Game News Betrayal at Krondor released on Steam

[Infinitron]

Tags: Activision; Betrayal at Krondor; Betrayal in Antara; Dynamix; PyroTechnix; Return to Krondor; Sierra Entertainment

Activision have released another batch of legacy Sierra games on Steam that were previously only available on GOG. This time they're mostly titles that were only published by Sierra, and among them is Betrayal at Krondor, Dynamix's classic roleplaying game set in Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar universe. The game is available for $6 as part of the Betrayal Collection, along with its inferior cousin Betrayal in Antara, just like on GOG. Betrayal at Krondor's forgettable sequel, PyroTechnix's Return to Krondor, is also available for the same price.

Both games have a 40% launch discount until next year, but if you're looking to buy them, you might also want to take a look at the new Classic Sierra Bundle, where pretty much every single Sierra game on Steam is currently available for an incredible 91% discount, including the two nu-Sierra titles(!). I guess that should tell you how those did. I wonder if this means Activision are done with these re-releases. There are still a few Sierra games left on GOG that aren't on Steam.

 

[pippin]

GOG's version of Antara has been reported to have a bug due to some files being overwritten when they packaged the cd images. I don't know if this is still the case (the report is years old iirc) but if their version is the same as GOG's, then the bug might still be present.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

nealiios brace yourself for ... interesting reviews.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

... on my Steam Wishlist now ... am curious if the Antara bug is still present ...

 

[Morality Games]

nealiios brace yourself for ... interesting reviews.

Wouldn't be waiting with bated breath. Doubt many 'interesting' players are going to try it.

 

[abnaxus]

Betrayal at Krondor's forgettable sequel

Feist must've liked it since that sorcerer chick is mentioned by name in one of the later books. Though he killed her off prematurely.

 

[Infinitron]

Betrayal at Krondor's forgettable sequel

Feist must've liked it since that sorcerer chick is mentioned by name in one of the later books. Though he killed her off prematurely.

I should check out his novelization of Betrayal someday. Have you read it?

 

[Gord]

I only bought BaK quite recently, but for some reason can't seem to get into it.
I keep playing it for a couple of hours but then other games seem more appealing and I forget about BaK again.

Dunno why, does it simply take some time to get going?

 

[Cadmus]

I only bought BaK quite recently, but for some reason can't seem to get into it.
I keep playing it for a couple of hours but then other games seem more appealing and I forget about BaK again.

Dunno why, does it simply take some time to get going?

I tried 3 times, the last one was pretty long ago. It looked too shit and the exploration was running through a green shitty field with green, brown and blue. I'll try again but for me it's below the cut-off point for graphics.

 

[Mark Richard]

One can never have too many versions of Betrayal at Krondor. Got my big box version, a GOG version, a pair of CD jewel cases from a European games magazine, and then there's a spare copy on a USB flash drive which is inside a chest that can only be opened by solving a riddle. Or by lifting the lid.

 

[Gord]

Well, yes, the 3d parts have aged rather badly.
However, usually I can tolerate a lot in terms of graphics when the rest of the game manages to pique my interest.

 

[cvv]

I only bought BaK quite recently, but for some reason can't seem to get into it.
I keep playing it for a couple of hours but then other games seem more appealing and I forget about BaK again.

Dunno why, does it simply take some time to get going?

I tried 3 times, the last one was pretty long ago. It looked too shit and the exploration was running through a green shitty field with green, brown and blue. I'll try again but for me it's below the cut-off point for graphics.

It was ugly when it came out. I played it a few months after launch with a bunch of fellow nerds and remember we all laughed at the terrible graphics. We gave it a pass tho because at least it was innovative - not many 3D RPGs in 1993.

Apart from that the game is delightful. It's huge, it's epic, it's fresh. The writing is relatively mature and you don't feel like you're playing something meant for 10 year olds, which is incredibly rare in the videogames industry up to this day. The story is interesting, the characters aren't cardboard, the setting is different and fresh. It's actually not trivial to follow the story, you have to read, read again and then think for a bit. Plus the systems are solid to great.

I played it about 3 years ago and could easily rise above the ugly visuals but that's always easier for old games you played and loved back in the day. For instance I can't get into the old wire-frame Ultimas or Wizardries for the same reason - it's just too antiquated for me to enjoy the gameplay itself.

 

[Brayko]

(fuck the riddles tho)

 

[stony3k]

Reviews comparing it to Twitcher tho

 

[ERYFKRAD]

(fuck the riddles tho)

lolno

I should check out his novelization of Betrayal someday. Have you read it?

Game's better.

 

[Infinitron]

Yeah, I've heard that, but I don't think I've seen anybody go into detail about it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Not much more to say really. Owyn's more of a bumbling harry-potter type, Gorath is Gorath, and the pacing is like a very compressed run of the game.

 

[abnaxus]

Betrayal at Krondor's forgettable sequel

Feist must've liked it since that sorcerer chick is mentioned by name in one of the later books. Though he killed her off prematurely.

I should check out his novelization of Betrayal someday. Have you read it?

No.

The chick is mentioned in one of the Serpentwar books. She had a relationship with Pug's son.

http://midkemia.wikia.com/wiki/Jazhara_Hazara-Khan.

 

[Electryon]

GOG's version of Antara has been reported to have a bug due to some files being overwritten when they packaged the cd images. I don't know if this is still the case (the report is years old iirc) but if their version is the same as GOG's, then the bug might still be present.

There is a pretty easy workaround that is detailed in the game forums on GOG that simply requires renaming a file to skip over the hurdle that is causing the bug, finish the quest in question, and then go back and put the file back to what it was before. Regardless, if it is present in the GOG version, it will almost certainly be in the Steam version. I can't think of any title that performs BETTER out of the gate on Steam than GOG, who at least makes an attempt from the business side to provide info and fixes for this stuff, to the extent that is possible. Every other Steam game I own requires some kind of workaround.

 

[Rhuantavan]

Yeah, I've heard that, but I don't think I've seen anybody go into detail about it.

Being a BaK fanboy I naturally had to have the book, but couldn't bring myself to finish it. I have started reading it about 3 times now, but never got past the first third of it. It is pretty bad imo.

 

[Rhuantavan]

One can never have too many versions of Betrayal at Krondor. Got my big box version, a GOG version, a pair of CD jewel cases from a European games magazine, and then there's a spare copy on a USB flash drive which is inside a chest that can only be opened by solving a riddle. Or by lifting the lid.

That's only right.

I've got a boxed disk version, a boxed CD version, an "oem" boxless version, and a german boxed disk version. Then also a cheap big-box re-release, and the version that came with Ray's novelization. Oh and of course the GOG version as well. :D

I'm missing the Israeli version, but never had the chance to lay my hands on it.

 

[M0RBUS]

One can never have too many versions of Betrayal at Krondor. Got my big box version, a GOG version, a pair of CD jewel cases from a European games magazine, and then there's a spare copy on a USB flash drive which is inside a chest that can only be opened by solving a riddle. Or by lifting the lid.

Flash drives will erase themselves if left unused for too long. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Don't use flash memory for long storage, unless you power it up every year or so.

 

[Archibald]

Betrayal at Krondor's forgettable sequel

Feist must've liked it since that sorcerer chick is mentioned by name in one of the later books. Though he killed her off prematurely.

Well he wrote a book about events of Return to Krondor and I think it is consider official part of his universe? Thou, maybe basic plot premise was given to developers by Feist and he was going to write a book about it either way?

 

[Burning Bridges]

nealiios brace yourself for ... interesting reviews.

Wouldn't be waiting with bated breath. Doubt many 'interesting' players are going to try it.

The graphix in this game suck!

 

[Johannes]

I don't see why anyone would buy this, it's been available for legal free download too at one point. Who's getting the money here anyway?