无限之门：堡垒传奇 Ishar: Legend of the Fortress p.162

巫术 7：失落的迦地亚 Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant p.164

角色们会对关键决策进行投票。图中他们拒绝了我将其中一人踢出队伍的提议。

Characters will vote on key decisions. Here they refused my request to dismiss one of the party members.

一些角色很明显是在利用你，他们可能甚至连自己的名字都不肯透露。

Some characters are clearly using you and may refuse to even reveal their names.

第二部会让你为了找到任务所需的道具而在不同的岛屿之间旅行。

The second game has you travelling through various islands, in search of artefacts for your quest.

《无限之门 3》的特点是奇异的环境和基于数字化的照片制作的令人惊艳的美术。

Ishar 3 features exotic settings and some really impressive artwork, based on digitised photos.

在《无限之门》中，从最低等的人类盗贼到最高贵的蜥蜴人战士，每个角色对其他的种族都有着自己的态度和强烈倾向。每当你想招募、杀死或遣散某个角色时，大家就会进行投票。结果是民主的，而且每个角色都有预定的倾向。实力最强的队友通常最排外，这可能会导致可怕的后果，比如他会离开队伍，或者最糟糕的结局——队伍被团灭。组建一支全部由人类构成的队伍要比其他的组合弱，但控制起来也最容易。游戏开发者很想提醒你，肯多利亚的法则就是“狗咬狗”，所以在第一个可被招募的角色陪你度过几天后，他就会带着你的钱跑路。

《无限之门》是一款困难又硬核的游戏，但它给玩家带来的满足感和新鲜感足以使它载入 CRPG 的史册。

《无限之门 2：末日信使（Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom, 1993）》和前作相比，体量更大，质量更好，且更加简单，它或许是整个系列中最好的一部，但是这部没有了 Basil Poledouris^[4] 制作的原声音乐。

In Ishar, from the lowest human thief to the greatest Lizardman fighter, everyone has a voice and strong feelings toward other races. Every time you want to recruit, murder or dismiss someone, a vote occurs. The outcome is democratic and characters each have their predetermined opinions. The most powerful teammates usually have the most xenophobic opinions, which can lead to dreadful consequences such as a character leaving the group or, worst-case scenario, total party kill. Having a 100% human team is weaker than other combinations but is also the safest way to control a group. Silmarils is keen to remind you the “dog-eat-dog” nature of Kendoria as the first recruitable NPC in the game will take your money and flee after travelling a few days with you.

Ishar is a hard and demanding game but the satisfaction and the novelty of the game makes it a worthy addition to every CRPG library.

Bigger, better and less confusing, Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom (1993) is probably the best of the series but doesn't have the awesome Basil Poledouris soundtrack.

系列的第四部作品《无限之门：创世纪（Ishar : Genesis）》已经有了构思，但并没有顺利完成。

A fourth game, called Ishar: Genesis was considered, but never got made.

在第二部中，你扮演伊沙尔的新领主（Lord of Ishar）祖巴兰（Zubaran），目标是杀死一个邪恶团体的领导人香达尔（Shandar）。第二部游戏区域更加广阔，拥有一个完整的群岛地区可供玩家探索，并且还有一些比较大的优化。保存游戏变为免费，地图上有 GPS 帮助你定位，你还可以从前作中导入你的队伍。然而 NPC 会让你跑遍整个群岛去找一件东西或是和一个人谈话，所以做笔记是必要的。

遗憾的是，该系列的最后一部作品《无限之门 3：无限七门（Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity, 1994）》令人失望^[6] 。通过使用无限之门（Gates of Infinity），祖巴兰和同伴可以穿越到不同的时期，每个时期有特定的环境、怪物和 NPC。尽管画质提升了，但大多数的背景看上去是在重复使用第二部的素材。决定伊沙尔命运的战斗主要就是在西斯之龙（Dragon of Sith）的巢穴与主城之间来回穿梭以治疗自己。

有趣的是，那些能说话的 NPC 大多数都是数字化的演员，比如大胡子的 Mel Gibson^[6] 或者 Dustin Hoffman^[7] 。

You now play as the new Lord of Ishar, Zubaran, who needs to kill Shandar, an evil sect leader. The second entry offers an expanded playground with an entire archipelago to explore and some major improvements. Saving is now free and a GPS indicates your location on the map. You can also import your party from the previous game. However, NPCs will send you all over the archipelago to get an object or talk to someone, so taking notes is essential.

Sadly, the last game of the series, Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity (1994), is a disappointment. By using the Gates of Infinity, Zubaran & co time travel to different time periods, displaying specific environments, monsters and NPCs. While graphically enhanced, most backgrounds feel like reused assets of Ishar 2. The battle for the fate of Ishar consists mostly of travelling back and forth between the Dragon of Sith's lair and the city to heal your wounds.

On a funny note, the now-speaking NPCs are mostly digitised actors, like a bearded Mel Gibson or Dustin Hoffman.

__________

⁴ 译者注：Basil Poledouris（1945 - 2006），美国作曲家。
⁵ 系列的第四部作品《无限之门：创世纪》（Ishar : Genesis）已经有了构思，但并没有顺利完成。
⁶ 译者注：Mel Gibson（1956.1.3 -）美国演员、导演及制片人，曾凭借《勇敢的心》（Braveheart）获奥斯卡最佳导演奖和最佳影片奖，其代表作还有《耶稣受难记》（The Passion of the Christ）。
⁷ 译者注：Dustin Hoffman（1937.8.8 -），美国演员和电影制作人，曾五次获得金球奖最佳男主角奖和两次奥斯卡最佳男主角奖，以及多个终身成就奖。他是《功夫熊猫》（Kung Fu Panda）系列电影中师傅（Master Shifu）的配音。