巫术 7：失落的迦地亚 Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant p.164

唉，《失落的迦地亚》是我经手的最后一款《巫术》作品了，紧随这部作品之后的就是 3D 化的变革浪潮、《毁灭战士（DOOM）》以及即时化的大趋势，同时，随着视频游戏登上主流舞台，越来越多振聋发聩的游戏系列诞生，更带来了令人瞠目结舌的经济收入；在这同时，除了少数例外，大部分对游戏范式的创新都代价高昂，并且通常没什么好结果。

Alas, Crusaders was my last Wizardry title. On its heels came the advent of 3D, Doom and realtime, and as video games went mainstream, recognisable brand names and blowing people up commanded massive profits, while with rare exception innovation in game paradigms were costly, and all too often ended in failed titles.

David W. Bradley,
《巫术 7》制作者

David W. Bradley,
Wizardry VII's creator

尽管这些尝试可能并不是那么伟大，这款游戏仍然进行了一些可以载入史册的改进，它们让大部分时候的游戏体验都舒服了很多。

《巫术 7》加入了自动地图功能，尽管需要点出该技能并且如果不进行训练就几乎没用。另外一个更微妙的改动是给柏油路换上了新的地块。然而游戏中只有那么一条连接所有主要地点的柏油路。不过加上自动地图后，这让导航变得简单也更贴近于现代的任务罗盘设计。和现代导航系统的差别可能就是时不时仍然会有那么点迷路以及能感受到真正的、现代游戏较为缺失的探索和发现感。

由于《巫术 7》发生在与前六部游戏不同的世界上，所以另一个变化来自于你遇到的新种族和或多或少有创意的怪物们（双头虎、行走的章鱼等）。以前的游戏是纯粹的幻想，而第七部则有强烈的受到科幻的影响。

Yet, while it may not have been great, the game tried something new that remains novel to this day, and it improved the experience most of the time.

Wizardry VII also adds automapping, though it's skill-based and nearly useless without training. A more subtle addition are the new ground tiles for paved roads. There is only one road in the game and it connects all major locations. Together with the map, it makes orientation easy and yet feels much less condescending than modern quests compasses, mostly because it still was possible to get temporarily lost or have that feeling of exploration and true discovery so often lacking in modern games.

Since Wizardry VII takes place on a different world than the first six games, another change comes in the new races you meet and the more-or-less creative monsters (two-headed tigers, walking octopi, etc.). Where the previous games were pure fantasy, the seventh part has a strong science fiction influence.

Automap Mod 可以将游戏的地图移动到另一个窗口中；Cosmic Forge 是一个工具包，它可以编辑游戏本身。

The Automap Mod can be used to move the game's map to a convenient secondary window, while the Cosmic Forge is a pack of tools that allows much of the game to be edited.

上述的一切带来的是那么一种既熟悉又新奇的游戏体验。我非常喜欢在初次尝试时发现并学会这些新元素的感觉，但我也很喜欢那种在一个巨大且辽阔的超世界中，带着对老派《巫术》的熟悉感进行游戏。

在有了对游戏机制的更透彻的理解和互联网上随手可得的对那些烦人谜题的简单解法之后，我进行了第三次游玩尝试，这次我轻而易举地打通了游戏，并享受了游玩的每一分每一秒。

《巫术 7》是一款欢迎探索者的游戏。他希望你踏遍整个世界，并把星球上的每一处沟壑都了然于心。和该系列的其他游戏一样，他也希望你懂得如何组建一支强大的队伍，不过，对那些另辟蹊径的构筑和方法，它也非常宽容。它的战斗次数几乎是无穷无尽的，会榨干你的精力，尽管如此，还是会吸引着你回来进行下一次战斗。

The sum of all these things is an experience that feels both familiar and novel at the same time. I loved discovering and learning all these new elements on my first try, and yet at the same time I loved the familiarity of playing an old-school Wizardry with a large and extensive overworld.

On my third attempt to play it, armed with a better understanding of the game mechanics and a way to get around the more annoying puzzles due to the availability of solutions on the Internet, I plowed through the game and enjoyed every second of it.

Wizardry VII is a game that invites exploration. It wants you to map its world exhaustively and look into every nook and cranny. Like all the games in the series, it expects you to know how to build a strong party, but accommodates a lot of different builds and approaches. It contains an endless number of battles that can sap your energy, and yet it always makes you come back for more.