It’s
not often that we review DVD movies at Just Adventure – in fact,
this
is probably a first – but while watching/playing Scourge
of
Worlds
Special
Collector’s Edition recently it occurred to me that this
is fertile ground for an adventure game
developer with some gumption and imagination.

Scourge of Worlds is an
interactive Dungeon & Dragons DVD adventure
that will work on most DVD models or your Xbox or PS2 system. It
is a modernized version of those Choose Your Own Adventure™ books
and, regardless of whether you are a fan of role playing games or
Dungeon & Dragons or not, it is fun to work your way through
the numerous decisions and six different game endings.

This 3D interactive, computer
animated movie – the appearance
of the dragon is especially impressive even though it does burn your
buns – lets you choose your own path as the story progresses. The
Scourge of Worlds, aka the Aryx Orthian, is an ancient weapon created
by a group of Mages that was meant to destroy their enemies and put
an end to all wars. Its power was, of course, unmanageable (or else
we wouldn’t have a story!) and it was hidden away in a secret
cave. You play as three different characters: Regdar, a Warrior,
Lidda, a Halfling and Mialee, an Elf who bump into Barathion, an
old friend and teacher, who has stolen the map and is intent on laying
claim to the Scourge.

As the story plays out, you are presented with the opportunity to
choose the path the story will follow and while the beginning and
end locations of the story are always the same, the path you follow
in-between is entirely dependent on your decisions. Should you engage
in a bar fight or smooth talk your way out of a confrontation? Should
you join Barathion on his journey to find the Scourge, or should
you arrest and turn him over to the authorities? The game promises
over 1,100 possible story combinations and – though I am anal retentive
– even I did not encounter every combination though I have seen all
six different endings.

This ‘Special Edition’ DVD also comes with an extra
disk that contains Behind the Scenes, a very interesting ‘Making
of Scourge’ feature, a Trivia Game based on the adventure,
a Gallery of Game Environments, Monsters and Characters and a full
linear version of the movie/game that you can enjoy without the pressure
of making those life-saving (or ending) choices.

Now, as usual, my interest
in this DVD is how it applies to the adventure genre. What a great
opportunity it would be for some developers
who are having problems obtaining funding for their games to release
either a computer rendered or full-motion-video adaptation of a character
like Tex Murphy or Gabriel Knight. Sure the DVD game would not have
as much depth and the puzzles would be almost non-existent, but development
costs would be much lower and the potential audience much larger – think
Netflix and Blockbuster rentals & sales in mainstream stores
like Target and Wal Mart – which in turn could lead to acquiring
the funds necessary for a full-blown computer version. In fact, the
only limitation seems to be the mindset of adventure developers and
publishers who don’t seem willing to think outside the box.

But alas, this is just
another pipe dream, for we know it would never happen as it makes
too much sense – much like putting Nancy
Drew games in Barnes & Noble – but kudos to the Dungeon & Dragons
team for at least attempting to take their genre in a different direction
with Scourge of Worlds.