Darkstone

Darkstone: Evil Reigns (Darkstone in North America) is an action role-playing video game developed by Delphine Software International for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. In 2014, the French publisher Anuman Interactive launched a remake available on iPad, iPhone and Android, with the cooperation of the original game's author Paul Cuisset.[1]

Darkstone: Evil Reigns
Developer(s)Delphine Software International
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Paul Cuisset
Bertrand Gibert
Producer(s)Paul Cuisset
Philippe Delamarre
Designer(s)Paul Cuisset
Programmer(s)Benoist Aron
Claude Levastre
Boris Vidal-Madjar
Artist(s)Denis Mercier
Frédéric Michel
Thierry Levastre
Writer(s)Mathieu Gaborit
Jean-Luc Dumon
Composer(s)Christophe Rime
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Android, iOS
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • NA: 31 July 1999
  • EU: 1999
PlayStation
  • NA: 28 January 2001
  • EU: 9 March 2001
iOS, Android
19 March 2014
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Plot

The evil Lord Draak, who has the power to transform himself into a dragon, has recovered from earlier defeat and returned with his minions to the world of Uma bringing death and mayhem. Players attempt to find their way to Draak's lair and slay him in combat. On their way they must locate the seven crystals and use them to recreate the time orb, without which Draak can not be defeated.

There are seven crystals; the purple Crystal of Wisdom, the red Crystal of Virtue, the blue Crystal of Bravery, the yellow Crystal of Nobility, the turquoise Crystal of Compassion, the green Crystal of Integrity and the grey Crystal of Strength. These are magically reassembled by the hermit Sebastian to form the crystal Time Orb.

In the PC version, the townspeople will ask the player to do optional quests in return for money. These quests are either retrieving artifacts or killing an infamous monster. The artifacts are the Holy Grail, the Royal Diadem, the Shield of Light, the Unicorn's Horn, the Horn of Plenty, the Dragon's Scale, the Magic Anvil, the Path Book, the Medallion of Melchior, the Sacred Scroll, the Stone of Souls, the Cursed Sword, the Storm Flower, the Claw of Sargon, the Celestial Harp, the Bard's Music Score and the Broken Vase. The monsters are the ratman Buzbal the Furious, the vampire Nosferatu and the skeletal Evil Garth.

Reception

Sales

In the United States, Darkstone's computer version debuted at #13 on PC Data's computer game sales rankings for August 1999.[2] The firm tracked 63,553 domestic sales of the game through the end of 1999.[3] This number rose to roughly 75,000 copies by March 2000, which led GameSpot's writer Desslock to remark that the game "sold quite poorly".[4] As of October 2001, the computer version of Darkstone had sold around 130,000 units in the United States.[5]

Reviews and awards

Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "An addictive little title that is, in some ways, even better than the trendsetter it closely resembles."[9]

Emmett Schkloven reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "This is an addictive action RPG port, and the graphics are impressive. But if its generic elements prevent it from being a classic, the cheap entry fee still makes it worthwhile."[10]

Darkstone: Evil Reigns received mixed reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the PC version 77%[6] and the PlayStation version 65%, while the PlayStation version holds a 58/100 rating on Metacritic.[7][8]

Darkstone was a nominee for CNET Gamecenter's 1999 "Best Role-Playing Game" award, which went to Asheron's Call.[11]

References
  1. http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/07/flashback-creators-darkstone-headed-to-mobile/
  2. Fudge, James (September 23, 1999). "Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun Tops August Sales Charts". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on May 2, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  3. Staff (April 2000). "PC Gamer Editors' Choice Winners: Does Quality Matter?". PC Gamer US. 7 (4): 33.
  4. Desslock (May 11, 2000). "Desslock's Ramblings – RPG Sales Figures". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 3, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  5. Keighley, Geoff (October 2001). "READ.ME; G.O.D.'s Fall from Grace". Computer Gaming World (207): 30–32.
  6. "Darkstone for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  7. "Darkstone for PlayStation". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  8. "Darkstone for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  9. Lundrigan, Jeff (November 1999). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 2 no. 3. Imagine Media. p. 123.
  10. Schkloven, Emmett (May 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 5. Imagine Media. p. 87.
  11. The Gamecenter Staff (January 21, 2000). "The Gamecenter Awards for 1999!". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on June 6, 2000. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
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