Wizardry on PS2 takes place in a Fantasy Fiction realm, similar to the other Wizardry games released on PC and consoles throughout the past years. It has been upgraded to take advantage of the PS2’s power in this new format and moves more like a first person shooter, while combat takes a first person turn – based format similar to Dragon Warrior games.

When you first start playing Wizardry, you will be prompted to create a character based on fantasy creatures, then pick a class best suited for the race you have selected such is a dwarven fighter or elven wizard. You will then begin your journey by entering a town which has been decimated by a bright flash which came from the sky, killing most inhabitants of the land. You will then be prompted to enter the nearby tavern by a mysterious man who informs you that there is much work to be found there, since many of the inhabitants who are still living are missing loved ones. You then obtain two party members and your first two quests, and thus begins the adventure.

The game consists of your party going down to the labyrinth, killing monsters, obtaining items, and completing the various tasks which you have been requested to perform when you return to the tavern. The environments look very good, complete with a foreboding fog and outdoor snow, and each floor is quite large and takes time to explore.  The map must be accessed through use of an item or spell, so explorations tend to be more intense since you are looking for a way out while making sure that you don’t get surprised by a wandering monster party. This is great at first, but tends to get very repetitive. In addition, each floor is the same action … encounter a party of monsters, kill them, move on, encounter another one, kill them, rinse, repeat. The other major drawback is that the party must return to town in order to level up or save the game by resting in the Inn. You can use a potion to get out of the Labyrinth and back to town, but have to walk back to where you left off. This isn’t too bad in the beginning, but tends to get annoying as you begin moving to lower floors since the monsters regenerate and some floors will change.  Once you get past the fifth floor, 45 minutes of a 1 hour play session can be just getting back to where you were, then just hopping back up to town to save the game, so it doesn't feel like progress is made. Also, fighting low level creatures with a high level party gets very dull after it’s done over and over again.

As the title suggests, magic can be a major part of the overall experience. Spells are key factors to many battle victories by upping agility, offense, and defense, and are also useful for attacking and paralyzing foes. Instead of characters learning new spells as they level up, items found in random chests or dropped by monsters and combined in the town to create magic stones. These stones are then used by the party members to either learn the spell permanently, or can be thrown by fighters who lack magic ability.

Enemies appear throughout the labyrinth as walking figures which determine the type of creature or creatures you will face. The fighting is turn based, and consists of monster parties ranging from 1 – 14 creatures. When attacks are done, the camera follows your movement from the character’s eyes as you charge in and hit your opponents. When the monsters attack, you watch them run up and swing at you. One interesting add on to the combat system is the use of tag team or group attacks which can cripple or kill a number of enemies, and can also be used for defense to counterattack a spell or charge from enemies.

Overall, Wizardry provides many hours of entertainment and enjoyment. The infinite character classes, ways of putting your party together, spells, quests, and weapons offer tons of replay value, and you will definitely get your money’s worth from this purchase since it contains 50 – 90 hours of gameplay. Past Wizardry fans and die hard RPG players will enjoy it, but casual gamers may find it to be a little too slow for their tastes.

Gameplay – 7

Great idea, easy controls, and almost unlimited replay value like this are rarely found in a lot of game titles these days. In addition, the levels are large and will take a long time to explore Unfortunately, it suffers from repetitive gameplay having to wander the same dungeons and fight the same monsters, and it can be frustrating to constantly travel back to the Inn just to level up. This game progress could be a little slow for the casual gamer.

Graphics – 9

Awesome and creative monster animations, detailed environments with no pop – up, and very good hand – drawn characters to interact with, look great.  The detail in the dungeons, towns, and shops look great as well.

Sound – 9

The sounds of battle are well represented as you will hear the thudding of blunt weapons against armor and body parts, or the crackle of fire and roar of thunder as spells are cast. The majority of the music for the different stores you will visit is orchestrated, and the sounds of hollow footsteps and creaking doors can be heard throughout the labyrinth.

Difficulty – 7.5

As with any good RPG, the difficulty will increase the further down into the dungeons you progress, presenting a decent challenge. This can give way to boredom later in the game, since your party will level up … but the creatures inhabiting the floors you have already passed through earlier in the game do not.

Concept – 8.5

Great game with an interesting plot and well thought out characters to interact with make this an interesting and overall good title to pick up for Wizardry fans and role-playing gamers alike.  Those who enjoy a faster and more linear RPG or game style should definitely rent before buying.

Overall – 7.5