The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

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Hipolito
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The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Hipolito »

I was planning to play this game for a long time, as I heard (from a certain OO'ers sig) it was really good. But I didn't buy it until I started reading the Wheel of Time novels a couple of years ago. I got a complete boxed copy on ebay for $32.99. I thought it was a fair price, though the box has a $6.99 store sticker, so someone at some point found this baby in the bargain bin.

Inside the box was a poster. Here's the front:

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And here's the back, which lists all the spells you can cast. No reason you'd use this poster when the in-game help tells you the same info, but it looks cool.

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I couldn't get this game to run at all on my Windows 10 PC. Fortunately, I still keep an old Windows XP machine, and the game ran well on that.

Since the game came out after Book 8, I waited until I finished Book 8 before playing this game. It turns out the game takes place sometime before the novels, and you don't need to have read the novels to enjoy the game. But reading the first three novels will help you follow the lore and terminology, and you'll have fun recognizing the places and factions from the books.

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You play as Elayna (not to be confused with the book character Elayne). She is the Keeper of the Chronicles of the Aes Sedai, the order of magic users who safeguard the seven seals that imprison the world's greatest threat, the Dark One. Unfortunately, the Aes Sedai are not in possession of all seven seals, and the Dark One still has a lot of influence on the world despite being in prison. There are people who secretly serve the Dark One and seek to free him. In the world of Wheel of Time, you never know who might be working for the Dark One.

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The interesting thing about Elayna is that, unlike the other Aes Sedai, she has no inherent magical ability. But she is an expert in using ter'angreals, which are magical devices that even people without magical ability can use. (She is a member of the research sect, the Brown Ajah, for the WoT fans who are wondering.) These ter'angreals are your weapons in the game.

There are over 30 ter'angreals, and you select one by first pressing the number key for the ter'angreal's group, then you press that number repeatedly until you've selected the ter'angreal you want from that group. When the action gets fast and furious, it's pretty difficult to select the best ter'angreal for the situation. Not only are you trying not to die, you're also trying to remember which ter'angreal does what. So sometimes I would just use brute-force run-and-gun tactics, relying on the simple but effective weapons like Fireball and Seeker. Other times, I would quicksave before a fight, jump into the fight to gauge the enemies' abilities, then quickload and select the optimal ter'angreals.

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I briefly tried the game on Hard difficulty and it was too much of a grind, but Medium was plenty challenging. The enemies attack with speed and accuracy, and can dodge your projectile attacks. Some enemies can cast the same spells as you. To beat them, you have to manage your ter'angreals effectively while aiming and dodging. Or you could get lucky and have the enemy AI get stuck on some obstacle and unable to move, which happens fairly often.

The game depicts the books' setting accurately, with lovely architecture, creepy sound effects, and a fitting folk rock soundtrack. Some of the levels are pretty big and involve a little puzzle-solving; I had to look up a video walkthrough a few times to get unstuck. And there's an easter egg that, while perhaps not completely impossible in the Wheel of Time cosmology, is still a pretty odd and amusing anachronism. I'll show it in this spoiler:
Spoiler:
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The game's story is pretty good. As Elayna struggles to protect the seals and her friends, she learns the shocking reason why she was admitted into the Aes Sedai despite lacking magical ability. She also discovers a secret about the seals that I don't think is in the books. While this story might not be official canon, it fits well in Wheel of Time lore. I'll think of it as canon.

Although the lengthly cutscenes between each mission look dated, they are fun to watch. Elayna's emotions are well-portrayed in both animations and voice-acting. Some lines are taken from the books, including insults. It was great when Elayna called another Aes Sedai "wool-headed."

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The only real sore point of the game was how it ended. The final level is a retread of a few earlier areas. And while the last cutscene wraps the story up adequately, it could have been more emotionally resonant.

I don't consider this game a must-play for shooter fans or even Wheel of Time fans. If you're a WoT fan who's curious about the story, you could just watch the video walkthrough or even just the cutscenes. But I'm glad I played the game. It's been a struggle to read the fat, plodding books. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. The game made me realize why: I freaking love the world Robert Jordan created. Playing the game made me excited to continue reading the books, which means a lot. I'm already pretty far into book 9!
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by RunningMn9 »

How can you be an Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah if you can’t channel? :)
And in banks across the world
Christians, Moslems, Hindus, Jews
And every other race, creed, colour, tint or hue
Get down on their knees and pray
The raccoon and the groundhog neatly
Make up bags of change
But the monkey in the corner
Well he's slowly drifting out of range
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by JCC »

I remember this game well. It had pretty kick ass graphics for the time as I recall. I did think the idea of an Aes Sedai who couldn't channel was dumb. They should have had her be an Aes Sedai who got stilled in some accident but was able to maintain her status by her skills with ter'angreal or something. Whatever, it's just to make the game mechanics make sense.

I don't think I ever finished the game since at the time I found it pretty difficult. I did enjoy it though. I am guessing this is in publishing rights limbo these days. Otherwise, Steam/GOG would probably have it. A shame.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Smoove_B »

I have a very vague recollection of playing the game, but a pretty strong memory of the multiplayer (LAN?) death match that was included? Unless I'm completely remembering a different game, but I'm feeling like it was this one. I remember being able to set up defenses against the other players, which was different.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by hitbyambulance »

Hipolito wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:29 pm I was planning to play this game for a long time, as I heard (from a certain OO'ers sig) it was really good. But I didn't buy it until I started reading the Wheel of Time novels a couple of years ago. I got a complete boxed copy on ebay for $32.99. I thought it was a fair price, though the box has a $6.99 store sticker, so someone at some point found this baby in the bargain bin.
i should sell my copy, since i will never ever play it
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Hipolito »

JCC wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:17 pmI did think the idea of an Aes Sedai who couldn't channel was dumb. They should have had her be an Aes Sedai who got stilled in some accident but was able to maintain her status by her skills with ter'angreal or something. Whatever, it's just to make the game mechanics make sense.
The game's story does explain what happened. Check out the cutscenes video I linked above, at the 29 min mark.
Smoove_B wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:38 pm I have a very vague recollection of playing the game, but a pretty strong memory of the multiplayer (LAN?) death match that was included? Unless I'm completely remembering a different game, but I'm feeling like it was this one. I remember being able to set up defenses against the other players, which was different.
I didn't play it, but this game does have that multiplayer mode. The singleplayer campaign also has a defense segment.
hitbyambulance wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 6:40 pmI should sell my copy, since i will never ever play it
You might get a good price on it. "As Seen on Amazon Prime!"
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by JCC »

Hipolito wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 8:58 pm The game's story does explain what happened. Check out the cutscenes video I linked above, at the 29 min mark.
Thanks! I don't think I made it that far - or just forgot it. It's been a long time! :)
Last edited by JCC on Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Formix »

Boy, that takes me back. I never played the game for long. As memory serves, this was the first game that gave me simulator sickness and ended my FPS game buying forever. Cool recap, thanks!
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Blackhawk »

I finished it when it was relatively new. I don't remember it well, but I remember that I didn't really enjoy it. Given that I was obsessed with both shooters and Wheel of Time back then, that's significant. The only vague recollection of why is a hint of a memory of really annoying design.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Scraper »

I owned the game and I played it, beyond that I couldn't tell you much about it.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Picked this up on GoGamer back in the day. Enjoyed it, very unique game but I got stuck at some point and shelved it and never went back.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by baelthazar »

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:38 pm I have a very vague recollection of playing the game, but a pretty strong memory of the multiplayer (LAN?) death match that was included?
This is one of the few games where LAN death match can have two very different meanings... :D

I didn't play this one, but the screenshots you posted give me big Realms of the Haunting vibes. I played several of Legend Interactive's games from the past and it is surprising to see this one was after Star Control 3 (which might have well ruined that company). Legend also had Shannara, which makes me wonder how they got TWO major Fantasy book properties.

My favorite Legend game was Superhero League of Hoboken, however. What a strange game.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Blackhawk »

baelthazar wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:51 pm This is one of the few games where LAN death match can have two very different meanings... :D
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by ImLawBoy »

This thread title speaks to me!

Although I've never read the books (and don't really think I ever will), I played the heck out of this game, both the single-player and deathmatch. There was a pretty fun community that built up around the official game forums (long since dead), and the game mechanics were pretty unique. I'm sure I've got the original game CD somewhere in the basement in a box that hasn't been opened since we moved.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Hipolito »

ImLawBoy wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:13 pm This thread title speaks to me!
I was wondering when you'd post here!
baelthazar wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:51 pm This is one of the few games where LAN death match can have two very different meanings... :D
Took me a couple re-reads to get that! Reminds me of how the difficulty levels are nicknamed. Easy is "Wit Congar," Medium is "al'Lan Mandragoran," and Hard is "Lews Therin Telamon."

The game has a pretty interesting history.
I didn't play this one, but the screenshots you posted give me big Realms of the Haunting vibes. I played several of Legend Interactive's games from the past and it is surprising to see this one was after Star Control 3 (which might have well ruined that company). Legend also had Shannara, which makes me wonder how they got TWO major Fantasy book properties.

My favorite Legend game was Superhero League of Hoboken, however. What a strange game.
Have played Mission Critical? I haven't played many Legend games but really liked that one.
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Re: The Wheel of Time (guess whose favorite game this was of 1999!)

Post by Smoove_B »

Now on GOG with a tiny sale promotion for launch.
The Wheel of Time is a fantasy-themed 3D shooter based on the novel series of the same name by Robert Jordan. Combat is ranged, but the player character doesn't use any weapons and instead relies on artifacts called "ter'angreal". There are 40 types of ter'angreal in the game, which can be used for offensive as well as defensive purposes, e.g. shoot lightning and fireball, heal or hide the protagonist in a cloak, etc.
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