From Dreamcatcher games and Cryo Entertainment
In the battle of good against evil, knights who follow the Code of Chivalry always follow the good. You play Bradwen, a young knight who must face many perils on the road to his destiny.
The game starts with a young boy being told about Bradwen. He is told to fetch a book. One book is about Bradwen the Celtic knight. One book is Bradwen the Christian knight. The Celt lives in a land with fairies and magic. Bradwen the Christian is raised in the Roman tradition and will meet other challenges in the game.
The graphics are very nice. There is a lot of detail, well drawn. The game also features an historical database, which is a nice touch that gives you more background information. You can also have five different games going. This allows you to play both versions of Bradwen at the same time.
Movements are via the arrow keys on the keyboard, conversation and the inventory you access with the mouse. When Bradwen is riding, he won't be able to do anything else until he arrives and dismounts.
If you don't know what to do next, it's probably one of two things. You need to go back and talk to someone or pick up an item. Most likely, you have a new clue that you'll need to talk to someone about. Keep an eye on the storybook, when new entries are added, they may help your progress.
The camera angles of the game change dramatically and can make it difficult to orient. Since the up arrow moves Bradwen forward, he won't suddenly change directions as far as the compass goes. But you might be moving from the right to the left of the screen to suddenly find you're moving toward the top of the screen instead.
Battles are not a problem. If Bradwen carries the right weapon or has prepared with the correct knowledge, he will prevail. If not, he dies. If he dies, you return to the castle where the storyteller is speaking to the child. Eventually you will be able to resume the game which takes you back to a point in the story before you died.
You may frequently be halted by not being able to correctly line Bradwen up to accomplish the task. This can include opening doors, speaking to people, and picking up items. I was frequently backing up a pixel or two, moving forward and trying again.
I like the idea of using the storybook, but in every chapter, I had gaps left where tasks were missing. I do not know if the task was unfulfilled, filled in the wrong order or what. It would have been better not to leave the gaps in the book so such things weren't as obvious.
There is so much detail in the background, I was always trying to get Bradwen closer to some items. Alas, frequently they were there to add character to the game, but you couldn't actually get near them.
How does that squire follow along? He never mounts a steed to ride with you.
The mythology and history behind the game is sound. The graphics are quite nice. Some of the animations are beautiful, the horse running along the terrain is very realistic.
However, the interface is seriously flawed. I really thought from the description of the game that it would be fascinating. But spending ages carefully checking an area for alternative exits and tramping around endless going back and forth to talk to someone yet again is tedious.
I have had serious problems finishing the game with the character as a Celtic knight. Playing it again as a Christian does not at all appeal.