<!--
	Title: Kobold Korner
	Author: Bonnie Barber
	Source: QuestBusters, v6(6)
	Date: June 1989
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

*InvisiClues.org editor's note: This review is about the
game* **Mars Saga**, *originally developed by Westwood
Studios and distributed by Electronic Arts.  Activision later
acquired the rights to the game, reworked parts of it, and
re-released it under the Infocom label as* **Mines of Titan**.

After reading the review of *Mars Saga* in the [February QB](/library/questbusters-mars-saga-review), I couldn't wait to run
down to the nearest software guild and plunk down some hard-won gold pieces
for what appeared to be the beginning of a great adventure! I sidled up to the counter
and breathlessly requested my very own copy. The clerk looked at me
strangely and went to fetch it. He knew I'd bought almost every adventure game
ever published, so perhaps I should have taken his strange expression as a warning....

I hurried home, donned my vac suit, grabbed my arc gun and prepared to do
battle. Having played all of EA's previous adventures, I anticipated a quality
product. My first clue should have been the documentation—there wasn't enough
to keep a camp fire going long enough to check my hit points. After the extensive
documentation I've come to expect from EA, I was dismayed to see a flimsy and
uninformative few pages masquerading as a manual. Interestingly, someone at
EA must have felt the same, since they actually printed the words "The Manual"
on the cover!

Oh well, I've handled games with illusionary documentation before...let's give
it a try, I thought. And I did, but wish I hadn't. The graphics are *not* reminiscent
of *Bard's Tale*, as the QB review led me to believe—they more closely resembled
some public domain software programmed by a ten-year-old. But graphics
aren't everything...let's get down to the game itself.

The premise is good—quite a nice idea to do an outer space RPG. Even character
creation was innovative: so many new traits and professions! That, however,
was the only redeeming feature in a vast wasteland. Travel on the surface was boring.
Auto-mapping of interior locations is fme, except that you tend to concentrate
on the map and not your actual surroundings. Characters were easily replaced and
not worth building up.

I guess I'm spoiled, but it would have been nice to have seen a more sophisticated
combat system. One of the game's major flaws is in how it handles battles. The
review I read mentioned that this tactical combat system is unique, and credited
*Mars Saga* with an innovative approach. What about the combat system in *Wizard's
Crown*'s, released a few years ago? At least the computer didn't stick characters
behind walls in that game. And when the computer resolved combat, you didn't
have time to cook a ten-meal course while you waited.

If there's an obstacle, the characters often get stuck somewhere, unable to get in
on the action. Additionally, the same things can occur even if you choose to
manipulate your characters directly. To add insult to injury, the computer takes an
inordinate amount of time to complete the battle. You get the option of watching the
fight (if the computer is running the battle), but combat takes just as long when
watching a blank screen as it does when you watch.

The February review lauded the battle graphics. I can't help but wonder what
other RPGs that reviewer has played. The characters aren't easy to identify, since
they aren't displayed in different colors or holding different kinds of weapons, as
they are in most games involving tactical combat today. When characters turn, they
look like fingernail clippings! Not only was I not impressed, I felt annoyed that I
had actually bought the game.

Is something up at EA? Are they trying to save money? Have all their programmers
taken a kobold to lunch and never returned? How can a company that offers
*Bard's Tale* have the nerve to sell this shoddy game? The reviewer states that
*Mars Saga* is one of the most entertaining RPGs he's played in "the last month or
so." I'd dearly love to know which ones were worse, so I can avoid them! Innovative
*Mars Saga* is not. Overall, it didn't do a thing for me—other than serve as a
newly formatted disk. Beware!
