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.

Our Crusade Continues … but Crusader
Has Ended

Crusader: A Conspiracy in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
may not be for everyone, unless you are fond of historical adventures and
interested in the educational values of revisiting a period when West met East
and the significance and cultural impact of the collision that would be felt for
all times to come … even up to the present day.

The unusual presentation
of the story, graphics. and gameplay, which I found to be magnetic and generally
enjoyable, leads me to suggest a qualified recommendation for Crusader.

Final
Grade: B+

Minimum System Requirements:

PC:
Pentium 100
16 MB RAM
256
colors
16-bit sound card
4X CD-ROM
Windows 95

Mac:

Power PC
16 MB RAM
256 colors
16-bit sound card
4X CD-ROM

System 7