Fountain of Dreams

The Good
As I am a rather blatant fan of Wasteland, this game was very easy to get used to. It has the same look and feel, and things work the same way -- which allows you to get past the mechanics quickly, and into the story (the story is, however, another matter... but more on that in a bit).

The idea of mutations is pretty neat, and it adds a nice element of randomness to character development -- you can play the game through twice and have different experiences.

One other thing that I like in a RPG is that the time of day/night plays a part in your experiences. Some NPCs will only be available at certain times, and some locations are easier to get into at certain times. A nice touch.

The Bad
Ah, now onto the complaints.

First and foremost, the game world is simply too small -- it has the feel of a "demo" version, almost taunting you with the promise of more to come. Sadly, there is nothing else. If you've got a free afternoon/evening, you could spend a few hours (perhaps 6 or less) and play the game through from beginning to end.

Another problem is that the game gets really hard really quickly. And I do mean really. Nothing like throwing you up against a menacing gang of killer clowns with Uzis, with nothing but your pistol and your 30 hit points to keep you alive... save often, restore often.

Overall, it seems as though the designers did one of two things:

1. They developed a massively complex and intricate RPG using the well-liked Wasteland game engine, then pulled the middle 80% out of the story and shipped the beginning and the end as the whole game.

2. They lost money/interest/time in the early stages of development, and slapped together a quick ending for the game.

Either way, this game seems to have a lot more potential than actual content.

The Bottom Line
One of those games that can safely drift into the realm of forgetfulness, unless you're one of those wacky fans of Wasteland who is still pestering Interplay about the release date of Wasteland 2.

The Good
First of all, while it wasn't nearly as good as Wasteland, it wasn't a bad game for the time. It was pretty enjoyable, and had a rather cool Caribbean/bayou/postapocalyptic feel to it. The mutations players could get were pretty cool, and the equipment was varied and fun to gather.

The Bad
The main problem, I felt, was that the game seemed far too short, like it had been cut short in development. The map is even smaller than Wasteland; the outdoors map is maybe a quarter the size of Wasteland's, and there are only 3 large areas. The cool atmosphere I mentioned before also breaks down; the clowns were also a minor problem; they were just a little too silly for such a major component of the game.

The Bottom Line
If you run across it, which I doubt you will, it's a fun way to waste an afternoon.

The Good
A niche setting. Like its predecessor (if only the same team had been involved in this game) it breaks the mould for CRPG's, giving us a dystopian world instead of your standard fantasy realm.

A cool range of items and some unique skills along with an interesting setting.

The Bad
The game world is far too small, and although the freedom to go anywhere you want is technically there, if you stray too far the unforgiving nature of the enemies makes this unrealistic.

A poor save game mechanism (only one game at a time, which overwrites every time you transition zones) means too often game completion can become impossible.

As the game goes on it turns to the total absurd, with little thought seemingly put into NPC and enemy names.

The Bottom Line
For all its flaws and unforgiving nature, I have fond memories of this game (yes, it is a nostalgic favourite).

If late 80's/early 90's are not in your past, this would be a poor title on which to try and cut your teeth on.