Arthur's Quest: Battle for the Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Arthur's Quest: Battle for the Kingdom is an adventure
computer game developed and published by ValuSoft. It was released in North America on August 22, 2002.
. The plot of Arthur's Quest begins with an attack on Arthur's town by a large group of angry dark dwarfs. Upon defeating the dwarfs, Arthur finds Merlin
who warns that the witch Morgana
is to blame for the attack and the monsters throughout the countryside, and Arthur sets out to kill Morgana.
Arthur's Quest is controlled from a first person
perspective, and the player uses mostly melee weapons like swords and ranged weapons like bows to fight. There are eleven levels in the game, and the goal of each level is to progress from the beginning of the level to the end. Fighting monsters is mostly optional, and due to Arthur's speed, most fights can easily be avoided. There are no incentives for fighting enemies, as they give no experience or points when they are defeated.
's Worst Game on PC award in 2002 but lost to Demonworld: Dark Armies. Gamers Hell
's Andreas Misund stated, "A game that has almost no personality, no gameplay depth, no cool weapons, or even a half-assed multiplayer mode, is not a game I can recommend to anyone." GameSpot
's Andrew Park gave the game an abysmal rating and wrote, "... Arthur's Quest is either an action game with an exceedingly poor design or a fast-paced, arcade-style coward simulator." Park felt that the graphics were especially terrible and he noticed the prevalence of palette swap
ping in the game. Park created a video review superimposing lackluster scenes of the game with himself depressingly shaking his head at its dismal quality, and stated at the end, "Don't play this game".
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
computer game developed and published by ValuSoft. It was released in North America on August 22, 2002.
Gameplay
Throughout the game, the player controls King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. The plot of Arthur's Quest begins with an attack on Arthur's town by a large group of angry dark dwarfs. Upon defeating the dwarfs, Arthur finds Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
who warns that the witch Morgana
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
is to blame for the attack and the monsters throughout the countryside, and Arthur sets out to kill Morgana.
Arthur's Quest is controlled from a first person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
perspective, and the player uses mostly melee weapons like swords and ranged weapons like bows to fight. There are eleven levels in the game, and the goal of each level is to progress from the beginning of the level to the end. Fighting monsters is mostly optional, and due to Arthur's speed, most fights can easily be avoided. There are no incentives for fighting enemies, as they give no experience or points when they are defeated.
Reception
Arthur's Quest: Battle for the Kingdom was released to mostly negative reviews. It was nominated for GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Worst Game on PC award in 2002 but lost to Demonworld: Dark Armies. Gamers Hell
Gamers Hell
Gamers Hell is an online magazine dedicated to cataloging and reviewing video games of the past and present. A large number of freeware games can be downloaded from Gamers Hell and reviews of most popular games can be found there as well as official trailers and a "Gamers Hell.com TV" program...
's Andreas Misund stated, "A game that has almost no personality, no gameplay depth, no cool weapons, or even a half-assed multiplayer mode, is not a game I can recommend to anyone." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Andrew Park gave the game an abysmal rating and wrote, "... Arthur's Quest is either an action game with an exceedingly poor design or a fast-paced, arcade-style coward simulator." Park felt that the graphics were especially terrible and he noticed the prevalence of palette swap
Palette swap
A palette swap is a practice used in video games, whereby a graphic that is already used for one element is given a different palette, so it can be reused as other elements. The different palette gives the new graphic a unique set of colors, which make it recognizably distinct from the original...
ping in the game. Park created a video review superimposing lackluster scenes of the game with himself depressingly shaking his head at its dismal quality, and stated at the end, "Don't play this game".