Legacy of the Ancients

Legacy of the Ancients is a RPG, developed by Quest Software & published by EA, which mixes top down & first person gameplay.

When a lowly shepherd loots a corpse he finds outside of town, he becomes recruited by the Galactic Museum to attempt to destroy the Wizard's Compendium, the evil scroll the dead man was carrying. With a combination of weapons & magic as your arsenal, you complete quests, explore towns and hack & slash your way through dungeons in pursuit of coins that need to be returned to the museum and clues to how to finally destroy the scroll.

A unique aspect to Legacy of the Ancients is the lack of the traditional leveling system. Instead of earning experience points to gain levels, you advance your character's attributes by playing special mini-games and completing certain quests. There are also alternatives to gaining in-game currency. While finding gold during exploring and defeating enemies is an option, there is also a series of gambling games available in town to play. You can also risk robbing banks, but will be chased out of town by guards if you get caught.

Due to the first person perspective while exploring dungeons and a lack of an in-game map, an adventurer could easily get lost. Like many games of the era, players were known to use graph paper to track their progress and visualize where they have been & what areas were still unexplored.