Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic

Preview 9/4/2001

The day begins with a youth, a wee bit weary from too much partying on the night he came of age, awakening in the peaceful village of Olicano. First order of business is to find his father, who, in turn, sends him off to search for his sister Nadia.

She was picking herbs in the forest to the north, but failed to return with the others. Aurex bravely ventures forth, to find his sister being attacked by goblins. But lo, what is this? She uses a magical fireball to destroy them. Then comes the big shocker, not only does Nadia possess magic, but Aurex does as well. She was waiting for him in the forest to reveal to him his true destiny. She gives him a magical staff, with which he will channel his energies. And then, together, they battle a few goblins.

Meanwhile, Olicano is under attack from an army of skeletons. Will Aurex return in time to save the village and his father? Will the evil general behind the attack on Olicano destroy it and Nadia as well? Will Aurex learn to balance his magic with his might in order to attack and kill the minions of evil?

Ah, for these answers and more, you will have to delve into the world of Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic, a release for the PC slated for October by those behind the title, Climax, Virgin Interactive and Bethesda Softworks.

The Art of Magic blends several elements together flawlessly. There is the role-playing genre, as you begin with Aurex, but can add to the party of adventurers; then there is the real-time strategy element, with players directing their attack by moving their heroes, and drawing in the foe.

There is a back-story. The world was in disorder when the Magistrator balanced the magical elements by creating three orbs. The lawful orb was given to the elves, the neutral orb to the druids, and the chaos orb to the Lords of Chaos. The Magistrator, being mortal, dies, and then suddenly all is not well in the world. The leader of the druids is killed in a magical explosion, and the orb, which he is holding, is destroyed as well. The elves retreat to, and presumably barricade themselves, on their island, while the Lords of Chaos begin to salivate about conquering the lands to the north.

It is into this environment that Aurex begins his adventure.

The Art of Magic is a simple game to control. You select, and point the selected party in the direction you wish him, or her, to travel. Because magic is a vital part of the process, you use the player interface to select the spell you wish to cast, and then click on where you wish to cast it. Like the majority of games, which make use of magic, the amount of magic you use is controlled by the mana you have. Use the art recklessly, and your mana disappears and must be replenished.

While the Art of Magic offers a nice twist on the storyline, and indeed opens the door for a wealth of adventures, where the game really excels is in the easy player interface and the wonderful three-dimensional graphics. This game looks very nice. The magical effects are solid, and wonderfully rendered. And the audio is well done. True, there seems to be a bit of overacting going on in places, as in Jeddon’s dying scene (if you fail to save him), but it is sometimes better to stray too far into that realm that deliver a wooden performance that is laughable and does nothing to advance the story.

The game has two main modes – campaign and battle mode. The campaign is the main adventure featuring Aurex. Battle mode can be played either as a single player, in which you play against AI wizards on a variety of fields, or in multiplayer – which is also single combat, however this is on a network against human competition.

The Art of Magic is a game that has received a lot of advance hype. The developers of the program seemed to have listened to all of this, and have developed a game that should live up to it. This game is wonderfully rendered, presents a challenge, and will draw gamers into the worlds it proudly depicts.
 

Preview 1/30/2001

Bethesda set to challenge RPG gamers with The Art of Magic

The fire roars from the staff, an arc of flame that incinerates the opposing forces. Too cool! Wait, there’s more. Cast again, and suddenly a wolf appears, challenging the forces of evil, an animal that will die for you, protect you, and fight when all hope is lost. These are the elemental spells you inherit; where you take it from there is up to you.

It sounds good, and it is. Bethesda Softworks is on the verge of releasing Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic, a role-playing game that incorporates well-rendered three-dimensional graphical elements, a wide range of quests and stellar special effects into a program that promises to keep players riveted to the action.

The preview of this program was lacking a lot – but the hint was there. This is the story of Aurax, a young man who has just turned 18. But all is not well in the village. It seems that dark forces are at work. Weaving his way through the village, he stumbles upon his father, who tells him that his sister Nadia, went into the northern woods and may be in danger.

Aurax ventures forth, to find his sister in a glade, threatened by a goblin. Despite the goblin’s threats, Nadia is not really in danger. She uses arcane powers to dispatch the creature, then tells Aurax that she has known about her gifts for quite a while. But the real news is that Aurax is even more of a potent wizard than Nadia. She hands him a staff that will allow him to channel his abilities. Then it’s back to the village, now under attack by the undead.

Herein lies the double twist: Nadia tells Aurax to find their father, but if he leaves her, Nadia may die and the mission fails.

Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic poses some wonderful choices, and balances conventional strategic game play with wonderful graphical elements to create a game that is interactive and a lot of fun.

Yes, the audio is a little simplistic, even juvenile at times – and very predictable. This is a program that long-time RPG players should be able to script. What gives this program freshness lies in the game structure. You will have to balance all-out warfare, use of mana and health, while trying to navigate the game boards that allow you to top off the upper structures of buildings and trees to see what lies around you.

It would be nice if the game allowed for a rotating camera, but that feature – of eliminating the upper structures – serves well in allowing players the opportunity to scope out the landscape and make decisions.

As for those goblins – not a bad sort, but someone has been mistreating them and they are a little ticked off about it.

Each level of the game asks you to complete certain tasks and you receive scores accordingly. There are four difficulty levels: ascertained by selecting apprentice (easiest), initiate, adept and wizard (hardest).

The characters move quite realistically and the terrain elements are wonderful.

Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic is another in a long line of RPGs, but the final product should contain all the elements that fans of this genre embrace, enjoy and revel in.

The game is destined for release in March.