I first played Treasures of the Savage Frontier many years ago on our old IBM 486. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) I would give this game a solid 4, maybe more.
For anyone who enjoys the role playing games, Treasures of the Savage Frontier is a must play. Set in the rich world of a dungeons and dragons style world, Treasures of the Savage Frontier continues the story of the Heroes of Ascore from Gateway to the Savage Frontier. Once again your services are needed to help rid the savage frontier of the armies of the Zhentarim.
I didn't play "Gateway" before I played "Treasures" but I didn't encounter any disadvantages to either the gameplay or the storyline without having played the prequel. The beginning battles were a bit difficult with a brand new party but that's all. Obviously both games are designed to stand alone.
Treasures of the Savage Frontier uses a turn based combat system and party mode common to AD&D games. As this was my first AD&D game to play I was interested in how long it would take until I mastered the combat system. I found the game easy to understand and play and quickly mastered the controls. I prefer the AD & D turn based combat system to any other combat system I’ve played. It allows
many different types of parties to succeed in the game by altering strategies. This means that the game is fun to play over and over again with different "types" of parties.
And while I'm on the topic, character creation and customization is outstanding and really allows you to design your "perfect party". In this game there is even a love story that develops between one of your characters of good alignment and an NPC which was sort of fun.
One disadvantage to RPGs is that you tend to spend lots of time micro-managing your party's inventory and spells etc. To my pleasant surprise I found that spell and inventory management in Treasures of the Savage Frontier are efficient and don't detract too much from gameplay.
The graphics by today's standards are crude at best but still offer an enjoyable experience, especially the skull and crossbones graphic with each kill.
The real plus for Treasures of the Savage Frontier is the story line. A good role playing game offers a great back story so that you have some motivation to help the characters advance and some investment along the way. It offers many twists and turns and makes for a very enjoyable game. The battles are exciting and challenging and some of the NPCs are great. There are also great side quests you can do to beef up your experience along the way, or you can concentrate on the main quest. All in all Treasure of the Savage Frontier is a great game.
