Geekscape Games Reviews Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls is a turn based fantasy role-playing game based on the classic PC favorite Wizardry. Developed by Acquire and published in the US by Xseed games, Labyrinth of Lost Souls is the first in the all new Wizardry Renaissance series available exclusively on Playstation Network for the Playstation 3. The Renaissance title may be a bit misleading though as this new game stays very close to its old school Wizardry roots. Labyrinth’s classic flavor should please players who came up playing the series in the 80’s and early 90’s, but could make this new game a bit inaccessible to new gamers. Of course those with an open mind might just find this game a retro styled gem.
Players begin the game just as in previous Wizardry titles by picking a fantasy race for their character such as Elf, Gnome, or standard Human. Each race begins with a fixed set of base stats that can be raised or lowered by applying bonus points. This is the first time Labyrinth shows its archaic RPG roots, because the amount bonus points is randomly generated each time a new character is created. Back in the day, this random point generation was supposed to emulate the rolling of dice to generate stats in table-top RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons. Players who wanted better stats often just restarted the character creation process in order to “re-roll” their character. It’s a tactic that works in this game as well, which is to say that if you want the highest stats possible all you have to do it continually re-roll. If the whole re-rolling process seems a bit silly and unnecessary to modern players then welcome to RPG gaming circa 1982 kids.
Labyrinths of Lost Souls old school design tendencies don’t end with character creation, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing depending on the player. The developers clearly had nostalgia in mind while creating the game, which incorporates several game-play mechanics that are rarely if ever present in modern games of any type. Things like having to pay to identify items and treasure picked up in dungeons before they can be used or even sold might seem frustrating and senseless to some gamers, while instilling a sense of wonder and anticipation in others. The absolute and complete lack of any type of tutorial or in-game instruction could be seen as a roadblock to players unfamiliar with older Wizardry games, then again it could encourage players to experiment with the game as they might have back in the days of gaming yore.
Game-play is fairly straight forward in Labyrinth of Lost Souls, and this is where the game will resonate with all gamers. Newly minted characters arrive in the town of Aitox which is easily navigated by menus. Aitox is a convenient location for new adventurers as there are a few dungeons just outside. There’s a guild in town where you can pick up quests that will send you into the dungeons to kill monsters, collect items, and even make deliveries. These fetch-style quests will seem very familiar to both current and veteran RPG fans, as will the very basic core RPG mechanics such as stat points and equipment management that now permeate every genre of today’s game landscape.
The dungeons in Labyrinth are seen from a first person perspective, and as your party moves forward each step they take represents one square of the map grid. The movement and perspective is same as the popular handheld RPG series Etrian Odyssey on Nintendo DS, which was clearly inspired by Wizardry. The Dungeons are fun to explore and are loaded with treasure chests, secret doors, teleporters, and of course monsters. The turn-based combat is intuitive and easy to master, and the computer remembers the selections from the previous turn so that simple battles can be fast forwarded through. That’s not to say that the game is easy, though it’s doesn’t have nearly the harrowing difficulty seen in many previous Wizardry incarnations.
One aspect of Labyrinth of Lost Souls that is strangely schizophrenic is the aesthetics. While the dungeons and monsters could easily be mistaken for a western developed game, the character designs are clearly Japanese in origin. The music and ambient sounds are also fairly western in style and unobtrusive, but the scant character voices that are peppered throughout the game are the original Japanese and sometimes sound like they’re straight out of an anime. The graphics and sounds aren’t going to win this game any awards, but they’re strangely charming and fit the games tone.
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a fun blast from the past for fans of the original Wizardry series. It can also serve as a perfect introduction for new players that are curious about Wizardry, but don’t want the hassle of trying to get 25 year old games to run on their modern PCs. Though some players might find parts of Labyrinth too old-fashioned, others could very well realize that they’ve missed a very important part of gaming history and open themselves up to a whole new world of adventure.
