The Wheel of Time

Overview

The Wheel of Time is a fantasy FPS game released on the PC by Legend Entertainment in 1999. Prior to this game's release, Legend Entertainment were best known for their text and graphic adventure games based on sci-fi and fantasy literary works, all of which adopted a first-person perspective. The Wheel of Time is also loosely based on a literary work - the verbose novel series of the same name from Robert Jordan - and contains its own self-contained story within that setting.

Legend were prompted to start creating action games after their acquisition by GT Interactive, the publisher behind many of iD Software's classic FPS games. The Wheel of Time would be the last game they developed based on a literary property.

The game was released in both the US and Europe.

Story

The story focuses on Eleyna, an Aes Sedai (i.e. sorceress), who is tasked with recovering stolen seals, which if destroyed could unleash the Dark One.

Compared to most FPS games at the time, The Wheel of Time is very story-heavy with over 60 minutes of cutscenes. The plot, built especially for the game, allowed the player to encounter many of the locations and enemies featured in the books such as the corrupted and abandoned city of Shadar Logoth and a Whitecloak fortress.

Gameplay

The Wheel of Time uses the Unreal Engine and the single player gameplay is in many ways typical of first person shooters of the time. In place of guns, players use over thirty Ter'Angreal (powerful artifacts from the Wheel of Time universe). Some are directly comparable to normal FPS guns, such as the fireball being nearly identical in function to an Unreal or Quake style rocket launcher. Others are more unusual for a FPS, as they produce defense-oriented effects, such as shields for each element and a mirror that can be used to redirect magical seeking missiles back at the caster.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer features two modes: Deathmatch and Citadel (similar to capture the flag), where playes can set up various defenses around their base - such as NPC guards, mines, and other magical traps.