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Tower of Darkness is the latest and unfortunately last in Tom Proudfoot's excellent series of Roguelike RPGs that began with 1994's Nahlakh. ToD takes place in the same world as Proudfoot's upcoming Pirates of the Western Sea (which seems to have been canned since early 2002). Your goal is to get down to the last dungeon level, retrieve an object from the altar, and return alive to the surface. Your score is based on the number of game days it took you to finish. If you die, your score is instead based on the number of coins you held. ToD is more or less a typical Roguelike, but one that is done very well with a plethora of skills and races to choose from. Since it is only a ten-level dungeon, monsters and magic are far more plentiful than in Natuk. If you have played any earlier Tom Proudfoot game, you'll feel right at home with ToD. Read our reviews of both Natuk and Nahlakh on this site for more information on gameplay mechanics. ToD is essentially "more of everything" compared to these games: more spells, more monster types, more skills, and new NPCs who you can enlist. The game was never officially finished, but the latest test version (version 10) was more or less complete; besides, the game generates a new random dungeon every time you play, making it highly replayable. It's harder than an average Roguelike, though, so if you are new to this genre you might find it frustrating. Die-hard Roguelike fans will likely have a lot of fun with this excellent title which benefits from the author's extensive D&D experience and a well-crafted combat system. Highly recommended. Reviewed by: Underdogs | 
Tower of Darkness 
