Summoner
Graphsim
Rating: 4.5/5

Quietly released for the Mac a while back, this sleeper of a game has almost been totally forgotten. More's the pity really. Despite the fact it is stand-alone and is not a tie-in, like the other RPGs on the market, Summoner is a rather good game. I suspect because it is not tied to either the Advanced Dungeon's & Dragons or Vampire: the Masquerade franchises it has been given short shrift by RPG fans. This is a profound mistake as all the rpg fans that have tried this game have really enjoyed it.

Before I begin I must mention the only downside to this game. Graphsim have not found it in their hearts to release an OSX version of the game so it is necessary to have OS9 on your Mac to play this game. It will come to the surprise of no one that restarting in OS9 is necessary and that the game does not do well under Classic in OSX. Still I think it is entirely possible to argue that this game is worth having OS9 on your Mac.

The storyline is not that original for an RPG but none the less keeps the game moving. You village and family are slaughtered in the search for someone called the Summoner, who can summon animals to do his biding. Someone, does not wish to see this person live to be able to fulfill a prophecy and rid the world of a particular nasty evil. Along the way you acquire three companions to help you battle tougher and tougher nasties. The four of you add up to a well balanced fantasy party (i.e. you, a mage, a thief and a warrior). As you would expect you gain experience and get stuff along the way. There are merchants scattered around in the town who will sell or trade you for what you need in your battles. There are, of course both major and minor quests to complete. The minor quests are useful for experience and stuff but are not required to complete the game.

Better yet, it is not always necessary to stick to the script. It is entirely possible to spend many and hour happily wandering round the countryside riding it of all sorts of noxious beasties and baddies. For the most part, the random encounters present the player with a challenge but never one that is impossible. Helpfully, as they most are outside random encounters there is almost always at least one escape route available should you do something tres? stupid. If you manage to escape your health returns to normal so you don?t have to live in dread of another quick encounter that will finish you off. Some of the random encounters can end up resulting in your completing one of the many side quests in the game.