighting Skills, Throwing Skills etc), or
check the time of day (some tasks are only able to be done at certain times
of the day). Next is the Star Icon - this is not accessible, unless you are a
Magic User. The Star Icon gives you access to all your spells, and allows you
to practice them. The Chest icon represents your Inventory, and shows all
the stuff you are carrying. You can Look at each item in your Inventory, to
see how much of that item you have, as well as getting a little more
information on the item. The Slider Scale Icon takes you to the Game Menu,
and from here, you can Save, Restore, Restart, or Quit. You can also adjust
the Detail, Volume, and Game Speed and Skill to suit your preference.
Setting the Skill higher or lower will determine how hard or easy it is to kill
enemies. QFG IV also allows you to decide what style of play you want to
use - Arcade or Strategy. Arcade Mode allows you to fight each enemy
manually, so you can decide how much Offence and Defence etc you want to
use. Strategy Mode means that the game will automatically deal with the
combat side of things for you, allowing you to just concentrate more on the
game, story, and puzzles. This can be changed at any time.
The Task Bar may seem daunting at first, but you’ll quickly get to grips with
it.
The people of Mordavia are very suspicious of you at first. After all, you
came out of the Dark One Cave that they are so afraid of. And they are not
used to strangers, since the land is cut off from the outside world. But they
gradually begin to trust you. Communicating with them is important, in
order to advance through the story. You can ‘Talk To’ other characters to ask
about things, but you can also ‘Tell About’ things by using the Talk Icon on
yourself. And often, these topics branch out into other topics.
As always, Save early, and Save often.
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BUG REPORT
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QFG 4 was notorious for having the most bugs out of all the QFG games -
including crashing when you tried to walk down the slippery path at start of
the game, and crashing when you tried to reach the Mad Monk’s tomb
through the swamp. GOG has the CD version of the game, and they have
thankfully patched their version with all the available patches, so that the
game runs nice and smoothly. I did, however, find one bug remaining :
- When playing as a Thief, you cannot dislodge the bonsai bush by throwing
rocks. You must throw your rope & grapnel at the bush instead.
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INTERESTING TITBIT
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The 3 townsmen that sit at the back table of the Inn every evening. The
audio you hear does not match the text you see. This is because the actors
that were playing those characters were ad-libbing their lines, making their
conversations truly hilarious. Sierra liked it so much, they decided to keep
the ad-libbed stuff in the game. I highly recommend you listen to their
conversations at least once.
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GRAPHICS
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Quest For Glory IV: Shadows Of Darkness is based in a traditional Slavic-
style land, full of old customs, superstitions and fear of things that go bump
in the night. SVGA graphics are used, and the whole game looks absolutely
gorgeous! Everything from the sinister Dark One Caves, to the unusual gypsy
camp, to the lavish Castle Borgav, to the rather imposing Monastery in town
is just amazing! Even the little Domovai that perches above the fireplace
every night can’t fail to impress! And there are lots of little touches that add
so much character to the game. Things like the Burgomeister closing his
window each evening, or the woodpecker that pops out of Leshy’s forehead
every so often, or a statue in Dr Cranium’s house blowing bubble gum, or
even lamps that glow at night in Erana’s Garden.
Inventory items are shown as little pictures, so it’s easy to see at a glance
what you are carrying. And as you collect more items, you can scroll up &
down to see those items.
When you are talking to someone, the screen changes to show the head and
upper-body of that person. I love how their eyes blink and their mouth
moves as they talk. You even see their hands moving or their fingers
wiggling (or in the case of the Chief Thief, you see his antlers wriggling). A
list of topics is shown next to them, so you can decide what to ask about.
Many topics even branch off into new topics.
I love the custom cursors that animate as you move them around your
screen, but my favourite is definitely the Vampire mouth with pointy teeth
that looks like it’s biting you.
Combat has been revamped in QFG IV. Previously you would be looking over
the hero’s shoulder as he battled a demon. This has been changed now to a
side-on view, with combat options at the bottom. You can also decide of
you want to manually take control of the battles yourself, or if you want to
sit back and let the game take over the combat.
One of the best things I love about Quest For Glory, is the Day\Night cycles.
As night time comes, everything gets dark, and an eerie glow spreads over
everything. The townspeople stay indoors in the evening. But for a hero like
you, some puzzles can only be solved at night.
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SOUND AND MUSIC
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Quest For Glory IV: Shadows Of Darkness is the first QFG game to be fully
voiced, which is an impressive feat! And the Narrator is none other than
John Rhys Davies, whose deep voice is just perfect for the role. Other
characters are also impressively voiced, with Leshy, Tanya, Dr Cranium,
Katrina, and Burgomeister being my favourites. But let’s not forget Toby’s
heartbreaking groans. The 3 men in the Inn deserve special mention - the
actors that voiced those characters ad-libbed their lines with hilarious
results.
Music is heard through the game, and most of the music if very dark and
forbidding, which compliments the game’s darker tone. Having said that,
the music in Erana’s Garden is very peaceful and serene, to give you that
sense of calmness. In contrast, music at the swamp is very sad and
mournful.
Sound effects are also very impressive, with so many subtle sounds bringing
the game to life. Doors creaking when opened and closed, birds calling out
in the background, wolves howling, tarot deck cards being shuffled, and
more. You even hear a fanfare when you perform a correct action.
Give the game a try - you won’t be disappointed!
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