Telengard easily ate up more hours than any other game I played on the C64. It was my introduction to role playing games for the computer, having been a Dungeons & Dragons fan in Junior High. I would spend half an hour just generating character stats before starting the game because I wanted the absolute best mix of strength, dexterity, wisdom, constitution, charisma, and intelligence.
The graphics are horrible, but I never seemed to mind. I think the low res graphics actually helped me focus on the gameplay and got my imagination going, something that the ultra-realism of today’s games doesn’t give you.
Telengard easily ate up more hours than any other game I played on the C64. It was my introduction to role playing games for the computer, having been a Dungeons & Dragons fan in Junior High. I would spend half an hour just generating character stats before starting the game because I wanted the absolute best mix of strength, dexterity, wisdom, constitution, charisma, and intelligence.
The graphics are horrible, but I never seemed to mind. I think the low res graphics actually helped me focus on the gameplay and got my imagination going, something that the ultra-realism of today’s games doesn’t give you. The random placement of monsters and treasure always made it fresh and surprising, and there are tons of unique magical objects to hunt
for. Spells are pretty diverse, and I think there are even some graphical effects with the casting of some spells. The real-time combat element also added to the excitement. You’ve always got the option to either attack (with weapon or by casting a spell) or try and run away as you see your hit points dropping, but then you might not be able to escape, and who knows what unique item that gorgon is sitting on.
I should note that this is not a challenging, puzzle solving sort of role playing game. It’s more like Diablo than like Everquest or Ultima. But that’s the way I like my RPG’s: more focused on speed and action than on puzzle-solving.
I can’t even remember if I ever got all the way to the bottom of the dungeon, but I sure had fun trying. So if you want a role playing game that doesn’t make you think too hard, but does let you use your imagination, and you want to FEEL like you’re in 1983, give Telengard a spin.
