Legends of Mystaris: The Flame of Illean (Pocket PC)

• by John Howlett Ltd
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This fantasy universe sees you, the player, as an orphan raised from childhood right in the heart of the training ground for the most skilled adventurers and combatants in existence. Desperate to prove your worth and be noticed by the Adventurer's Guild you find a quest that can, if you succeed, bring you the honour and admiration you crave.

In this multi-faceted, epic adventure you have to survive and find the jewel, the Flame of Illean, in a dangerous world seething with monsters, demons and mad gods.

Can you solve the mysteries (if you play as a girl), fight the mythical creatures (as a boy), survive in the face of mortal danger (the ironman) in order to prove your worth? All depends on you and the choices you make. This unique gaming, interactive adventure contains over 1200 pages of text, 130 full colour images and multiple scenarios ranging from challenging to near impossible. The depth of play will provide hours and hours of entertainment.

Those brave adventurers who have succeeded in retrieving the Flame of Illean are eligible for a listing in the "Hall Of Fame" at the Mystaris website.

One Player's Comment on the Palm version:

"WOW! Great Adventure for the $
I had as much fun with this game on the small screen as I did Myst or Riven on my PC at 1/5th the price! Many characters play out differently depending on what character you are playing and what objects you have. I got a little obsessed with this game and could not quit playing it until I had won all four scenarios!"

Version 1.3 contains improved sound and all new images for the Pocket PC.

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Latest Reviews

Great overall game with very solid gameplay.

by Michael Klucher   from PDArcade
on Nov 5, 2003

Have you ever read a Choose Your Adventure book back when you were a kid? If you like them at all, then you will feel right at home with The Flame of Illean from lntereative E Books. At first you may be put off by this type of game, however while sitting waiting for an appointment, I played The Flame of Illean for the first time and found my self enthralled by the game play. I just kept playing and playing until I died. Of course I was always taking the risky choices to see what would happen, that was until I started to want to get further in the game, and I really wanted to see what happened next.

   

Overview

For those who have not ever played this type of this game or have read a Choose Your Own Adventure book, I think I better explain what this is all about. Basically, you can choose between three characters (depending on which character you choose, the game has a slightly different story to tell). After you get presented with some text. You eventually get wrapped up into the story, you read a few more pages and you realize you are in the middle of a story. Then when you are nice and comfortable, you get to choose between two or sometimes three different things to do. Choose the wrong one and it sometimes results in death or a loss in health. Pick the correct one and you move on, often with a new item or a piece of information. I especially enjoyed the health aspect to this game. It adds a new dimension to this genre.

   

Installation

The game itself runs around 2MB and installs without a flaw, I installed to my compact flash card and it worked without a hitch. Once installed the game successfully started up and worked great. I thought the registration system was kind of difficult at first but overall, it works well.

Graphics

The graphics are not spectacular nor are they really bad in any way. You basically get static images, however you do get a lot of them and they certainly help keep the story flowing. However, they are not photo realistic graphics as seen on other platforms, of course this is a Pocket PC so you get Pocket PC graphics. All in all not great, but believe me, you really don't need great graphics for this type of game.

Sound

There really is no music or sounds effects to really speak of this title. This is really the only flaw in the game as it would benefit from some mood music. A quick update to these comments, you can indeed "turn on" sounds under preferences. So, you get some sound effects but still no music. Hopefully, in the next game in the series there may be some music.

Control

There is not too much to the control system but it all works as it needs to in this game. You simply need to push an icon to move to the next page and then you also push buttons to make decisions in the game. For those purposes, everything works great!

   

Summary: I highly recommend this game! I couldn't get enough and still continue to play it. The story is great and you can really get into it after a while. The replay factor is high as well, since you have three characters to choose from, which not only change some scenarios in the game but they also vary the difficulty level. Flames of Illean retails for only $9.99, but you may want to try before you buy, since this is such a unique offering.

The Good: Great overall game with very solid gameplay. The excitement found in the game is not the usual kind, it's unique since it's in the story. The story flows and you never feel like your are not playing "a real game".
The Bad: Graphics could be better....need some music!

More action than you would expect from an interactive ebook!

by JadeDragon   from www.PDABuyersGuide.com
on Nov 5, 2003

Reviewed April 2003 From the publisher of Goblin Bane, The Flame of Illean is a new interactive adventure ebook and the first of Legends of Mystaris series written by TJ Harper. Compared to Goblin Bane, The Flame of Illean is a much longer book filled with action on every other page. It will take you into a long journey searching for a gemstone and guide you through the dangerous world of Vulcos. A legendary gemstone known as The Flame of Illean has inspired your imagination, and searching for it becomes your obsession and Rite of Passage. Armed with your trusty sword, you set out to walk the mountain paths to reach Vulcos, a stronghold built by Fire Demons long ago. You will travel in the land of ancient gods, where demons and heroes fought, and castles and temples were destroyed at each change of kings and religions. You will meet strangers along your journey and face countless monsters and even undead, but you will be rewarded for your victories with armor, dungeon keys and other treasures. The story of The Flame of Illean is well integrated with the game play. Every step you take could lead to danger and every choice you make could affect the outcome of the story. I?ve played the game three times, each time I followed different path and each time I had to face different monsters and enemies. You can also choose different characters: Boy, Girl or Ironman, which will determine the level of fighting. As you explore the mountain caves, ancient cemetery, well-hidden temple and ruins of a mausoleum, you will pick up supplies, maps, clues and other items necessary to solve puzzles, open trap doors or beat enemies. There is an inventory window, which you can access anytime before or after a fight. It lists your Health, Agility, Strength, Vitality, Fighting and Rations condition. As you progress in the game and gain more victories, your attributes will increase; if you are defeated by enemies or victimized by magic, your stats will go down. As with many interactive ebook games, The Flame of Illean relies on twists and turns in the story to capture the gamer?s imagination. Both the writing style and eventful content in this game will hook you for hours. There are lots of still images and icons accompanying the text, many of which are strikingly illustrated and seem about to leap out of the pages. There is sound support in this game, though the sound bites are very simple. You have the option to turn the sound on or off. The game runs on any Palm OS 3.5 or higher devices including OS 5, as well as any Pocket PC devices. The Flame of Illean has more actions than you would expect from an interactive ebook. Managing your hero?s attributes and inventory while exploring different environments and fighting off enemies is extremely satisfying. Sure, you have to make a choice to fight or flee every time you turn a page, but you've got your sword and armor, your wit and courage, make a stand and face the consequences! After all, you are supposed to be a hero. Playing Hints and Tips Explore all the paths and possibilities; play all characters. You will be surprised what you will run into each time.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics		Big collection of images and icons adds style to the story. Easy to use interface.
Sound		Has sound support. Collection is small and simple.
Fun Meter		Action packed pages show the artful skills of the storywriter. Longer fights with monsters give you more RPG feeling. Ton of items, armor, weapons to collect.
Addictivity		The adventure-focused structure ensures some long hours of exploration and fighting. Different characters and various paths give you high replay value.