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Bob Malin, US Gold's D&D man, told us back in issue six, "With Shadow Sorcerer we've tried to make things more accessible to the average gamesplayer." Mmmm.

The problem with producing any computer version of D&D is that it's just such a huge concept, everything is open-ended, and so the possibilities are limitless. SSI know this, and so what they generally try to do with all their various D&D licences is select various elements from the concept, then mix them together in differing amounts, and with different forms of presentation. Remember Eye Of The Beholder? Of course you do. Well, that was a Dungeons & Dragons game which concentrated very much on the maze and combat aspects of D&D.

Something like the forthcoming Ultima VI (although it's not actually a D&D licence) leans far more heavily on wargame-style combat, subtle puzzles, and large scale exploration, using, as it does, an entire world as its playground. Then we come to Shadow Sorcerer, which is a different kettle of fish entirely (and will somebody please tell me what fish are doing in a kettle?).

Anybody vaguely familiar with D&D will know that some players utilise painted lead miniatures when playing. This helps when combat is being played out, as everybody is given a clear representation of just where their characters are at any particular point. This is the aspect which Shadow Sorcerer concentrates on, offering 'computer-assisted' control over four fully animated characters in close-quarters situations. In addition to this 3D isometric representation of the play area, Shadow Sorcerer also uses a large-scale hex-map to depict the less interesting bits.

The basic gist of the game, then, is something like this. Four characters are selected from a roster of sixteen. These characters can then be moved from cell to cell on the hex map, with a band of refugees following (usually, anyway) somewhere behind. If a new location is remotely interesting, the game will pop up a brief description, then switch to the close-up 3D isometric view. This is the screen where all fighting, spell-casting, object manipulation and puzzle-solving takes place. Occasional animated cameos also crop up from time to time, usually when the refugees hold a conference, a dwarven king gives an audience or another such occasion.

If this all sounds just a little disjointed to you, then you understand my problem with this game. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. It does have some good points. The graphics are up to par (except for the map screen), the plot is a nice change from the usual hack-and-slay fare, and it's possible to get quite attached to the characters (particularly if the Dragonlance scenario is your kind of scene). Even the control system offers a nice change, making quite a range of commands accessible from the mouse. SSI have taken great care to offer something very different from their usual stuff. But...

When compared to the simple but nonetheless enjoyable Hero Quest, Shadow Sorcerer just comes across as trying to be too many things to too many people. Hero Quest sticks to the 3D view to give coherence, and although the fighting is a bit naff, the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects really gel with the easy-to-get-into approach.

Much as I like the combat (the opportunity to pre-plan each character's strategy or do everything by mouse clicks is novel, and actually works well), and much as I appreciate the chance to have some nifty 3D graphics, the phrase 'just doesn't gel' keeping ringing in my mind. Constantly swapping between map and action levels ruins the flow of gameplay. I can't help feeling that Shadow Sorcerer would have been in the Eye Of The Beholder league if only they'd used the 3D view at all times, reduced the size of the play area, added a scrolling routine, put more variation in locations and monsters (particularly when they're all of a similar graphic size), and added a message bar to explain the use of icons and describe events without holding things up.

As it stands though, it's nowhere near as good as Beholder, which is a shame - these changes wouldn't have been too hard to implement now, would they?

For a game which is aimed at the masses, Shadow Sorcerer has far too many hardcore D&D-head traits in there. Hero Quest may not be anywhere near as deep, but it's the one the kids will prefer. And the D&D freaks? Well, they'll probably aim for something a bit more ambitious.