Cyber lore Studios developed Al Qadim: The Genie’s Curse for simulation and role-playing game gurus Strategic Simulations, Incorporated. It was released in the middle nineties, and is a great Dungeons and Dragons style of role-playing game based on excerpts from Arabian mythology.
The user portrays the youngest son of a noble family that hails from the Sorcerer’s Isle, the al-Hazrads. With no room in other guilds due to the placement of his brothers, the young lad is just completing his training as a Corsair, which is a mercenary of sorts.
A type of maze serves as the boy’s final test, and also as a tutorial to introduce the user to the game play of Al Qadim: The Genie’s Curse. Upon return to his family, the boy learns of a genie that has been in the family’s possession since long before his birth. He has no power over it, since it came to the family before his existence, and the genie is accused of attacking a rival family, the Wassabs. To make matters worse, the Wassab ship the genie attacked was coincidentally transporting the Caliph of the land. The genie claimed to have been acting under the senior al-Hazrad’s orders, and the boy’s entire family is imprisoned, except for him, since he cannot
control the genie and could not have been at all at fault in the attack. The boy/user, however, is banished to the oasis, and his quest becomes to investigate the attacks and determine what actually happened, restoring the family’s name and regaining their freedom.
Al-Qadim is a role playing game that involves some puzzle solving skills, as well as proven battle techniques. There will be numerous quests to perform and many great items to find, such as weapons, magical jewels and other treasures. The player will see many unique locations, all very well rendered, and an endless supply of deserts, deserts and more deserts. There will be oases in the center of them, magical carpets for transportation, towers with the stereotypical teardrop shaped Baghdad style tops, and more genies to deal with.
Al-Qadim is a great little role playing game. It is not as complex as others, but the setting and theme are very fun, and the story line is easy to follow and lends nicely to some singular action. The enemies follow the theme and are challenging and well done. Overall, the user should find Al-Qadim: The Genie’s Curse a very satisfying play, and it comes well recommended for download.
