Information AboutAlbion (game) |
''Albion'' is a roleplaying Computer Game released by Blue Byte Software in 1995 for the PC . It was originally released in German , then translated to English for the rest of Europe . STORYLINE In the year 2227 , the gigantic, interstellar space ship Toronto reaches a distant Planetary System . The ship's owners, a huge Corporation , believe that there are rich deposits of raw materials on the third planet of the system. The data which describes the planet as a desert, however, turns out to be forged. Albion is a world full of life, secrets, surprises, and magic. When Tom Driscoll, the pilot of the reconnaissance team discovers this, he swears to save Albion from Toronto's tentacles. GAMEPLAY ''Albion'' is a Fantasy Role Playing Game. The gameplay has the basic statistic and level system most RPGs of its time had. To level up, you defeat monsters in battle and gain experience. The Non-battle portions of this game are mainly puzzle and conversation based, so there are very few "Give X to get Y" puzzles. You can have up to six characters in your Party, led by Tom Driscoll, the only character that stays with you through the entire game. Battle System The Battle System in ''Albion'' is Turn-based and takes place on a six-by-six grid similar to a board game. You choose, at the start of each turn, an action for each character to perform: Attack, Move, Cast magic, Use Item, or Flee. There is also an 'Advance Party' option to move all enemies towards you one square. The area in which your characters can move is limited to the bottom two rows. If you have a weapon (or two, in the case of the Iskai) equipped, you can attack. If not, you cannot attack unarmed unless you are choosing Siobhan. Navigation ''Albion'' is one of the few Role Playing Games of its time to use a Hybrid system for the navigation of the maps and dungeons. In most parts of the game, the maps are depicted in 2D overhead mode, with full mouse and keyboard control. You can move the party 'train' around with the keyboard and select items to interact with the mouse (so long as you are in fair reach of them). When there are mazes, corridors or even some dungeons, the map is represented in Ray Traced 3D, akin to '' Wolfenstein 3D ''. You can still move around with the mouse and/or the keyboard and select items to interact with the mouse. Some players find this 3D mode off-putting, but thankfully it is in shorter densities than the detailed 2D maps. Conversations Conversations in ''Albion'' are handled in two ways: Set Topics and Keywords. The Topics usually signify something you can specifically ask that person, for example the leader of a tribe about an object that only he knows about, or a shopkeeper to show you his or her wares. Keywords are more dynamic and may yield different results to different people. You learn keywords for a particular town by speaking to people about common topics, and gradually you will learn all there is to know in the game just by speaking to people. For example, you can learn some of the native language and culture, some superfluous knowledge about who likes whom, and what kind of drink is preferable. SPECIES IN ALBION In ''Albion'', there are several sentient species that you can interact with and add to your party. Human (Terran) These are humans from Outer Space that originated from Earth. Terran Humans have no magical ability whatsoever, speak primarily Terran (English or German, most likely German because of the country this game originated from) and have a somewhat extensive knowledge of Technology. There are three Terran Human characters available to play as in ''Albion'' throughout the game: Tom Driscoll, Rainer Hofstedt, and Joe Bernard. Human (Celtic) These humans originate from Albion itself (though their mythology speaks of travelling there from far away, apparently magically) and are quite different from the humans you see at the start of the game. Unlike Terran Humans, Celtic Humans are sometimes quite apt at different types of magic – Druidic, the art of magic used by Kenget Kamulos, and a rare art used only by Chosen Ones. They speak Celtic, and some Iskai. There are four Celtic Humans you can play throughout the game: Mellthas, Khunag, Harriet, and Siobhan. Iskai Iskai are like humanoid cats in design and are tall, slender beasts. Though called Mammals in spite of living on another planet, they have a few physiological features that differ noticeably from all species of Earth mammals, such as an emphatic/telepathic forehead organ called a Trii and bony "claws" between their toes rather than at the end of them. They most likely originate from Nakiridaani (A Jungle Island) and inhabit Srimalinar and Jirinaar – two Iskai cities. Unlike Celtic or Terran Humans, they have their own created culture and history, which is quite rich and explored within the first part of Albion. Iskai have two forms of magic: Dji-Fadh (Architechure and Building), and Dji-Kas (Nature Controlling). The Dji-Fadh guild is much older than the Dji-Kas guild. There is also a rank of Iskai Warriors called the Stiriik. There are two Iskai characters you can play as: Sira, and Drirr. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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