![]() ![]() Although this manner of presentation is not as illustrative as traditional animated cutscenes, the sketches and narration are of high quality and add to the story's drama, especially in later chapters. Colored charcoal sketches and a stoic narrator advance the plot between chapters in an original and creative fashion. Although Antara only gives a shallow introduction to the inhabitants of Ramar, with much of the world's complexity implied in conversations rather than displayed, Antara fleshes out the characters and their motivations sufficiently to keep you interested in the story. In addition to the various factions of human inhabitants, each with its own agenda, Ramar is populated by a number of other intelligent races: the formerly war-like Grrlf, the flighty bird-like TrKaa and subterranean Montari molemen. One of the strengths of Antara is that the world of Ramar becomes an increasingly interesting place as the plot develops. There are usually five to six sub-quests in each chapter, and these optional sub-quests have traditional RPG objectives (take object X from person A to give to person B, kill the scary blue monkey beastie, yadda, yadda, yadda) and give you the opportunity to strengthen your characters while adding depth to the game. Like Krondor, Antara is divided into distinct book-like "chapters" of varying lengths during which your characters must complete certain objectives in order to advance the plot. Unfortunately, Antara is also assaulted by universally poor voice acting and occasionally horrendous writing (glib jokes about "cooking your companion for dinner" and "witty" suggestions that a potential sexual assault victim must have "put too much mayonnaise in the chicken salad" are prime examples). Like Krondor, the world of Ramar is besieged by political corruption, warring factions, plague, and civil unrest. Gamers familiar with Krondor should be right at home with Antara, which uses an enhanced version of the Krondor engine. Throughout the game, your party will consist of two or three of the following characters: Aren Cordelaine, a neophyte mage who discovers his powers in Antara's introduction William Escobar, playboy son of one of Ramar's ruling families Kaelyn Usher, a female ranger/warrior and Xena wanna-be and Raal, a non-human Grrrlf ("I was a teenage werewolf").Īntara is a good, old-fashioned adventure, complete with a princess, otherworldly monsters, and a noble quest. Feist's Riftwar books, Antara is set in the new world of Ramar (Return to Krondor, the "official" sequel to Krondor, is scheduled to be released by 7th Level sometime in early 1998). Since Sierra On-Line no longer has the rights to produce games based on Raymond E. But for gamers willing to tolerate substandard graphics and linear gameplay, Betrayal in Antara succeeds in providing an entertaining story and an enjoyable role-playing experience. Did Sierra wait too long to release a follow up to 1993's Betrayal at Krondor? Undoubtedly, and its belated arrival is unfortunately accompanied by outdated graphics that will considerably lessen its appeal to gamers.
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