Archived above: Crusader Hybrid Mac/PC CDs as .iso images
Another FMV adventure. Dual Platform and released only in Europe (UK,
France and Spain only apparently).
On 3 CDs.
Think of Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" movie. Read all about it -
From MobyGames:
> An historical adventure game set in the Middle Ages at the time that
> the Franks were beginning to be driven out of Jerusalem. The player
> follows the adventure of Artaud, a disgraceful French Lord, who is
> sent to redeem himself by traveling to the Holy Lands to escort the
> True Cross back to safety. This is done through a series of scenes,
> with narration. The player has to complete certain tasks before
> Artaud can progress to the next scene. These tasks are generally of
> an educational nature, such as learning how sieges on castles were
> carried out, or who the main forces in the Holy Lands were at the
> time. Whilst Artaud's quest is fictional (with some added
> supernatural events), the setting is quite real, with actual
> locations visited and use of historic figures.
>
> Artaud's quest will see his home in Dun-le-Roy wasted in a siege,
> travel across the Mediterranean to the port of Acre, and eventually
> to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Along the way historical information
> is provided on events and lifestyles of the period.
>
> The game's style has a 3rd-person perspective and uses digital
> footage of real actors again photo-realistic (for the time)
> backdrops, which are partially animated. Intertwined with the scenes
> is an encyclopaedia, which it is necessary to interact with in order
> to complete the tasks and fully understand the narrative. The
> structure of most of the tasks involves collecting items from the
> scenes and the encyclopaedia by dragging them into your inventory,
> and then re-arranging them on to the task screen. The game is very
> similar in style to 1998's Vikings.
And from the great resource, JustAdventure:
> By all accounts, it was November 1095 in a field in Clermont Ferrand
> when Pope Urban II called for the first Crusade with the words "Dieu
> Le Volt" (God Wills It), thus setting a course that would have a
> profound effect on the history of civilization in Europe and the
> Middle East that exists in many respects even today. For nearly two
> centuries and over the launching of eight Crusades, the relationship
> between the Christian West and the Moslem East was to be in a
> constant state of military, geographical, economic, political, and
> religious turmoil and change.
>
> Pope Urban II unfortunately didn't live long enough to record the
> reasons why he proclaimed that the Crusades were necessary. However,
> it is thought that the reasons may have included unification of the
> Eastern and Western churches, providing safe passage for pilgrimages
> to the Holy Land, redirecting feudal hostilities in the West towards
> common enemies (the infidels in the East), and increasing the power
> and influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
>
> What to Do with a Troublesome Lord?
>
> The prelude to our story begins in the year 1180, a time between the
> second and third Crusades, at the Fiefdom Dun-Le-Roy in France,
> where the violent Lord Arthaud has incurred the wrath of the King of
> France by burning the fief's monastery to the ground and killing its
> occupants because they balked at paying his taxes.
>
> The king, Philippe Auguste, is displeased and, under pressure from
> the Roman Catholic Church, decides to punish Arthaud and strip him
> of his rights by attacking his fortress. Arthaud's defenses quickly
> collapse under the might of the Royal Army of France. Philippe
> judges that death would be too kind for such rebellion and instead
> chooses to have Arthaud placed alive in a crypt-like tomb, where he
> will remain for three years.
>
> One day, William of Tyre, chancellor of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
> sends word to Philippe that the situation in the Holy Land is
> becoming more worrisome. Saladin, the Kurd war chief, seems on the
> verge of uniting Syria and Egypt under his domination and is
> threatening to overtake the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which is ruled by
> the incompetent and unfortunate 20-year-old leper king, Baldwin IV.
> The relics of the Holy Cross on which Christ died and the symbol of
> the unity of the Christian world are in danger.
>
> Philippe shrewdly considers the alternatives and decides that
> Arthaud, the consummate hothead, would be an ideal choice to send on
> a perilous mission to the Holy Land. Arthaud is freed from his
> prison and offered a pardon for his crimes in return for his
> agreement to embark on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to steal
> and bring back the relics of the Holy Cross.
>
> But Arthaud will have to employ great care in carrying out his
> mission, because in the volatile Latin lands of the eastern regions,
> there are many shadowy forces also lusting after the holy relics.
>
> Who Gets the Credit for Telling the Story?
>
> The producers of Crusader, under Credits for Original Scenario, list
> the name Al Harawi. The story within the game itself is told by one
> Al Harawi, who not only chronicles the historical events as they
> unfold but also becomes an active and important participant.
>
> Gerard Milhe Poutingon, a lecturer at the University of Grenoble,
> says "being introduced to history, discovering the facts and,
> simultaneously, taking part in their development is a method that
> the subtle Al Harawi, who knows how to reverse roles and wear every
> mask, could have invented for our great delight."
>
> A little research reveals that Al Harawi, the Chief Qadi of Damascus
> at the time of the first Crusade, preached to his Islamic followers
> about the impact that these "invasions" would have on their lives
> and their beliefs. Could this Al Harawi be our storyteller?
>
> Richard Lionheart ... Where Are You When We Need You?
>
> If you like edutainment games, and particularly historical
> adventures, as much as I do, then this game is for you. I can't
> imagine a more interesting time than the span of two centuries,
> during which the Crusades took place, and this game accurately and
> effectively captures the unparalleled passion and drama of events
> that would permanently upset the cultural balance between the
> Christian West and the Moslem East.
>
> As the end of the Twelfth Century approached, the exploits of
> Richard Lionheart, Saladin, and others would form the historical
> backdrop for the adventures of Arthaud, which will take the game
> player on quests set in five different "worlds" that were of
> critical importance to the documentation of the Crusades period.
>
> Built on historical facts, you will follow Arthaud from the dark
> fortress of Dun-Le-Roy to Saint Gilles, the pilgrim's embarkation
> port, then to Saint Jean d'Acre, an important port city in the
> Kingdom of Jerusalem, leading you to travel over treacherous routes
> to Kerak de Moab, the eerie Frankish fortress of the terrible prince
> of Outer Jordan, Renaud de Chatillon, and, finally, to Jerusalem,
> the Holy City.
>
> Riddles and More Riddles ... and Your Final Answer Is?
>
> The gameplay for Crusader is somewhat unusual, in that to move ahead
> you must solve riddles. There are 26 riddles, in all, and each of
> these riddles will lead the player to one or more interactive
> puzzles that must be completed in order to solve the riddle.
>
> The puzzles require the player to find key inventory items that can
> be found within interactive views that contain video and animated
> scenes related to the events that are taking place at a particular
> time in the story. There are often up to four of these interactive
> views for each riddle, and they are presented in a unique fashion
> that I will briefly describe later in this review.
>
> In addition, puzzles may require the player to search through the
> documentary contents of 165 data sheets that describe the history of
> the Crusades, the participants that are important to the story, the
> maps, the weapons, the objects of everyday life, and many other
> relevant facts about the times. Information, items and people can be
> selected from the documentation, brought into your inventory, and
> used to solve a particular puzzle and ultimately a riddle.
>
> The game will advance in a very linear manner, because progress can
> only be made by an orderly solving of the puzzles and riddles. Most
> of the puzzles are easy, but a few are more difficult and will take
> some time to complete. In any event, I found the puzzles and the
> riddles to be fun, as well as educational, but I would caution that
> others might find them to be tedious. Perhaps I lean a little toward
> anal-retentive.
>
> Are You Ready for an Unusual Game Interface?
>
> Wow ... is this part hard to describe! But here goes.
>
> The interactive views or scenes, as well as the display of
> documentation, utilize about seven-eighths of the computer screen,
> so you will have pretty much a full view. Along the top of the
> screen is the toolbar, which will give the player access to the
> current riddle, the documentary base, the plan of the "world" that
> you are presently in, and each of the interactive views or scenes
> that relate to the current riddle (typically, up to four views).
> Along the bottom of the screen is the wallet (contains your
> inventory), a captioning display area, and the quickmove area, which
> is very handy for manipulating between screens and searching through
> the documentation for specific information.
>
> When you enter into one of the interactive views or scenes, you will
> experience what Index+ describes as "an atmosphere worthy of a
> cinema production." Whether you agree with this characterization or
> not, what you will actually see is a very unusual cinematic
> presentation that utilizes live actors, sound bites, animations, and
> special effects superimposed on 2D sets that have been faithfully
> constructed to very accurately represent the content of the scenes
> and the times. Given the French penchant for superb graphics, even
> though Crusader was made in 1997, the graphical presentation, the
> accomplished acting (enhanced by always interesting and informative
> sound bites), over 500 animations, and the surprising special sound
> effects (i.e., fire bombardments, thunder and lightning, the sounds
> of battle, flying birds) are all marvelous.
>
> Round out the presentation with a wonderful and memorable original
> musical score by Olivier Pryszlak and you have a very complete
> package for a very satisfying historical adventure game that I
> thoroughly enjoyed.
>
> Is There Anything Wrong with this Picture?
>
> As far as I can determine, even though I played an English-language
> version, Crusader was never released in the U.S., which begs me to
> ask the question ... Why?
>
> Could it be that, even back in 1997, historical adventure games were
> being made by European developers for distribution only in Europe?
> Could it be that these European producers of historical adventure
> games did not envision the U.S. game buyers as a viable market for
> these games? Could it be that they viewed the typical U.S. game
> player as preferring action, shooting, and violence, rather than
> gravitating toward historical education and entertainment interests
> and logical thinking?
>
> What About Changing the Picture?
>
> More recently, we have seen the North America-based company,
> DreamCatcher, form distribution alliances with Index+ and Cryo that
> have brought more European-made adventure titles to the U.S. (i.e.,
> Dracula Resurrection from Index+, Sacred Amulet and Beyond Atlantis
> from Cryo), and even more new adventure games are on the horizon.
>
> These changes are not happening by accident. The leadership and
> motivational efforts of Just Adventure (not shameless promotion ...
> but fact) have worked diligently, often behind the scenes, to
> promote the viability and interests of the adventure gamer and the
> commercial support of all of us, representing the hungry buyers of
> adventure games, who often have sadly had to go to European sources
> to purchase games, may finally be establishing the credibility and
> influence required to cause the picture to change.
>
> As I suggested within a recent review of Cryo's 1997 edutainment
> game, Treasure Hunter, we need to continue to petition DreamCatcher
> and the European producers of these games for the opportunity to
> purchase these back-listed adventure games in North America.
Compatibility
Architecture: PPC
Untried in any emulation, but SheepShaver may be the only option,
given the PPC requirements.
