AD&D: Al-Qadim The Genie's Curse

This product is included in the AD&D Masterpiece Collection

Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Game

Ratings:

3 1/2 stars from Computer Gaming World

Explore an Exotic New World

As an outcast whose once mighty clan has been dishonored, you must face the all-powerful Genie Lords in a quest to restore your family honor - once and for all!

Experience the mysterious new AL-QADIM game world and prepare for fast real-time action, arcade-style combat, and herat-pounding role-playing - all in the style of the Arabian Nights.

The Genie's Curse is quick to set up and a breeze to play. Your character, a brave corsair, slashes his way through this incredible new AD&D game world, where high magic and dark deeds reign.

A simple interface guides you through encounters with genies, sinister sorcerers, wise hermits, and many more mysterious beings - each with their own secrets and challenges.

Use magical items to face the challenge of real-time combat and puzzle solving.

Explore an interactive world where you can push, pull, open, and close - even break things.

Savor a tightly woven storyline that's enhanced by grand cinematic musical themes.

Stunning 256-color VGA graphics and striking animation make this game a visual delight.

Variable difficulty settings allow players of all skill levels to be challenged.

Requirements:

Plays from hard disk, 16MB required. Runs on 386, 486 and 100% compatibles. Requires 4MB of RAM. VGA required, 386/33 required. Sound: Aria, SoundBlaster family, GW32/SW32, SoundScape, WaveBlaster, SoundCanvas, ProAudio Spectrum, Gravis Ultrasound & 100% compatibles. Joystick, mouse, and keyboard supported. Minimum CD-ROM requirements: 150 KB data transfer rate, 350 ms access time, MSCDEX 2.1 or later. Requires DOS vers. 5.0, 6.0, or 6.2. Compressed hard drive not recommended.

DOS games do not work on Windows XP, of course, and we do not offer technical support for DOS games running on Windows XP. However, if you really want to run games like this on your fast new Windows XP machine you should try using DOSBox. The DOSBox OpenSource DOS emulator is an excellent piece of work which we can highly recommend. It isn't possible for us to guarantee that it will work well for you, however, especially on newer graphic-intensive DOS games. On older DOS games, like Civilization, for example, it runs well on any machine capable of running Windows XP.

To start with, you will need to download the Win32 Installer using this link: http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/download.php?main=1

The README file included with DOSBox will tell you what you need to know. If you find it a bit too technical, just click on The Newbie's Pictoral Guide to DOSBox on the following page: http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewforum.php?f=39

We find that it is best to create a separate shortcut for each DOSBox game. That makes starting the game easier and also makes full screen mode easier to deal with.

Reviews:

Computer Gaming World, August 1994

"In Al-Qadim, SSI has taken a decisive step away from their previous role-playing releases, like Ravenloft and Dark Sun. Many standard elements of role-playing games - character generation, extensive exploration, complex combat and magic systems - have been removed or de-emphasized, and elements from adventure games - greater emphasis on puzzle solving and increased object manipulation - have been added. The result is a new kind of role-playing game that may point toward the future of the genre."

"The game is not a standard role-playing game and it is not a standard adventure game. Al-Qadim is a story in which we get to play the main character. While we may have few choices in what to do or when to do it, the story is charming, graphically pleasing (less can be said of the music and sound effects), of reasonable length (about 20+ hours) and worth 'playing.' In this game, elements of both role-playing and adventure games are blended cleverly with one of the most facile interfaces to date. The game has eliminated much of the fuss that comes with role-playing games (the nitty-gritty details, statistics, endless fighting). It has also bypassed many of the things that I view as flaws in adventure games (improbable puzzles, overly simplistic plot lines, the endless tinkering to determine which action or verb is needed to associate two items). So, while I sit quivering in fear that my favorite type of role-playing games - the gigantic, number-crunching monsters - may soon be dinosaurs in this business, I still salute the positive accomplishments of this game. Borrowing heavily from the Arabian Nights, Al-Qadim has captured the charm and wonder of those tales."

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