Donde Sorcery! ofrece la ilusión de una aventura que se siente tan urgente como apurada, en la que el nivel de tu heroísmo se marca más por tu astucia que por tu fuerza bruta o acumulación de cachivaches, Sorcery! 2 retoma un poco del modelo encorsetado y formulaico de los módulos tradicionales. La buena impresión dejada por tu incursión inicial por Kharé, una ciudad que se siente habitada en extremo, acaba convirtiéndose en un tedioso ejercicio de agotar opciones hasta encontrar las líneas necesarias que te permiten cruzar la puerta final. Es una verdadera lástima que un lugar tan interesante, tan repleto de ideas originales y con un ingenio y caracterización que ni Bioware ni Obsidian son capaces de alcanzar ni en sus mejores momentos, se vea mancillado por esta visión tan conservadora de diseño.

Si, aún así, eres capaz de superar la decepción que supone darse cuenta de cómo está montado, Sorcery! 2 continúa exactamente donde el juego original lo dejó en cuanto a plantearte un mundo en el que tu presencia cuenta y se valora, pero al mismo tiempo es capaz de continuar existiendo sin tí.

Una cosa más: Swindlestones es mejor que Gwen.

------------------------------------------

Where Sorcery! offers the illusion of an adventure that feels as urgent and tense, in which heroism isn't found in brute force of gadget accumulation but your cunning alone, Sorcery! 2 takes up a step back towards a formulaic and traditional model of module dungeon. Your very good impressions left after your first foray through Kharé wind up to a tedious exercise of option exhaust and item collecting. It's a real shame that such an interesting city, one that feels so lived and full of so many colorful characters that Bioware and Obsidian would never be able to conjure, is tainted by such conservative design.

If you're somehow able to get past the initial disappointment, Sorcery! 2 will pick you up exactly where the original entry left off, and will convince that your choices matter insofar as this city and its inhabitants will be able to live without you just fine.

One more thing: Swindlestones is better than Gwent.

Agora sim estamos conversando. Se o primeiro Sorcery! era notoriamente apenas uma introdução de uma história muito maior, a sequência segue o caminho quase inverso. Ele funciona tão bem como uma aventura solo que não precisa de seu antecessor (que, em retrospecto, é quase que apenas um tutorial pra esse aqui), nem fica na sombra de um sucessor para dar uma conclusão satisfatória.

Acho que a palavra-chave aqui é "aventura", no sentido mais ludológico possível. Kharé é uma cidade deliciosa de se explorar, com cada encruzilhada criando novas oportunidades narrativas. E suas explorações aqui não são apenas para satisfazer a inerente curiosidade de saber o que aconteceria se tivesse escolhido X em vez de Y: há uma linha narrativa central que só pode ser resolvida com bastante investigação... Ou você pode só abandonar tudo e seguir em frente! Há liberdade o suficiente para você resolver ou ignorar conflitos de diferentes formas, sejam grandes ou pequenos.

Mesmo sendo bem amarradinho, fica óbvio que suas escolhas terão consequências maiores nos capítulos posteriores. Sorcery! 2 me deixou tão animado que mal posso esperar para presenciá-las em Sorcery! 3 e 4.

Fighting Fantasy novels are some of the best fiction I have ever read. Being translated into a game is even better thanks to all the perks that come with a game. Not having to keep track of stats, inventory, or where to turn the page. Sorcery is a series created by Steve Jackson and is wonderfully crafted. It’s not so much the characters in the game, but the world itself and how it’s portrayed.

When the game starts out the player comes across a beggar and has complete freedom to kill him, greet him, or just ignore him. In fact, this is a completely open game; every choice matters until the very end. I was just surprised at how much detail went into each choice and each move. Every step of the way a choice can be made that can kill you, help you, or show consequences later in the game. Just greeting or ignoring someone can be optional or that is the person you needed to talk to make your path easier. It’s so organic though, and that’s the magic of this game.

The goal of the game is to find four magic lines that you must recite at the north gate of the city that has been locked for thousands of years. Of course you can leave the city and leave it to be burned down by the raiding Orcs and Goblins, however, this is the cheap way out. If you missed one of the four nobles you must find you can warp back to a point in the city and try the area again. Another thing I really loved is that your character remembers going through these areas so the game is adjusted accordingly. You can avoid traps, being captured, and fights to make going to areas you missed easier. You can also rewind any encounter at any time without any penalties which are a blessing for these choose your adventure games.

The visuals are rather charming and feel like something that has come right out of a book. The sound design is a little lacking, but when it does kick in, along with the music, it’s fantastic. The other two elements of the game besides adventuring are magic and combat. Magic is used throughout the entire game from predicting traps, weakening enemies, creating shields, or making yourself bigger. Magic can be used to help or harm people. Combat is strategic in a way that you must read what’s going on with the enemy and then watch their stamina bar to predict how hard your next attack should be or to defend.

In the end, I had one problem, I couldn’t figure out where the last two nobles were, I almost gave up on the game, but some of the clues finally made sense and I was able to find both nobles in one try before going back to the north gate. The story flowing organically allowed me to remember where I heard about the nobles and that I had visited those areas and it finally clicked. Once I opened the game I finished the ending and couldn’t wait to jump into Sorcery 3. This game is highly recommended for RPG fans and choose your adventure fans.