龙歌：黑暗之眼 Drakensang: The Dark Eye p.408

命运召唤：尔茄的精灵石 Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone p.410

一件在我们眼中非常重要的事情是制造一个巨大的道具池，玩家可以从其中选择服装、武器和护甲。我们开玩笑地把这个东西叫作‘猛男的芭比娃娃’，换句话说，我们给了成年人一个玩穿搭游戏的机会。在《龙歌》里，道具的多样性、灵活的装备系统以及升级角色是非常重要的元素，而且也给玩家带来了很多乐趣。

What's really important to us is creating a huge pool of clothing, weapons and armour for the player to choose from, so we have something which I jokingly call ‘Barbie dolls for men', an opportunity for adults to play dress-up, so to say. The variety of items, a flexible equipment system and upgrading your character are a lot of fun and very important elements in Drakensang.

Bernd Beyreuther
《龙歌》项目总监

Bernd Beyreuther,
Drakensang's project director

幸运的是，Radon Labs 之后在 2010 年推出了《龙歌：时间之河（Drakensang: The River of Time）》。这是一部用心听取了玩家反馈的前传作品，游戏的所有方面几乎都有了进步：探索过程变成了非线性的，天赋更有用，地图上加入了快速旅行点，凑数的战斗变成了设定好的遭遇战，等等。系统还是同一个系统，但内容质量有了长足进步。

不过最有趣的改动还是游戏的格局，《时间之河》选择做一个更短但是更紧凑的故事。在这一部游戏中，玩家扮演的不再是“天选之人”（The Chosen One），而是加入到三位富有魅力的冒险者组成的队伍之中，他们是战士阿尔多（Ardo），盗贼卡诺（Cano）以及矮人佛格里姆（Forgrimm）。玩家扮演这支小队的伙伴，展开一场规模稍小，长度为 30 小时的冒险。

大部分时间里你仍然可以操纵这几个人物，不过在某些特殊的时刻，他们会自行采取行动。举一个攻打要塞的例子：卡诺会尝试潜行渗透，而佛格里姆则打算靠力量打进去。玩家需要决定帮助哪一方，然后开始一段潜行部分，或者是闯过一连串的战斗。

Luckily, Radon Labs later released Drakensang: The River of Time (2010), a prequel which took player's feedback to heart and improved upon every aspect of the game. Exploration became non-linear, talents more useful, fast-travel points were added, the filler battles were replaced by engaging set pieces, etc. It's the same system, but with much better content.

Still, the most interesting change is the scope, as The River of Time goes for a shorter and more intimate story. Instead of being The Chosen One, here you join a trio of charismatic adventurers – Ardo, the Warrior; Cano, the Thief; and Forgrimm, the Dwarf – and play as their partner in a smaller, 30-hour adventure.

You'll still be able to control them most of the time, but in some moments they'll act by themselves. For example, when trying to invade a fortress, Cano will try sneaking while Forgrimm will brute-force his way in. You'll decide who to help – playing either a stealth section or a combat gauntlet.

我们推荐在游玩《龙歌》时使用 Ergo 的修复包（Ergo's Fixpack），在游玩《时间之河》时使用 Ergo 的插件包（Ergo's AddonPack）。两个 mod 都包含了 bug 修复、平衡改进以及其它有用的调整，例如更快的移动。

We suggest using Ergo's Fixpack when playing Drakensang, and Ergo's AddonPack when playing River of Time. Both mods feature several bug fixes, balance improvements and other useful tweaks, such as faster movement.

游戏的节奏安排得不错，而且幽默的基调也和色彩丰富的美术风格完美相合。在某种意义上，对《时间之河》最为贴切的描述或许是“CRPG 版的《公主新娘（The Princess Bride）》^[1] ”。

遗憾的是，Radon Labs 在德国国外发行这部游戏时遇到了很多麻烦。《时间之河》的英文版迟了差不多一年，售价 20 美元，而且既欠缺市场营销，也没有媒体报道。Radon Labs 仍然尽力推出了资料片《菲力森的秘密（Phileasson’s Secret）》，但之后就惨遭破产的命运。

此后该公司被 Bigpoint Games 收购，这是一家致力于网页游戏的德国发行商。2011 年，他们推出了《龙歌网络版（Drakensang Online）》，这是一款免费游玩的《暗黑破坏神》类 MMORPG，但和前作没有关系，而且也不再使用《黑暗之眼》规则。

《龙歌：黑暗之眼》或许没能留在人们记忆中，但《时间之河》却是一款伟大的 RPG。玩过这部游戏的人很少，但如果你正在阅读这篇文章，而且正好也喜欢类似《龙腾世纪》的游戏，那么一定要来体验一次这场愉快而充满热情的冒险。

The game delivers these moments in a well-paced and humorous tone that fits perfectly with the colourful art style. In a sense, The River of Time is perhaps the closest we ever got to a The Princess Bride CRPG.

Sadly, Radon Labs had several issues publishing the game outside Germany. Its English version arrived almost a year later, as a $20 budget title that had no marketing or press coverage. Radon Labs still put out the Phileasson's Secret expansion, but then went bankrupt.

The company was acquired by Bigpoint Games, a German publisher specialising in browser games. In 2011, they released Drakensang Online – a free-to-play Diablo-like browser MMORPG, no longer connected to previous games or The Dark Eye ruleset.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye might have been underwhelming, but The River of Time remains a great RPG. Few people got the chance to play it, but if you're reading this and enjoy games like Dragon Age, be sure to embark on this joyful, full-hearted adventure.

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¹ 译者注：《公主新娘》是由罗伯 · 莱纳（Rob Reiner）执导的冒险喜剧电影，于 1987 年 9 月 25 日在美国上映。影片讲述了海盗维斯特雷在同伴的帮助下，解救被邪恶王子绑架的儿时玩伴、善良美丽的少女布卡特的故事。