Iron Lord: The Age of Chivalry


Title		Iron Lord: The Age of Chivalry
Publisher	UBI Soft, 1989
Developers      Frederick Gaulbaire, Jeroen Tel and Row Mama
Game Type	Adventure
Players	        1
HD Installable	Yes (With WHDLoad)
Compatibility	WB1.3 (All with WHDLoad patch)
Submission	John Burns (john@jgb.abelgratis.co.uk) Profiled Reviewer

Review
This is a viewed from above adventure game with arcade sub game sections
(archery, gambling, arm wrestling, etc.). The story is the usual one of
evil uncle has siezed control of the country and of course it is up to you
to right all the wrongs and put things back in order. Of course to do this
you will first need to raise some support since he has an army and you...
well you only have yourself.

The game is played from a main map screen which shows the land and various
locations (seven in total) which you can visit and explore. You visit
these locations by clicking on the map and your character is shown
galloping to that place. When he arrives at the place another screen will
open showing the location (such as a village) in more detail. Once there
you can wander around and find a building to enter, again another screen
will open and you can converse, buy, sell, etc. There are also some other
locations such as taverns or the village green where upon entering you can
take part in the arcade sections of the game.

The first of  which you are likely to encounter is the Archery contest.
This I found to be quite fun whereas the gambling games of Arm Wrestling
and Dice less so. The purpose of these arcade sections is of course to
make money with which you'll later be able to use to buy some troops and
arms for the inevitable battle to come. All this seems easy enough but
just to make it a bit harder from time to time during your travels you'll
be beset by knights who seem determined to put an end to your somewhat
puny existence. Fighting a knight is played out in a sort of first person
3D style similar to that used when a ninja attacks you in Lords of the
Rising Sun.

Okay so you've survived all the knight attacks, visited all the locations,
completed the sub quests and built an army, what then. Well it is time to
go to the castle and force your uncle into battle, where you command your
army in the second part of the game, a wargame of sorts. Victory here will
take you to the final part of the game, a chase through a large
underground maze.

Okay do you like what you've heard about the game so far? Well hold on all
is not what it seems. The first part isn't that great with only a few
places to visit (2 or 3) in each location and control in the villages as
you manoeuvre your character around can be on the fiddly and frustrating
side. The arcade sections are pretty easy to master and in no time you'll
have won the Archery competition and have made lots of money which you can
use to gamble and win more. The sub quests likewise are pretty much easily
done and again lack any true depth. The wargame part isn't hard to finish
either, provided you have a reasonable army at your disposal. The final
maze is just that a chase through a maze - nothing to write home about.

The game's graphics I'd class as adequate and reasonable enough but
nothing which one would cite as a selling point or produce comment in the
way that games such as those produced by Cinemaware generally get. Control
as I mentioned can be frustrating at times as you try to move your tiny
sprite between buildings in locations you're visiting. Though it has to be
said, control in the arcade sections is pretty good. I don't know what the
original C64 version was like but I'd say that our version isn't using the
Amiga to it's fullest extent, or even anywhere approaching such an ideal.

In conclusion, this then is a game of many parts and styles which for me
fails by being jack of all and master of none. The overall impression is
one of lack of depth and really the only thing I ever do nowadays is to go
to the first village and play the Archery arcade section as a little
diversion rather than as a proper gaming experience. Some may find this
game enjoyable but I am only left at the end asking myself "Is that it?"


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