Azrael's Tear
Sold Out		(DOS/Win95) (Retail) (AZRAELPR)

Mindscape

Game

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Ratings:

3 1/2 stars from Computer Gaming World
A from PC Games
82% from PC Gamer
A from Just Adventure

The Holy Grail of Adventure Games

Gazing down upon a world raging with torment and evil, the archangel Azrael sheds a tear. And where his sorrow touches, even greater destruction erupts...

The dawn of the third millennium. But instead of an age of great happiness and human perfection, the earth has plunged into hellish chaos. The only hope lies hidden in the ancient past, in the legendary energy of the Holy Grail itself - and your ability to find it.

You are a brave, new, high-technology Raptor cast into the Knight's Templar - the vast, lost, underground sanctum of the sacred cup. Your charge: retrieve this legendary chalice of the Last Supper and return its healing power to a forsaken planet.

But this is no safe sanctuary. It is a labyrinth of the mutated and deadly. To these bizarre denizens who have guarded the cup for centuries, you are just another petty thief. And they are waiting for you.

Explore over 70 hauntingly mystic environments. Gather crucial objects. Solve intelligent puzzles. And negotiate with a host of daunting characters. Though armed with the latest in high-tech weaponry and sophisticated sensors, ultimately you must survive by your strategy and skill and wits.

Your world depends upon it.

Features:

A mesmerizing role-playing adventure with first-person perspective and real-time scrolling.

Solve dozens of subtle yet sophisticated puzzles, seamlessly integrated into more than 70 real-time gothic environments.

Auto-Resolution Mode allows you to determine graphic acuity and speed up your quest.

First-person, head's-up display lets you traverse the temple in high-tech mapping and sensor gear.

Each character you encounter - including mutant dinosaurs, threatening knights, and obsessive ghosts - boasts a distinct personality and history, reflected in dialogue and game behavior.

Realistic sound design and atmospheric music enhance this mystical gaming experience.

This program runs under MS-DOS and Windows 95 DOS mode.

Requirements:

486DX2 66MHz (Pentium recommended), 8 MB of RAM (optimized for 16MB), 7 MB free XMS memory (may require creating a boot disk or modifying system configuration files), 10 MB free uncompressed hard disk space, 1 MB VESA compliant SVGA video card, MS-DOS 5.0 or above, Microsoft and 100% compatible mouse, driver version 7.26 or higher, 2x CD ROM drive (4x recommended), Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card.

Reviews:

Computer Gaming World, February 1997

"The underground world of Azrael's Tear is impresively rendered in full 3D. Initially, the striking nature of the graphics seems wasted, as many of the rooms show significant decay; but as the plot unfolds, the dichotomy between the few spaces of breathtaking beaurty and those on the verge of collapse subtly underscores the complex story behind the game. The unusual look of the game quickly grows on you."

"...There's nothing groundbreaking here, but then you don't have to beat a ghost at checkers to open a gate, either. It's all logical, moderately challenging and fairly enjoyable, but the true rewards of Azrael's Tear lie in the compelling plot, played out through letters, books and conversations with the deathless knights."

Just Adventure by Ray Ivey

"The format of this game is unusual for an adventure game, especially one released in 1996. It's DOS (DOS in 1996?!) and it's in first person real-time rendered 3D. You heard right. You move through these mysterious and creepy environments with the complete freedom that only comes with RTR 3D. Naturally, this format causes a classic problem for the purist adventurer: the navigation interface. And AT has taken a real beating in this department. And it's true that if you follow the directions in the manual for using the mouse for movement, it's a pretty frustrating experience. But if you simply take a deep breath and use those friendly little four arrow keys on your keyboard, moving in AT becomes an instant breeze. Toss in Page Up and Page Down to look up and down, and you're off and running.

"This game is frequently categorized as an action/adventure, and I'm here to tell you that's just incorrect. AT is an adventure game with some action elements. What are they? Well, yes, there is a little bit of shooting. And I mean a very little bit, most of which can actually be avoided if you prefer..."

"As I began to explore Aeternis, I was quickly mesmerized, thrilled, intrigued, and saddened by the incredible atmosphere in this creepy place. I explored mines, chapels, cathedrals, laboratories, libraries, and living quarters, all accompanied by a beautiful and evocative soundtrack that had a strong liturgical flavor (not to mention an extremely detailed and informative sound design). The characters I met were as fascinating as they were dangerous, and they were presented with some of the very best voice acting I've ever come across in a game. I frequently would play a scene several times, just to hear everything one of these characters would have to say..."

"The storyline is rich, fascinating, and sad. The game is quite generous in that there are multiple ways to accomplish different tasks, and each of these paths has its own rewards and hazards. The game has several endings and even several "optional" mini-quests. How fun was this game? Let me just say this--halfway through I started the game over from scratch and replayed everything I'd done so far. I just wanted to experience it again."

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