Discworld II: Mortality Bytes!
Still the funniest adventure game on PlayStation, almost three years after its original release.

Reviewed by: Funkadelic
Rated:
Posted on: 07/17/00

Published by Psygnosis and released in 1995, Discworld was a third-person graphic adventure that successfully blended comedy with adventure. It was also one of the first games I bought for my Sony PlayStation. The game was based on Terry Pratchett's series of Discworld books and featured a large amount of voice acting, including the comedic talents of Eric Idle of Monty Python fame.

In 1997, Psygnosis released the sequel, Discworld II: Mortality Bytes!, which took Discworld's unique graphical style and comedic charm to the next level. Discworld II also saw the return of Eric Idle, who reprised his role as the incompetent wizard Rincewind, the main character of the two Discworld games. While not as successful as the first game, the sequel still managed to attract many Discworld fans. Unfortunately, Discworld II is a difficult PSX game to find nowadays, but it still fares well on PlayStation and will entertain any adventure game fan who is looking for a few good laughs.

Unlike Rincewind's first adventure, in which he had to rid Ankh-Morpork of a misunderstood dragon, Discworld II presents a much greater challenge for the uproarious wizard: he must find Death (a.k.a. the Grim Reaper), who has suddenly vanished...actually, he decided to take a vacation. Because Death is responsible for transporting souls to the afterlife, the Discworld inhabitants cannot die properly without him; they simply hang around in a ghostly state and cause a ruckus. This is totally unacceptable. Luckily — or perhaps unluckily — Rincewind is here to save the day! It will not be an easy task, however, as Rincewind must talk with dozens of townspeople, find several important items, and solve many ridiculous puzzles before he can meet with success.

Hmm...a troll barkeeper and a pint-sized Don Juan DeMarco wannabe — only in a Discworld game.

Before venturing into the Discworld, you can adjust several options, which include sound levels, subtitles, game controls, and screen position. The sound options let you alter the volume of the game's music, sound effects, voices, and cut-scenes. In the subtitles menu, you can turn the game's subtitles on/off and set the speed in which they appear. The control option allows you to configure the layout of the controller's buttons to suit your taste. Discworld II was released before the Dual Shock Analog controller was available, so it does not support analog control, unfortunately. However, if you are one of the few people who owns a PlayStation mouse, you can use it with the game and adjust the click speed to your liking. Finally, you can center the screen using the 'screen position' option to have a nice centered screen displayed on your television.

Discworld II's point-and-click gameplay should be familiar to anyone who has played the first game — or any graphic adventure, for that matter — as there is little difference between the two titles. The game places an emphasis on conversations with the many characters and unique personalities that fill the Discworld. A simple conversation window usually pops up when you click on a character with the triangle button, allowing you to select among several styles of conversation. In most cases, you can start a conversation with a friendly greeting, sarcastic remark, or a question (additional conversational topics/icons will appear occasionally). You can also select a muse option that will cause Rincewind to mumble to himself about the current situation. (Sometimes Rincewind's musings will reveal helpful hints or important gameplay information.) To advance through the game, you will need to conduct thorough conversations with all the characters scattered about the Discworld. It is especially important to strike conversations with the same characters later in the game to learn new bits of information.

As previously mentioned, Discworld II uses a point-and-click interface. This means you must search every area for "hot spots" and carefully inspect each item you acquire. Also, like in the first game, Rincewind's trusty magical luggage follows him around wherever he goes, allowing him to store all his findings. Rincewind can store items in his pocket as well. Unlike his luggage, however, his linty pocket can only accommodate two items at a time. There are points in the game when Rincewind will be separated from his trusty luggage, forcing you to swap items between inventories.

Wherever Rincewind goes his trusty luggage won't be far behind.

The most important thing to keep in mind while playing Discworld II is that things are not always what they seem. In other words, you may find an item that appears useless at first, but after careful inspection you may find an important use for it. Conversing with characters, combining items, and experimentation are all key here. If you played the first Discworld, or are familiar with the Discworld books, many of the puzzles will feel natural. Likewise, if you are a graphic adventure buff — and have a slightly illogical way of thinking — the puzzles will not be too difficult, especially with the abundance of hints available.

Perhaps the only major downfall of the gameplay, and thus the game itself, is the lack of replay value. As with most graphic adventures, once you have completed the game there is nothing else to do. Granted, Discworld II is made up of four different acts (including an epilogue) and a ton of side-quests, but there is no reason to go back once you have finished. Furthermore, the jokes, arguably the main draw of the game, are not nearly as funny the second time around. Still, the game is fairly long and will take the average player some time to complete. Trust me, Discworld II is a great ride while it lasts!

Graphically, Discworld II is much more colorful and richer than the first Discworld. This dated game even compares favorably with current PlayStation games, surprisingly enough. All the characters are well animated (more than 25,000 cels of hand-drawn animation are in the game) and have an unique graphical style. The cut-scenes, too, are magnificent and add a great deal to the visual presentation. Unfortunately, the PlayStation version is not on par with its PC counterpart (i.e., it's missing frames, contains slowdown, and runs at a lower resolution), but the graphics are still impressive nonetheless.

Heh, old people.

The music and sound effects in Discworld II are quite good and an improvement on the first game's. Musically, a great song and dance number called "That's Death" (a spoof of Frank Sinatra's "That's Life") plays during the opening and ending credits. Most of the in-game instrumental music does a good job reflecting each comical scene and setting, and the sound effects are just as wacky and fantastical as the Discworld inhabitants themselves. To top things off, Discworld II contains an amazing amount of quality voice-overs, which is even more amazing when you consider that this graphically rich game fits on one CD-ROM.

In the end, Discworld II has no equal on PlayStation when it comes to pure comedic charm and offbeat adventure gaming. Unfortunately, it is not as challenging as the original, which may turn off some Discworld fans and hardcore adventure gamers. Nevertheless, if you are looking to have a few good laughs with your PlayStation, Discworld II is your game. Those who dislike quirky, fantasy type adventure or Monty Python–esque humor need not apply.

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