Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity

Last updated
Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity
Ishar 3 - The Seven Gates of Infinity cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Silmarils
Publisher(s)
Silmarils
  • DOS
    ReadySoft (Macintosh)
    Prism Leisure Corporation (Windows)
Designer(s) Michel Pernot
Pascal Einsweiler
Programmer(s) Jean-François Trevien
Louis-Marie Rocques
Artist(s) Eric Galand
Guillaume Maginot
Composer(s) Fabrice Hautecloque
Series Ishar
Engine ALIS [lower-alpha 1]
Platform(s) Amiga, Atari Falcon, Atari ST, Macintosh, DOS, Windows
Release
Genre(s) Role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player

Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Silmarils. It is part of the Ishar series of games, and a sequel to Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom .

Contents

Gameplay

The player takes the role of Zubaran (or imports a party of characters from another game in the series), and is tasked with hunting the dragon Sith. To this end, the player must cross a series of gates that lead to different time periods. Each period, like the islands of Ishar 2, has its own climate and type of landscape.

Release

A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was announced but never released. [3] Cyril Cogordan, a former Silmarils programmer, has stated in an interview and on his personal website that a conversion of Ishar 3 was in development for the Atari Jaguar CD, based upon the CD-ROM version released for the Atari Falcon. Despite being completed and sent to Atari Corporation for approval, it was never released due to Atari Corp. closing their doors as a result of the commercial and critical failure of the Atari Jaguar platform. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Reception

Reviewing Ishar 3 for PC Gamer US , William R. Trotter wrote, "Hardcore FRPG fans will probably like it—novices will find it tedious, overwhelming, and frustrating." He called the graphics "often breathtakingly beautiful" and "as richly textured as oil paintings", but found the game's reliance on backtracking dull and disliked the high speed of combat. [9]

In CU Amiga , Toby Dillon called Ishar 3 "almost the perfect RPG." He concluded, "All of the right elements from the last two games have been kept, the plot has been improved and the game looks simply incredible." [10] Tina Hackett of Amiga Computing called Ishar 3 "one of the most absorbing and atmospheric adventures around", despite her minor criticisms of its sound. She praised its depth of content and characterization, and considered it "a superb addition to the Ishar series". [11]

Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "This is Bard's Tale all over again." [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Short for Actor Language Integrated System. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Zool 2</i> 1993 video game

Zool 2 is a side-scrolling platform video game originally developed by The Warp Factory and published by Gremlin Graphics for the Amiga in November 1993. It is the sequel to the original Zool, which was released earlier in 1992 on various platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silmarils (company)</span>

Silmarils was a French computer game software company founded in 1987 by Louis-Marie and André Rocques. It produced games for PC, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Macintosh, Atari ST and Atari Falcon.

<i>The Humans</i> (video game) 1992 video game

The Humans is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Imagitec Design in Dewsbury, England and originally published by Mirage Technologies for the Amiga in May 1992. It was later ported to other home computers and consoles. The goal of the game varies per level but usually revolves around bringing at least one of the player-controlled humans to the designated end area marked by a colored tile. Doing this requires players taking advantage of the tribe's ability to build a human ladder and use tools such as spears, torches, wheels, ropes and a witch doctor in later levels.

<i>Ishar</i> Video game series

Ishar is a series of three role-playing video games by Silmarils for IBM PC compatibles, Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh. They are preceded by Crystals of Arborea. The games are played in first-person perspective, with all but Crystals of Arborea allowing the player to direct a group of five characters, each with a selectable race, gender, and class.

<i>Metal Mutant</i> 1991 video game

Metal Mutant is a side-scrolling action-adventure game developed and published for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST by Silmarils and released in 1991. The game allows the player to transform at any time into three different robot forms: Cyborg, Dino, and Tank.

<i>Obsession</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Obsession is a pinball video game developed and originally published by Unique Development Sweden for the Atari STe on December 2, 1994. It is the first video game to be created by UDS and one of the last official releases for the Atari ST platform after being discontinued in 1993 by Atari Corporation. In the game, players can choose between any of the four available playfields, both of which have their own thematic and main objectives in order to obtain the highest score possible.

<i>Toki</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Toki is a run and gun platform game released in arcades in Japan in 1989 by TAD Corporation. It was published in North America by Fabtek. Designed by Akira Sakuma, the game has tongue-in-cheek humor mixed with the action. The player controls an enchanted ape who must battle hordes of jungle monsters with energy balls from his mouth. The ultimate goal is to destroy the evil wizard who cast a spell on the title protagonist; thereby transforming him from an ape back into a human, and rescuing the kidnapped princess. The game was ported to several video game consoles and home computers.

<i>Baldies</i> 1995 video game

Baldies is a 1995 real-time strategy video game developed by Creative Edge Software and originally published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar CD. It was later ported to PC, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. In the game, the player manages a community of Baldies in order to build structures, increase their population, and create weapons to fight against enemies known as Hairies. There are four classes of Baldies and each structure has specific properties to assist the player. Its gameplay combines strategy with simulation and god game elements. Up to four players can participate in a multiplayer mode via local area network (LAN) on PC.

<i>Litil Divil</i> 1993 video game

Litil Divil is a video game released by Gremlin Graphics Software in 1993. The game stars Mutt, a dog-like devil in the Underworld whose goal is to obtain the "Mystical Pizza of Plenty" from the Labyrinth of Chaos. Litil Divil's release was delayed several times, and the game was initially advertised in magazines under the name Little Divil.

<i>Crystals of Arborea</i> 1990 fantasy role-playing video game

Crystals of Arborea is a medieval fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Silmarils, and released in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS. The game is a precursor to the Ishar trilogy, a series also produced by Silmarils, and together they were re-distributed as the Ishar Compilation in 2009.

<i>Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom</i> 1993 video game

Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom is a 1993 role-playing video game developed and published by Silmarils for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. It is part of the Ishar series. GOG.com released an emulated version for Windows in 2009.

<i>Ishar: Legend of the Fortress</i> 1992 video game

Ishar: Legend of the Fortress is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Silmarils for the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, MS-DOS, and Atari Falcon home computers. It is the first entry in the Ishar trilogy.

<i>Robinsons Requiem</i> 1994 video game

Robinson's Requiem is a 1994 survival simulation video game developed and originally published by Silmarils exclusively in Europe for the Atari ST, Atari Falcon and Amiga. Taking place in the 22nd century where Earth and colonized planets are facing overpopulation, the game sees players assuming the role of Robinson officer Trepliev 1 from the Alien World Exploration department in his attempt to escape imprisonment from the fictional planet of Zarathustra alongside another AWE Robinson named Nina1, while facing several hostile creatures and dangers in order to survive.

<i>Deus</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Deus is a 1996 survival simulation game developed by Silmarils and published by ReadySoft. It is the sequel to Robinson's Requiem.

<i>Black ICE\White Noise</i> Video game

Black ICE\White Noise is an unreleased action-adventure video game that was in development and planned to be published by Atari Corporation on a scheduled December 1995 release date exclusively for the Atari Jaguar CD. It is influenced by the works of American-Canadian writer William Gibson such as Neuromancer and its plot is very reminiscent of The Matrix, which came three years later after the project was discontinued.

<i>Protector</i> (Atari Jaguar game) 1999 video game

Protector is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Bethesda Softworks and published by Songbird Productions for the Atari Jaguar on November 27, 1999. It is based on Søren Grønbech's 1989 Amiga game Datastorm, which in turn it was inspired by both Defender and Dropzone.

<i>Brutal Sports Football</i> 1993 video game

Brutal Sports Football is a 1993 sports video game developed by Teque London and originally published by Millennium Interactive for the Amiga. It was later ported to MS-DOS, Amiga CD32, and Atari Jaguar. The Jaguar version was published by Telegames, being the first third-party title released for the platform. It is the first entry in the Brutal Sports series. In the game, players have the choice to compete in matches against computer-controlled opponents or other human players across three modes of play available. It features a different take on american football by emphasising the violent aspect of the sport, with matches resembling a war as much as a sporting competition.

<i>Zzyorxx II</i> Scrolling shooter video game

Zzyorxx II is an unreleased scrolling shooter video game that was in development and planned to be published by Virtual Xperience on a scheduled 1994 release date exclusively for the Atari Jaguar. It was one of the three projects Virtual Xperience had under development for the system that would never be finished and released to the public. In the game, players would have taken control of two distinct fighter crafts across five stages taking place on different time periods while fighting against an armada of enemies. Despite never receiving an official release to the public, a ROM image of an early build of Zzyorxx II was released online in 2018 at the AtariAge forum.

ReadySoft was a video game developer and publisher and distributor founded in 1987 by David Foster, based in Ontario, Canada. Products include various emulators as well as home computer ports of Sullivan Bluth's Laser disc game series Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, and their sequels. As a publisher, they frequently handled North American release of games by French developer Silmarils.

References

  1. ↑ Moreau, Frédéric (FrediFredo) (May 21, 2008). "Jaguar French Touch - Silmarils: Interview de Cyril Cogordan programmeur de Ishar 3 et Robinson 's Requiem". Atari Jaguar By FrediFredo (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2023-06-04. Cyril Cogordan: La premiere étape pour moi a été d'adapter le moteur "Alis" de Silmarils sur la Jaguar pour pouvoir faire tourner une preview rapide du jeu.
  2. ↑ Vaillant, Aurélien (Wasabim) (October 7, 2017). "Interview with Fabrice Hautecloque". Atari Legend. Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2023-06-04. Fabrice Hautecloque: "Silmarils" used a cross-platform game engine called ALIS (Actor Language Integrated System from memory).
  3. ↑ "Next Wave: Readysoft - Ishar 3 (3DO/RPG)". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 64. Sendai Publishing. November 1994. p. 136.
  4. ↑ "Atari and JT Storage Reorganisation Plan". onecle.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  5. ↑ "ATARI CORP Annual Report (Regulation S-K, item 405) (10-K405) ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  6. ↑ Moreau, Frédéric. "Interview de Cyril Cogordan programmeur de Ishar 3 et Robinson 's Requiem". jaguar-64bit.pagesperso-orange.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  7. ↑ Cogordan, Cyril. "Qui est Foxy ?". foxysofts.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  8. 1 2 "Finals". Next Generation . No. 2. Imagine Media. February 1995. p. 94.
  9. 1 2 Trotter, William R. (March 1995). "Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity". PC Gamer US . 2 (3): 103.
  10. 1 2 Dillon, Toby (August 1994). "Ishar 3". CU Amiga (54): 66, 67.
  11. 1 2 Hackett, Tina (November 1994). "Ishar 3". Amiga Computing (79): 100, 101.
  12. ↑ Snyder, Frank; Chapman, Ted; Kaiafas, Tasos (September 1995). "The Final Episode". Computer Game Review . Archived from the original on 1996-12-21. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.