User Reviews

5 years since it's first release, I finally get my hands on the special edition copy of this movie game... and sadly, I can not say it was worth the wait. Speaking strictly about the gameplay and ignoring the fact that graphics have moved on since then... I thought that the game was very short and the choices were too linear. Maybe I am expecting too much in the way of Steve Jackson & Ian Livingston's Fighting Fantasy series but even so, a lot more could have been fitted onto a DVD. The choices you make are very high level choices and one nice touch would've been to give you the option to select what type of attack to execute, what to say etc. The length of the game is 30 minutes at most and you are left with a story that is left completely open for a sequel... which will never be.

That is really what Scourge of Worlds is. It is one of TSR's old Endless Quest pick-your-path books if it were made into a movie. Except here it is an interactive CGI film and from Wizard of the Coast who now own all the old TSR stuff. In this movie there are various points where the film pauses and you are given 2 or so choices as to what you could do. The story quickly branches into two tracks, and from there it branches further and further. A few choices lead to a unfortunate end for the characters, while a few more connect to the other side of the dual track. Thus there are about 50 different branches, 6 of these ending the story and giving you the option to try something else. All this leads to two choices out of 4 possible endings. One good, one so-so, one bad, and one very bad. The choices you made during the movie will determine your final two options. But you cannot fast forward through segments as this tends to mess with how the "score" is kept and can end you with generic endings no matter. But through trial-and-error, and patience you can work through to all the endings.

The movie itself is done in CGI computer animation, and is for the larger part pretty good. The models and terrain are well set up and the textures have a lot of detail to them. Voice acting is good for the most part and the music has a good feel to it. At least a above average amount was spent on getting everything looking right. It is the animation department where things sometimes go slightly askew. For the most part the characters move well, flowing along more than one dimension and rare are the moments when a figure falls into a more mechanical 2D movement. It is in combat that things most often bog down. The characters either move with unusual slowness, or hold their weapons and attack poorly. Another minor problem is that the halfling character's neck acts like its double-jointed or something and looks particularly disconcerting a few times. The elf suffers this odd neck problem as well at least once.

The story itself concerns 3 adventurers, Regdar the human male warrior, Mialee the elven female mage, and Lidda the halfling female thief. These are all characters from the d20 version of the Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks. (With some alterations here and there.) Along the way they meet up with Barathion, a human male priest of Pholtus. Along the way they will meet up with Earth Elementals, a Wraith, Wolves, a Dire Wolf, a Displacer Beast, (a 6 legged panther with tentacles,) Orcs, a Beholder, an Air Elemental, and maybe even the Dragon depicted on the box cover if you are unlucky. The story takes place in the Greyhawk world-setting and the city of Greyhawk is even mentioned a few times.

The story, or stories if you will, move along well with only a few lapses. The characters at one point get from the Greyhawk area to that must be the Sea of Dust area with no real sense of having traveled a great distance. Otherwise its a good story with a few twists, some rather obvious, others not quite so.

All in all a surprisingly good effort. One can only wonder what a second movie would have been like once the crew had a feel for the equipment.

Scourge of Worlds, a genuine AD&D iconic collectors adventure of the finest characters based on the 2nd Edition AD&D package. Regdar is a great traveling soldier, Lidda is vicious, a ranger rebel of former evil, and Mialee a sexy mistress of omnipotent magic and hand to hand combat. Barathion is mighty and Ariadnle is awesome, a omnipotent seeming spiritual entity. My ratings are below as follows, Ratings are 1-5 and a star represents egomania quality Adventure quality: 4 Might&magic: 3 Violence: * Plots&story twists: 2 Animation: 5 Special features: 0 Impressions, sensations, egomania: 4 Special interest(Mialee&Lidda): *