Hi;
I don't have a lot of experience with side-scrollers so I would really like to have your opinion on the value of Ferazel's Wand. 
I did play the demo but it had that bug that prevented me from restoring from a saved file so I didn't really play all of the way through. Since there are people here who have the full version, if you could share your opinions I would really appreciate it. Thank you!
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Erica J. Marceau
I usually become irritated very quickly with side scrollers, so Ferazel's Wand is the first one that I might actually finish. Older games of the genre (Lode Runner, Prince of Persia, etc.) tend to have very small figures, from the programmer trying to cram a lot onto a single screen, and animations are very crude. Ferazel's Wand is great because it is able to scroll up, down, and sideways, moving the scene of action as it goes, and thus allowing much larger sprites (animated figures and objects). Interactivity is therefore much easier and the whole game is much more engaging. I don't play the shoot 'em up type games. Ferazel's Wand is forgiven because of the elements of strategy and detective work involved in getting through the levels. I think that it probably is the best and most absorbing computer game I have ever played!:cool
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In my opinion, Ferazel's Wand is a terrific game. There's 23 levels in the full version, and each level has it's own unique goals and puzzles. I've only played through a few of them, but it's incredibly fun and very addictive. Well worth the cost and the wait for the CD. 
By the way, I believe the issue with not being able to continue from a saved game has been fixed in the latest version of the demo (version 1.0.2) You might try the latest version and play through all 3 levels to give yourself a better idea of the game.
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Check out my Ferazel's Wand Player's Guide at (url="http://"http://employees.3gi.com/~ereid/ferazel")http://employees.3gi.../~ereid/ferazel(/url)
Ereid wrote:
**In my opinion, Ferazel's Wand is a terrific game. There's 23 levels in the full version, and each level has it's own unique goals and puzzles. I've only played through a few of them, but it's incredibly fun and very addictive. Well worth the cost and the wait for the CD.:)
By the way, I believe the issue with not being able to continue from a saved game has been fixed in the latest version of the demo (version 1.0.2) You might try the latest version and play through all 3 levels to give yourself a better idea of the game.
**
An absolutely excellent game. The music is great, the graphics and especially all the details. I really recommend getting the full CD-ROM.
I think the game is one of the best games I've ever played.
I don't think you have to redownload the entire demo to fix the problem you are having. There is an updater - I believe it is at versiontracker.com.
Cathy
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MGL_Erica wrote:
**Hi;
I don't have a lot of experience with side-scrollers so I would really like to have your opinion on the value of Ferazel's Wand. I did play the demo but it had that bug that prevented me from restoring from a saved file so I didn't really play all of the way through. Since there are people here who have the full version, if you could share your opinions I would really appreciate it. Thank you!
**
I don't have a lot of experience with side scrollers either, and I'm not a huge arcade fan. After awhile it's like, Ok, so I shoot stuff...is that it? Fun for a few days, then it's sooo boring! Ferazel's Wand is much more than a "jump around shoot the bad guy" game. There are puzzles to solve, secrets to find, and very many different and inventive ways to have you succeed in getting through a level. I'll admit, I'm pulling my hair out with this game right now...but it has me completely hooked. Probably because I'm pulling my hair out with this game right now.
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---Zelda
Ereid wrote:
By the way, I believe the issue with not being able to continue from a saved game has been fixed in the latest version of the demo (version 1.0.2) You might try the latest version and play through all 3 levels to give yourself a better idea of the game.
Answer:
The bug where you cannot save the game has been crushed, but don't be too happy, now the demo game crashes soon after the game has been saved, deleting the saved gamefiles in 40% of all cases. Well at least this happens on my machine. :frown:
Thank you for all of your comments and experiences with Ferazel's Wand. Any doubts that I had about buying this game has evaporated and I will purchase it today.
I do know about the patches to the demo of Ferazel's Wand, but I didn't feel like downloading the 20 MB demo, and the 10 MB update. Even with ethernet, downloading 30 MB can be a real drag sometimes. Furthermore, the three levels in the demo aren't in the full version of the game so I wanted to see if the full version had any qualities that were better or worse then the demo.
So, thank you for helping me! You guys are so cool and this smiley agrees with me. 
On an off-topic note, I hope my signature isn't ugly or too long, and I am very glad that I am a member now instead of a mere scrub.
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Erica J. Marceau, MacGamer's Ledge Contributing Editor/Hotline Manager
ICQ: 25043398, AIM: MGL Erica, Fax: (425) 732-1744
MacGamer's Ledge, http://www.macledge.com/
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The latest demos, updates, shareware, extras, and lots more.
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A forum for my thoughts on games and the gaming world.
Ferazel's Wand has a nice plot and beautifull, surrealistic illustrations. Although it's not 3D, it has depth, too. It's the storyline and puzzles that interest me. As it's become too obvious to some folks here, I have an annoyingly active curiousity. Finding those secrets and discovering what comes up in the next "level" make playing Ferazel enjoyable.
Besides Myst and Riven (my all-time favorites), or the titles I buy for my young son, there are few other entertainment software titles I'd recommend. Ferazel Wand is one of them. On one hand, I can't stand shoot'em up type games, either. As another player wrote, it's easy to overlook that part of the game because of all the other stuff there is to do. And at least the monsters don't ceaselessly come after you. That would kill the fun for me.
Someone mentioned that the CD also comes with demos and unregistered versions of all their software, so you don't just get Ferazel's Wand, but the other games, too. (Harry the Handsome Executive is a fun game, too. The demo came in the Mac Addict sampler and so I gave it a try. Liked it, visited Ambrosia's web site, and that's how I came to try Ferazel.)
A little question or two about terminology: why are side-scrolling games classified together? What is a platform game?
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It hates my modem. :frown: I'll wait for the domo to be on MacAddict.
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Andrew Meilstrup / JAE / Coruscant Software, unInc.
(url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/")My website(/url), (url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/corusoft/")the Coruscant Software website(/url)
(url="http://"mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com")mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com(/url)ajmeilstrup@mac.com
Just as a note: I don't know where you heard that the demo levels are not in the full version of the game, but that's incorrect. The demo levels do appear in the full version, although they aren't back to back as in the demo.
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Check out my Ferazel's Wand Player's Guide at (url="http://"http://employees.3gi.com/~ereid/ferazel")http://employees.3gi.../~ereid/ferazel(/url)
Ben Spees wrote:
**Erica, the demo update is only 500k, not 10 megs, so you might want to give it a try.
-Ben
**
The first update is only 500 KB, but the second update is 10 MB which includes the first update as well. I assume that the second update is still important to have, but as I don't remember its exact benefits I can't say for certain why.
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Erica J. Marceau,
MacGamer's Ledge
Contributing Editor/Hotline Manager
ICQ: 25043398, AIM: MGL Erica, Fax: (425) 732-1744
MacGamer's Ledge, (url="http://"http://www.macledge.com/")http://www.macledge.com/(/url) Macintosh gaming website with news, reviews, guides, columns, and more.
Hotline Server, hlserver.com:1000
The latest demos, updates, shareware, extras, and lots more.
Go to BigRedH.com to download the client
Erica's Soapbox, (url="http://"http://www.macledge.com/soapbox/soapbox.chtml")http://www.macledge....x/soapbox.chtml(/url) A forum for my thoughts on games and the gaming world.
Amorisse wondered:
A little question or two about terminology: why are side-scrolling games classified together? What is a platform game?
There are two different meanings of "platform game." One (I believe the earlier definition) is to describe the key selling game for a game system. For example, Donkey Kong for the Atari, Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo, Super Mario World for the SNES, Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega systems, etc. The other, more commonly used definition is a game in which your character jumps around from platform to platform. What makes this so characteristic is that these platforms often seem to float in the air for no adequately explained reason. Note that most of the games that fit the first definition end up also fitting the second, more typical definition.
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--JB
"Miren al pepino. Que suaves movimentos. Es como montequilla en un chango pelon." -- Larry the Cucumber
If you check (url="http://"http://www.ferazel.com")www.ferazel.com(/url), the second update is 500k as well. There was a 10 MB version posted very briefly by a confused Ambrosian, but it was not necessary. The current, small version is all you need.
-Ben
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