''The Summoning'' is an isometric-view fantasy
role-playing video game developed by
Event Horizon Software (later known as DreamForge Intertainment) and published 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 ...
in 1992.
Gameplay
The sequel to Event Horizon's first game, ''
DarkSpyre'', ''The Summoning'' replaced the random-generated dungeons of the previous game with pre-designed levels. The title featured numerous magic items, as well as a spell-casting system utilizing virtual hand gestures. The game also utilized "runes" as a way to magically gain abilities or items.
The game had several features typical of
dungeon crawls, such as random treasure, weapon and armor options, treasure chests, and the use of a mannequin to visually aid in inventory management.
The dungeon in ''The Summoning'' was broken up into separate levels and sections, with different types of monsters (such as
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by supe ...
) and
NPCs
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
being found in each.
The featured weapon in the game is a large two-handed blade called "Warmonger." When first found, it is rusty and not very effective. But by repeatedly using it to kill, the magical blade becomes an immensely powerful weapon. The blade is actually a sentient, evil being with bloodlust.
Reception
''
Computer Gaming World''s Samuel B. Baker in 1993 praised the "creature comforts" of ''The Summoning''s graphics and user interface, and concluded "I was sorry to finish this game".
The magazine's
Scorpia also liked it, citing the "BIG game with much to do"'s "unique ending", puzzles, and automap. She concluded that "it's worth your time".
The magazine nominated it as the Role-Playing Game of the Year in October 1993, alongside ''
Veil of Darkness
''Veil of Darkness'' is a horror-action-adventure game for MS-DOS, FM Towns and PC-98, which was developed by Event Horizon Software and published by Strategic Simulations in 1993. Veil of Darkness is a third person, 2D point-and-click adventur ...
''.
The game was reviewed in 1993 in ''
Dragon'' #194 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.
[
]
Reviews
*''PC Joker'' (Nov, 1992)
*''Power Play'' (Dec, 1992)
[http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=3247 ]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summoning, The
1992 video games
DOS games
NEC PC-9801 games
Role-playing video games
Strategic Simulations games
Video game sequels
Video games developed in the United States
Video games with isometric graphics
DreamForge Intertainment games
Single-player video games