''Menzoberranzan'' is a 1994 role-playing video game created by

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official compu ...

(SSI) and

DreamForge Intertainment DreamForge Intertainment, Inc. was an American computer game developer. History DreamForge was founded as Event Horizon Software, Inc. by the computer game developers Thomas Holmes, Christopher Straka and James Namestka in Greensburg. Until its ...

. ''Menzoberranzan'' uses the same game engine as SSI's previous game, '' Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession'' (1994), and is set in the ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...

campaign setting A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and c ...

Story

Menzoberranzan Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the ''Forgotten Realms'', a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the M ...

, an underground city populated by the

Drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil a ...

, had been introduced in the game materials two years earlier in December 1992 in a three-book box set called ''Menzoberranzan: The Famed City of the Drow'' by

Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the ''Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for '' Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sol ...

, R. A. Salvatore, and

Douglas Niles Douglas Niles (born December 1, 1954, in Brookfield, Wisconsin) is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, the ''Star Frontiers'' space ...

. The game also features

Drizzt Do'Urden Drizzt Do'Urden () is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the ''Icewind Dale ...

as one of the main characters.

Gameplay

The game has elements of '' Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss'' (3d world and real-time action) and its game concept is somewhat similar to Westwood's '' Eye of the Beholder'' series. The player initially creates two

player characters A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

(PCs) and can acquire non-player character (NPC) allies later in the game.

Release

''Menzoberranzan'' was published in 1994 by

. The game was later included in the 1996 compilation set, the '' AD&D Masterpiece Collection''. In August 2015, game distributor

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...

released the PC version of the game along with several other

Gold Box Gold box may refer to: * Decorative boxes made in gold *'' Gold Box'', a series of video games of 1988 to 1992 * Gold box (phreaking), a phreaking box to create a bridge between two telephone lines {{disam ...

titles.

Critical reception

In '' Computer Gaming World'', Scorpia wrote: "Overall, ''Menzoberranzan'' is a disappointment. It has some nice features, but nice features must be supported by a strong story. Sadly, what could have been a superior entry in the CRPG field comes off as just another hack-n-slash product". Andrew Wright of '' PC Zone'' considered it "a case of dumb dungeoneering stylishly put together", and said that it "tries to be ''

Ultima Underworld ''Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss'' is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Blue Sky Productions (later Looking Glass Studios) and published by Origin Systems. Released in March 1992, the game is set in the fantasy world of ...

'' and fails miserably". He offered praise to its graphics and interface. A reviewer for '' Next Generation'' gave the game 3 out of 5 stars, remarking that the high-resolution graphics have a "painting-like quality" and that the gameplay is authentic to the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' franchise. T. Liam McDonald of ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

'' called ''Menzoberranzan'' the best ''

'' game ever released, and praised its graphics and story, but complained that it is "combat oriented in early levels and takes its sweet time getting to the narrative elements". In ''

Electronic Entertainment Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback ...

'', Al Giovetti summarized the game as "high-quality role-playing meets fast-paced first-person exploration and spectacular real-time combat", and he believed that it was "a sure bet to please role players". Ian Cole from the Quandaryland website awarded the game 3.5 stars out 5. He was critical of the slowness of the game compared to ''Ravenloft'' and that "too many places were empty — just nothing". He praises that this was not a typical hack and slash game with a lot of character's statistics and puzzle solving. John Terra of '' Computer Shopper'' said the game "stands out" and called it a "must-have". According to Allen Rausch of GameSpy, "without a great plot and exciting monsters that truly utilized its spectacular setting, ''Menzoberranzan'' ended up being less impressive than it was in players' imaginations". ''Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games'' said "the last TSR-licensed game SSI published is the infamously wretched (and hard to spell) ''Menzoberranzan'', which appeared in 1994 for DOS. .. thad all the ingredients necessary for a hit. ..Nevertheless, gamers quickly complained about the endless number of boring battles that drag out the game and ruin its pacing".

Reviews

* '' White Wolf Inphobia'' #55 (May 1995)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menzoberranzan (Video Game) 1994 video games DOS games DreamForge Intertainment games FM Towns games Forgotten Realms video games NEC PC-9801 games Role-playing video games Single-player video games Strategic Simulations games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender