Betrayal at Krondor

This is the best RPG that was ever made. It has excellent gameplay, a very well-written story that hangs together and makes sense, amazing characters, and an amazing illusion of freedom despite the plot being very linear. The story-telling is done in an incredibly subtle and not in-your-face way and many elements of the plot are apt to leave a vivid, lasting impression. The graphics, while outdated, are functional and effective, supplying atmosphere as well as visual information, which is all you can really want - and a lot more than what other dated games can offer. A word of warning: this game is from an era when games were made for enthusiasts, not the lowest common denominator of the mass public. This means that, by modern standards, it is "hard". The sandbox world doesn't have an instant travel option to be used whenever you want (there is teleportation, but it is limited and costs money.) There are no automatic journal updates to summarise everything that happens. There are a lo... Read more

This really was an outstanding RPG when it came out, and one of the few RPG's I have played to the end rather than getting bored and deleting before finishing. It is really not worth the effort to do a full review as the game is so old and I don't even know if it would run on a modern PC with an XP or Vista OS. But it would be interesting to dig it out and see.

My stepfather purchased this game for me in 1994. I was 9 years old. 15 years later this game still holds up to modern RPGs' by way of its engaging storyline and its memorable character development. Every component of this game is near-perfect; from its fully realized, old-world, orchestral soundtrack by Jan Paul Moorehead, to its meticulously crafted turn-based fighting, it is a landmark for RPG fans. Sadly, aside from The Elder Scrolls, very few have been able to compete with this juggernaut of graphic-novel-like quality, carefully created by Halford, Cutter, and Feist. This is the real reason, why I still pick up the game today and play through a few chapters, because I continue to be emotionally affected by it's deep storyline, memorable characters, and the honesty in which they are portrayed. This is escapism at its best; and like a good book, one really begins to feel that they are a part of a pretend Midkemian world.

The game designers, John Cutter and Neal Hallford deserves the credit here. on to the game! It's the best combat systems of the RPG style I've ever played. It's simple, yet fun to play. It's complex, yet makes sense and it doesn't involve so much pointless clicking! This game evolutioned and spawned PC games with stories, at least as far as I can tell. The success of the game is owed to the great story, and the complexities of how the story was told. Solving the puzzles as James, and Locklear made you feel like you're part of Midkemia. The music was outstanding as well. This is perhaps, the best and most intense video game music I've ever heard (coming from PC, at least). I'm truly sorry the game designer did not get any royalties, that is royally wrong. on that note, this is by far the most outstanding game ever developed.

Hi folks. I'm very glad that you've all enjoyed Betrayal at Krondor, but I want to clear up a long-standing misconception that lots of folks have about this game. Neither the main story for this game nor the dialogue for it was written by Raymond E. Feist. Nor did he design the game or the systems in it. All of those things were handled by the lead designers John Cutter and Neal Hallford (namely myself). If you want more direct proof of what I'm saying, simply turn your paperback copies of "Krondor: the Betrayal" to Ray's afterword on page 389. "Neal Hallford and John Cutter wrote the game. I got to review things, but they wrote it. I talked with them about story, gave them ideas, listened to their ideas, and the game took form. But even I had no idea what it would look like, or play like, until it was finished." This isn't to say Ray had no significant impact on the game. He absolutely, positively did. He wrote a whole set of magnificent novels that gave me a lot of meat to pl... Read more

It's now possible to play good old Betrayal at Krondor again, one of the best RPGs ever made and certainly the one with the best and most engaging storyline thanks to best-selling author Raymond E. Feist. BaK is downloadable at http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=116 and runs on any pc if you also install the free software DOSBox. The graphics and extremely basic now but it's the gameplay that counts. Aside from the storyline the game was also huge for the time - you have the feeling that you can go anywhere and do anything. It's therefore a precursor to more recent popular 'epic' RPGs like Daggerfall and Morrowind (not Diablo as one reviewer suggests, this game is almost exactly the opposite!). The combat engine was also extremely innovative and is still one of the best around - turn-based, and not just slash and hack but actually requires some brains if you want to outwit the opponent. The many people you meet actually have personalities, not the dumb cloned villagers who a... Read more