This is the second part in a series I’m writing on games that I played so long ago that I’d almost forgotten them. This week, I’ll be talking about an old Dungeons & Dragons title that pre-dates Baldur’s Gate.

“Dark Sun: Shattered Lands” was good for many of the same reasons as Baldur’s Gate. It was turn-based rather than using Baldur’s Gate’s pause-based gameplay. While it was considered one of the “Gold Box games”, following such gems as Pool of Radiance and Azure Bonds, it bore much more of a resemblance to Baldur’s Gate.

It used Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules, just as Baldur’s Gate did, and allowed for the same kind of strategic combat that Baldur’s Gate did.

While it was released in 1993, I got a copy much later as part of some kind of multi-game value pack. As such, I may have played Baldur’s Gate before Dark Sun. In addition to all the standard spells, Dark Sun used psionics, and a number of other special rules specific to AD&D’s Dark Sun setting. While there were no dwarves or elves, you could play as a half-giant or Thri-kreen. Weird.

You began the game as a slave gladiator, a la Conan. By the end, I remember my party battling an army. There must have been dozens of troops, as well as wizards summoning Djinni to attack me, and clerics healing the troops I wounded. That was a fun game.

This one seems to qualify as abandonware too, so if you’re into DOSBOX, you might want to visit this page and check it out.