The penultimate mod in the "Thunder Rift" campaign,
Game47: The Haunted Tower is yet another of Ray Dyer's
ten! entries into the One-Week Challenge (
http://ua.reonis.com/index.php?topic=3429.0). Unlike most other entries, this is no mini-mod. Rather, unexpectedly, it is solidly mid-sized, having given me 6 full hours of rewarding gameplay!
In fact,
The Haunted Tower probably beats out the superb
Game42: Quest for the Silver Sword as my favorite in the "Thunder Rift" series.
Right from the start, there is something different about this mod. Instead of the usual "Thunder Rift" overture, a spooky dirge plays over the Title sequence. Indeed, the prologue weaves in many eerie new tunes into its unfolding. A haunting mood is thus well-established and is equally well-maintained throughout the adventure.
The titular "Haunted Tower" in the Gloomfens must be cleansed of undead evil. Its exploration is very exciting with each new area described with immersive detail. A potpourri of unusual monsters inhabit the dark edifice, and many prove more than a handful.
I was able to retreat to the open Gloomfens to rest early in the game, and there are a couple more safe zones to be found within the sinister stronghold itself as the climax nears. There's even a place to train before the final confrontation.
Be forewarned: you will find more coinage than you could possible carry, so unless you want all your PCs to waddle up and down a scary tower with Movements of 3, be prepared to leave most of it behind.
Very little negative to relate. There were a few spelling mistakes, and one (possible) bug. The same for me as in the one from
Game49: Wyrmhaven, where one of the combat tunes, after it seemed to end, it would play another couple of notes, then silence, then those notes again, then silence, etc., etc., and so on. Again, it was no game stopper, merely a minor annoyance, at worst. And, since this type of bug is often confined to very specific memory configurations, it might not even happen on other players' machines. If it does happen to you, a fairly simple way to shut it off is to save your game, exit, and then reload. A few seconds work, and then it's not playing anymore.
Ray, I'm amazed you were able to put together such a big mod as part of the One-Week Challenge, and also very gratified that you did! It was great fun!
