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Lands of Lore II - Guardians of Destiny

Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny (or Lands of Lore II) is the second installment of the Lands of Lore series, a sequel to Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos. It brought about a drastic change in gameplay style from its critically acclaimed predecessor, opting away from the original's D&D style in favor of more action RPG elements. Guardians of Destiny was released in 1997 and is a real-time, first-person Role-playing game.

Gameplay[]

Similar to its contemporary Realms of the Haunting, Guardians of Destiny is a first-person adventure game which, while featuring occasional combat, revolves around the solving of puzzles. Like in most adventure games, the player can interact with objects and people by clicking on them, collect items into an inventory, and use items from their inventory on environmental objects. However, some puzzles also require the player to cast spells, use their melee attack, or drag objects and even enemy corpses into specific locations.

Navigating through the environment also often involves platforming challenges, some of which can be undertaken only in one specific form. The player character, Luther, has a curse which causes him to randomly change between three forms: human, lizard, and beast. Later in the game the player acquires spells which can be used to change form at will if in human or lizard form; once in beast form Luther must wait to change randomly back to human form, since the beast cannot cast spells. The lizard form is small, allowing it to enter tunnels inaccessible to other forms, but preventing it from crossing even shallow streams of water without drowning. It can run faster and cast spells more easily than other forms. The beast form is tall and heavy, such that it can make only mild jumps, but in some places its size allows it to step across gaps that the other two forms would have to jump over. The human form is an average of the other two in most respects, but is the only form which can equip weapons or armor.

Combat works similarly to The Throne of Chaos, except that the player's party consists of just one character, and most enemies will not attack the player character unless provoked. Luther can use a melee attack, fire a bow at range, use items, and cast spells at four different levels. However, each spell has a fifth level which is only usable if Luther consumes an ancient stone or has acquired the Mantle of the Ancients, which occurs at a set point near the end of the game. Spells draw on a limited pool of magic points, which, like Luther's health, is gradually recovered over time.

Plot[]

The plot follows Luther, son of Scotia, who is imprisoned by the soldiers of Gladstone and accused for being a member of the Dark Army. Luther is cursed to be morphed into either a great beast or a lizard, thanks to which he manages to escape. While the Draracle guides him, Dawn and Baccata (from the previous game) initially chase, and later aid him. Luther must go on his quest while avoiding his many pursuers.

The player controls Luther on his quest to solve the curse. Randomly he will change forms, gaining the respective advantages (strength, or increased magical ability, and the opportunity to enter small spaces and discover secret areas). The power to change forms willingly is eventually bestowed upon the player in the game.

Locations[]

1689-lands-of-lore-guardians-of-destiny-logo

Promo featuring a map of The Lands, including the Northern and Southern Continents

Characters[]

Enemies[]

Credits[]

Directed by Joseph D. Kucan and written by Rick "Coco" Gush.

Cast[]

Lolgod group shot 1

Development[]

GoD Team 1
  • Louis Castle - producer
  • Donny Miele - producer (as Donny Blank)
  • David Arkenstone - music
  • Frank Klepacki - music
  • Daniel L. Smith - special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
  • Elie Arabian - artist
  • Gary Cox - artist
  • JF - lead designer
  • Shelly Johnson - artist
  • Keith Arem - additional audio production
  • David Fries - additional audio production
  • Paul S. Mudra - sound producer
  • Dwight K. Okahara - sound producer
  • Mical Pedriana - additional audio production
  • Caron Weidner - dialogue editor
  • Gary L. Freeman - digital artist
  • Daniel L. Smith - digital artist
  • Wendy Bagger - production staff
  • Paul Bastardo - production staff
  • David R. Dettmer - programmer
  • Ian Leslie - programmer
  • Bill Petro - lead programmer: Windows 95
  • Richard Rasmussen - production staff
  • Eric Wang - technical director
  • Steve Wetherill - technical director

Gallery[]

Ads[]

Covers[]

Official Screenshots[]

From official Westwood Studios product webpage

SCORE Magazine CD, August 1995[]

Images published on the cover CD of the Czech gaming magazine SCORE (issue No. 20, August 1995).

SCORE Magazine CD, May 1997[]

Preview images published on the cover CD of the Czech gaming magazine SCORE (issue No. 41, May 1997). The date stamps on the files are from 8 April 1996.

Concept Art[]

Trailers[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Trivia[]

  • The Collector's Edition (Limited Edition) box released later contains a small card with five-minute free hints to call for.
  • This game marks the first time Westwood used 3D sound effects.

External Links[]

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