I recall playing The Black Cauldron as a kid in grade school or perhaps early middle school. It was my first experience playing a long line of Sierra “roll playing” games like the Kings Quest, Police Quest, Hero’s Quest or Space Quest series. The Black Cauldron was pretty simple in comparison to the later releases, but had its own appeal. I was happy to find it as a download and enjoyed playing it again while reminiscing about how far games have come in the past 20 years.
I recall playing The Black Cauldron as a kid in grade school or perhaps early middle school. It was my first experience playing a long line of Sierra “roll playing” games like the Kings Quest, Police Quest, Hero’s Quest or Space Quest series. The Black Cauldron was pretty simple in comparison to the later releases, but had its own appeal. I was happy to find it as a download and enjoyed playing it again while reminiscing about how far games have come in the past 20 years.
The classic story of a young “pig-pen keeper” sent out to save the world is not exactly one that would blow you away, but it keeps your interest and at least gives you an objective. The items
required to complete the game are placed in rather obvious locations and would be hard to miss. Knowing what object to use in what situation is also rather obvious, but sometimes seeing how to mess up and die can be interesting as long as you have saved your game beforehand. The game does not take too long to complete and would be highly recommended for a younger child looking for a challenge. To a newcomer, the puzzles and interaction would be a healthy and good way to teach new ways of looking at problems and possible solutions.
While the graphics are pretty crude, it is still possible to make out the intended look of the objects on the screen. The sounds of the game are also pretty simplified, but considering the age of the game, they are pretty well done and placed into the game-play. Other characters in the game are well programmed to show up at random times and change their interaction with the main character based on the actions taken. The variable speed option allows the player to speed up the animation if the comfort level is there. The looping map makes getting lost impossible and lends a bit of 3 dimensional feel to the game while walking around on your quest.
While simple, the game opened the door for much other successful and enjoyable adventure / role-playing games put out by Sierra. I recommend downloading and playing this game, if not for the enjoyment, simply for the perspective of how far games have come since the release of this game. I enjoyed the game this second time around and I believe others will too.
