Wizards & Warriors (2000 video game)

Gameplay is similar in style to Bradley's earlier Wizardry games. Players control a party of characters through a first-person perspective and fight turn-based combats. Outside of combat, the game is real-time. Characters can join guilds that give exclusive quests, and each character maintains their own individual quest log.[2] Guilds also allow characters to switch classes. Characters can switch classes as many times as they like but can not return to a class once they change from it.[3]

Development began in 1996 and lasted four years.[4] Bradley initially reported the game would have a system that allowed players to choose between real-time and turn-based combat, though this was later abandoned. Competitive multiplayer was also planned based on the guild system, though this, too, was removed.[2]

Metacritic, a review aggregator, rated the game 70/100 based on 23 reviews.[5] Hardcore Gaming wrote that it "feels like Bradley's alternative Wizardry 8".[2] In comparing the two games' dungeons, HG101 said Wizards & Warriors are more complex.[2] Andrew Park of GameSpot rated it 7.2/10 and wrote that the game seems to be unimpressive at first, perhaps because of its long development, but provides "many hours of exploration and character building".[6] Tal Blevins of IGN rated it 8.4/10 and complimented the game's graphics and voice acting, though he wrote that the controls can be annoying. Blevins concluded, "If you like old-school RPGs, you'll fall in love with Wizards & Warriors."[7] Jonathan Houghton of Adrenaline Vault rated it 3.5/5 stars and likened it to Everquest, saying that the game's unoriginal storyline is compensated for by its depth and longevity.[8] In criticizing the game's controls, graphics, and story, Will Lally and Tina Haumersen of GameSpy rated it 69/100 and wrote, "Aside from some nostalgia value, there is nothing to recommend this game."[9]

Doug Trueman reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "What might have been a decent RPG a couple of years ago can't compete today with the likes of Diablo II and Icewind Dale."[10]

• Wizards & Warriors at MobyGames
• Heuristic Park's Wizards & Warriors page at the Wayback Machine (archived May 28, 2016)