Review by Marc Messer

Reprinted from the June 2000 issue of MacOS monthly

4 Smileys- 1 Smiley Poor, 5 Smileys Excellent

Title: Ferazel's Wand
Version: 1.0.3
Developer: Ambrosia Software
Price: $30
Contact Info: http://www.ambrosiasw.com
Genre: Side Scrolling Adventure
System Requirements: CD-ROM Drive, 256 Color Screen, 13" or Greater; PowerPC Only

Save Teraknorn... be a hero

Everything was nice and peaceful in the land of Teraknorn... until the Manditraki attacked, of course. Under the rule of the Dread Queen Xichara, the insectoid race are in search of the ziridium crystals which the Habnabits use to practice magic. You are Ferazel, the last free Habnabit, and you've been charged with the mission to save Teraknorn from the Queen so that your kind can live in peace once again - not too much to ask of a simple Habnabit, is it? In Ambrosia's latest game, Ferazel's Wand, you get to fulfill that quest... and wear a cool cloak too.

Gameplay

Ferazel's Wand is a side scrolling adventure (classic Super Mario Bros. action), which allows the player to explore the levels left and right, and where appropriate, up and down. Levels are broken up into Seven lands with each having it's own set of characteristics. Some are cavernous while others are on the surface... you'll get the idea.

As you play Ferazel's Wand, you'll soon realize that it's not purely linear like you thought at first. You can go back through old levels as you learn new spells to unlock more mysteries than you could have when you first passed through... and you'll have to. As you complete a stage, you are informed of what percentage of enemies you defeated, Xichrons you've collected, and secrets you've found. Aside from winning the game, a secondary challenge is to complete every stage in it's entirety, so there's a little something for you game perfectionists out there.

The screen setup for Ferazel is fairly simple. A majority of real estate is devoted to the level. At the bottom, you'll see listed what level you're on, how many coins you've collected, your score, your health and magic levels, and what weapons and spells you have in your inventory.

In the screen shot, you can see Ferazel near a large body of water. From here, you can see the "slicing" effect present in this game - it's true 2D so you can't walk around an obstacle. Ferazel can swim, but he will be harmed if you stay under longer than he can hold his breath for. How long he can stay under for is dependent on his health level. Of course, if you can find a Walk on Water power up, you'll temporarily be able to cross that water without getting wet. Water isn't the only dangerous obstacle you'll come across. There are also other pools of liquid. Some will heal Habnabits, while others are deadly. There are also pits with spike lined floors just waiting for Ferazel to fall into and even more dangerous bottomless holes which lead to immediate death.

Ferazel's Wand has also ruined one of the most often used strategies by game players everywhere, the repetitive save technique. For those 2% of gamers who don't know what I'm talking about, this is the strategy where you save the game every 3 minutes (sometimes less), especially after passing a difficult point. In Ferazel's Wand, you can only save the game at designated save points, and you can only use each save point once. So part of your strategy may be to find the location of the save points and ration them if you can. When saving, you are given the option of saving under different names, so you won't be punished by a bad saving decision (I made the mistake of saving a game with just a fraction of health left). You just need to reload under the old file and do it all again.

Oh, and before you think that this is all just an obstacle course for Ferazel to pass, think again. There are lots of creatures ready to take a bite of a tasty Habnabit. There are the weaker spiders, bats, and other nasty beasts to deal with. And of course, there are the goblins too. I found many of the "lowly" creatures much more difficult to kill than I had originally thought they would be, because of their speed, unpredictable movement, and the variation of the terrain. And some of the goblins have weapons (throwing knifes or just boulders) and shields of their own, making you rethink your attack strategy. Remember, once you've finally destroyed an enemy, watch out for bouncing coins. You'll need all of the money you can to buy other special items.

So, now you see that it's just not that simple to save your homeland these days. But what can you use to accomplish this task?

Spells, Power ups, and Magical Objects

Everyone knows that the key to any adventure is to grow as a person, or a Habnabit. Well, if you are going to survive in this game you have a lot to learn - spells for one. Habnabits train to become master sorcerers, but Ferazel isn't a master yet. You'll get the chance to learn some of these spells:

• The Fireball Spell - ok, so you already know this one at the beginning. This allows you to throw fireballs in an arc at your enemies.
• The Boomerang Spell - this one is a lot like the fireball spell except that they'll come back to you if you miss your intended target, thus refilling some of your spent magic.
• The Tree Trunk Spell - if you ever reach a point in which you need to go up, just use this spell to "grow" a tree. Now you have something to climb.
• The Statue Spell - what magic game would be complete without the ability to freeze an enemy.
• The Ice Wall Spell - the only way other than using the Walk on Water power up to cross a body of water without jumping in. Casting the spell over water will create a sheet of ice for your own personal use. When not cast on water, Ferazel can use it to create platforms on slopes he could otherwise not climb.
• The V Blade Spell - effective for attacking enemies above and below you.

There are lots of power ups that you'll find throughout the game. Power ups will give you temporary ability to do certain tasks, Already mentioned is the Walk on Water power up. There are also power ups to walk on lava, and acid too. Ferazel will also have the opportunity to jump higher, fall lighter, and become invincible as he comes across more power ups. Be careful though, they've even thrown in a Death Power Up to kill the trusting Habnabit.

But not everything Ferazel will find will be fleeting like a power up There are also loads of magical objects to help you on your quest. Among them are shields, more powerful weapons, crystals to multiply your magic, and of course, magical jewelry. These charms, rings, and necklaces have the ability to protect you from the elements, help you escape in a bind, and kill all enemies on a level - I like the last one. The manual has pictures and descriptions of all of these (spells and power ups too), so you should learn them. You never know when you may need one.

Controls

Ferazel is controlled primarily with the number pad. The controls are fairly simple: the standard four directions, the "hold shift to run" option which is well known to those who play first person shooters, jump, and several controls for choosing and using spells and items. All of these controls are configurable in the main screen at startup and are input sprocket compatible, so any 3rd party device that is compatible, should be configurable with Ferazel's Wand. In fact, if you have a joystick or controller, I'd suggest giving it a try, as sometimes it's very difficult to control the jumping maneuvers with the key pad.

There are some more interesting aspects of Ferazel's movements that set this aside from other games. First, Ferazel can climb flat walls. This really changes the aspect of the game in that you may need to determine how to get from point A to point B in an unorthodox way. This can also be annoying because often, while I was trying to perform another jump, I unintentionally stuck to a wall. Another interesting movement is the "spin jump." This occurs when you press the down/squat key while jumping. On your way down, you spin. This is effective in breaking loose stones if you are standing on them. It's another aspect for creating a vertical environment in a side scrolling game.

Many external objects and spells will affect your movement choice through a level. Just as you can spin jump and break up loose stones below you, you can also use the fireball spell to break loose stones in front or behind you. There are also objects like catapults (more detail later) that could help or harm you depending on how you utilize them. So be careful with those key pads.

Graphics and Sound

Well, side scrollers at first glance all look the same, right? However, Ambrosia did a great job with lots of the detail with Ferazel. I thought the lighting effects were a nice touch. The inability to see those enemies who are designed to blend in with the background and use the shadows as cover made the game all to nerve racking. Also, the multiple layers of the background move at a different speed than the foreground, giving a great effect of movement. All of these effects added with slight torch flickers, and barely noticeable mud splatters as Ferazel hits the ground make for an amazing environment - and explain why it's minimum requirement is a PowerPC processor.

Ferazel's wand also incorporates sound effects and music to complete the effect (would you expect any less from an Ambrosia release?). The sound effects are dependent on what level you are on. If you are in the caverns, it seemed like everything had an deep echo sound to it. And if you or a rock or anything is flying through the air, you hear the wooshing sound, when Ferazel jumps or grabs onto a wall, you hear his grunts. Essentially, no action goes unnoticed. The background music his hard to describe but it's smooth yet haunting. It really brings you into the stage.

Miscellaneous

Fast loading times! It took seconds for me to go from double clicking on Ferazel's icon to playing the game. Granted, I was testing this on a G4, but it seems that these days, everyone is trying to show you their splash screen as long as possible.

The Manual - Ferazel's Wand comes with a DocMaker formatted manual. It comes complete with screenshots, the basics of how to play, what kind of spells you can use, and of course, a FAQ. While I would've preferred a more in depth manual, this has just about everything you need to get started. Ferazel isn't the most complicated game to learn, just difficult to master. So a chapter on tips and tricks on well known tough spots would've been nice.

Clues - Throughout the game, Ferazel will come across a few less reputable creatures that are willing to help, often for a fee... but sometimes just out of the goodness of their hearts. They'll sell you potions and give you hints as to where to find spells and more. Remember to talk to all of them, and keep track of what they say.

Aside from walking, running, climbing, and swimming, Ferazel will even get the opportunity to fly - and in more ways than one. The first method really isn't flying, but being flung. You'll come across catapults and canons that are designed to shoot anything. You can make yourself the projectile - thus killing yourself or shooting yourself to a secret part of the level. For real flying, you'll have the opportunity to hanglide - but not until you free yourself of those tight and cramped caverns.

Conclusion

It would appear that Ambrosia has put out another fine Macintosh game. With companies like this, the platform will never become bored. While getting the jumps and everything to always work as planned was frustrating and caused a spike on the review crew's "Cuss-o-meter," it was nonetheless, an enjoyable game. I'm starting to wonder if we expect easier gameplay from side scrollers since they're descendants of the old Mario style games in which maneuvering wasn't a problem. Whether or not our reactions were psychologically preset, Ferazel's Wand has earned a 4 out of 5 rating. It's a well thought out game and will bring hours of entertainment to those who decide to try it out. Ambrosia has made a demo available at: http://www.ferazel.com/demo.html and you can purchase the game from their online store.

Note: Jeff Frey (the review crew) contributed to this review.

Marc Messer - marc@macosjournal.com
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