We are still waiting on a suitable Amiga AGA emulator with robust recording features before tackling such games.
Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds
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Player's Review
ABOUT THE GAME: The original Magic Carpet was developed by Bullfrog and released in 1994. This sequel was released the following year. Magic Carpet was one of the most innovative games of its time and 20 years later there's still nothing quite like it out there. Some individuals have been trying to remake the game, but those projects have yet to produce anything substantial. This sequel is better than the original in almost every way. New type of cave levels give much needed variation and expand different approaches for achieving specific goals. Spell experience is a welcome addition. It not only increases the number of spells available, but also allows more tactical freedom for the player to decide mana cost vs. effectiveness. Many spells are not very useful though, at least in single-player mode. There are also more monster types and narration during levels. In addition to intro, couple of cutscenes in the game where the boss guy is shown to summon new types of creatures and be bossy. Besides that there is not much actual story and the speeches in levels are there mostly for the atmosphere. Only complaint is that the game is easier than the first one and not much of a challenge to complete. It is though fun to figure out new ways to complete it faster and with different tactics. The first game has too many levels without enough variation and even if it had an innovative concept, the levels get too repetitive. The sequel was only released for DOS, unlike the first game that got ported to PSX and Sega Saturn. The sequel is sadly not as well known, at least in part because lack of console ports. Console versions however don't manage to do the game justice: Those are slow, have worse graphics and require to be played with a console controller, not allowing proper control of the game. Similarly with some other DOS games, this one is a bit unstable when played in 640x480 resolution and has some bugs, probably the release was rushed. Some levels are really difficult to get through without crashing if playstyle is too aggressive. For the last three levels I disabled all visual effects, it helped with these problems.
ABOUT THE LONGPLAY: Every secret level is shown, 100 % spells collected in all level and no deaths. In many levels bonus experience scrolls can be obtained with some specific trigger, for example killing every creature of specific type etc. In few early levels I used a cheat to kill all creatures after completing the level just to show secrets in these levels, but after that I didn't bother. However, all the fast to get scrolls obtained by killing creatures are shown. There's no need to get these extra bonuses and no challenge killing every minor creature manually. Actually by using the cheat spell exp normally accumulated by killing these creatures was lost. If some spells are not acquired at first chance for example by missing secret levels, spells can be obtained later from enemy wizards. I didn't remember there was an option menu for adjusting volume when pausing ingame. Otherwise I would've done so, volume is set to max as default and SFX get distorted at times as a result. Sorry about that.
Comments by level:
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00:01:54 Level 1 - Jahwl: Tutorial level introducing basic combat and castle building. First four spells: Possess mana, Build Castle, Fireball and Speed can be found here. It's almost possible, although tedious to complete the whole game with only these spells.
00:03:58 Level 2 - Kopahk: Simple level introducing first easy to kill enemy wizard. Three spells can be found here: Beyond Sight, Shield and Invisibility. Beyond Sight spell identifies wizards and balloons on the map screen, Shield is useful when rebound is not available. Invisibility is not very useful in single player mode.
00:06:03 Level 3 - Myrnan Gor: Another simple level where the objective is to kill different creatures. Dragons (jumping worms) are a bit hard to hit with a fireball. A hidden cache of mana can be helpfull at the beginning and for reaching the mana quota. This level has another not a very useful Morph into creature spell. Like Invisibility it should prevent attacks by creatures, but spells can't be used while active. Anyways the objective of the game is not to hide from creatures.
00:08:55 Level 4 - Arachnium: First cave level. Another very simple level where the objective is to kill few spiders. Very useful Meteor spell is found here.
00:11:01 Level 5 - T ' Klom: First level with two enemy wizards that can be killed in any order. This level has the entrance to the first secret level that is revealed only after all creatures in the level are killed. I used a cheat to kill all after the level was completed. Summon creature spell is found here. It might have some uses, but more powerful summons require high level and there's no way to control the creatures once summoned.
00:12:53 SECRET Level 1 - Karakir: Nothing particular here. Some exp scrolls and a not that useful Whirlwind spell. Have to wait a while at the end for the balloons to finish gathering mana before the exit is revealed.
00:17:07 Level 6 - Phyrydia: Straightforward cave level with some experience scrolls and Rebound spell that is very useful against enemies with fire based attacks. The spell is revealed after one of the passages near the exit is explored.
00:20:16 Level 7 - Periluim: First level with three wizards and they now can use Speed spell. Belix is usually hard to kill, got a bit lucky this time. Not very useful Steal Mana and Duel spells can be found in this level, but also a very useful Lightning spell.
00:22:32 Level 8 - Ul Buthnen: It can be hard to cast a castle at the end of the level in one of the smaller caverns. However, it helps if casting is successfull. Health spell is found in this level. It is useful in some situations not to have to wait for health to recharge. Only level 1 should be usually cast, upgraded levels have worse cost to effectiveness ratio. This level has the entrance to the second secret level that is revealed by destroying the structure found at the other side of a magic mirror near the regular exit.
00:27:24 SECRET Level 2 - Ymbul: A mazy secret level with lots of exp scrolls and a very useful Teleport to castle spell. The spell and few caches of exp scrolls can be accessed only after killing all the humans outside the maze. In addition, extra caches of experience scrolls are revealed after killing all the creatures. I used a cheat here to demonstrate this secret.
00:35:19 Level 9 - Evirith Gor: There are four wizards, but only Jark has to be banished along with some Manticores. Tremor spell can be obtained here, it's mostly useful against Bugs produced by Cymmerians.
00:41:30 Level 10 - Cymmeria: When the last objective is triggered the gods will summon many more creatures. Those need to be converted into castle mana before the level is completed. However, the gods are pleased and exit to next level is immediately revealed if all the mana is collected before going to the trigger. Mana needs to be either in the castle or in the balloons. Tremor would be effective against the Bugs left behind by Cymmerians, but lots of mana to cast it is needed so lightning towers become more helpful for that task. The Bugs seek players castle and are taken out automatically.
00:48:13 Level 11 - Tropolos: Very easy to complete level using the Castle spell. This level hast the False Mana spell. It is useless in a single player game.
00:50:02 Level 12 - Jaleen: Linear level. Shield spell becomes helpful here if playing safe. Some exp scrolls and entrance to the third secret level are hidden in the walls. Certain amount of castle mana is needed to gain access to the Crater spell found in this level and required for those secrets.
00:56:34 SECRET Level 3 - Pav Durivium: Nice number of exp scrolls in this secret level. There's a pillar that requires to be at least partially destroyed by digging before one of the secret rooms is revealed. This level has a not so useful Magic Mine spell.
00:59:40 Level 13 - Galiphur: Simple level with a task to banish all wizards. Concentrated spiders provide an important mana source at the beginning of the level.
01:02:00 Level 14 - Tunuk: No wizards in this outdoor level, but lots of creatures that have to be destroyed. There's a trap that is hard to clear if you don't manage to cast the castle inside the trap. This level introduces the Moon Dwellers with powerful lightning attack. Moon Dwellers leech and concentrate mana and are hard to hit, because usually residing at high altitude. This level has Earthquake spell that can be used to create tunnels quickly.
01:09:19 Level 15 - Zyggogg: Large open cave level with one long tunnel and a room behind magic mirror filled with monsters. Straightforward level, but monsters can be hard to track and kill because there is not much loose mana in the level.
01:16:07 Level 16 - Darklava: Interesting cave level with multiple objectives. Heavier resistance here compared to previous levels. Almost died once when not being careful. Using of Shield spell is mandatory against the sentinels if Rebound is unavailable.
01:22:46 Level 17 - C' Lannesh: First big enemy castle in this level. Lightning storm weakens it efficiently after which the wizard is easy to banish. Best to kill lesser wizards first so they can't steal the mana when going after the owner of the big castle. This level has Gravity Well spell that takes a high level castle to cast so it's rarely used.
01:27:35 Level 18 - Gleph: Difficulty increases in this level. Multiple enemy wizards and many different monsters, including Wyverns. At the beginning it's best to break most of the Cymmerians so the Bugs will seek the players castle after it's been built. Best location for castle seems to be at the middle of the Sentinels that appear shortly after the beginning of the level. The castle can be used to easily kill all Sentinels after which lots of exp scrolls are revealed. When enough mana has been gathered all Wyverns in the level have to be found and killed to reveal the entrance to the fourth secret level.
01:37:11 SECRET Level 4 - Beleem: Short secret level with lots of exp scrolls and a Cave In spell amply demonstrated in the next cave level.
01:40:55 Level 19 - Baraghan: Simple objective level to banish all wizards. I believe at this point they have access to Shield, because they can take several hits from Meteors. The last spell of the game, Alliance can be found around a location where volcanoes erupt. It might be collected by an enemy wizard if not acquired fast enough, but can then be obtained from the wizard.
01:45:09 Level 20 - Ammyridia: Some Wyverns and a Hydra to be killed in this level. Mana is scarce and takes a while to accumulate. Best tactics for Wyverns and the Hydra seems to be quick attacks with Meteors and then Teleport back to castle for regeneration. Rebound could be used, but doesn't seem as cost efficient. Entrance to the fifth and last secret level is revealed after destroying the big building at the lake that appears after completion of the main objectives.
01:51:21 SECRET Level 5 - Ommosyth: Lots of exp scrolls spread across this level. There are two extra caches revealed after all the Wyverns have been destroyed.
01:56:56 Level 21 - Cresidan: In this level the Cave In spell is demonstrated and also made use of Earthquake. There are difficult to spot Sentinels inside the tombs. Some care should be taken there and the Rebound spell kept active as much as possible. Some exp scrolls are revealed and might be triggered after certain time has elapsed or it might monster related trigger, not completely sure about it. Level could be finished much faster if not going for the exp scrolls.
02:05:57 Level 22 - Hodor: Three Hydras in this level, but I only had to kill two. Level 1 Volcano is quite effective, because the Hydra can't block those with a Lightning attacks unlike Meteors. The Hydra also teleports less often when using the level 1 Volcano instead of level 2. Small cache of exp scrolls is revealed after destroying the big building.
02:15:42 Level 23 - Jathnar: Several wizards in this level with large castles and lots of high damage output monsters can kill the player instantly. Best strategy might be to first leech mana from spiders, then from Yragore before going after Prism. After the beginning it takes some time for the balloons to gather all the mana required to complete the level so it should not matter much in what order rest of the objectives are completed. Moon Dwellers can harvest lots of mana so it might be a good idea to try and find those after other objectives have been completed. Fire towers are built into the castle so the Fireball spell could finally reach level 3 (firestorm).
02:31:13 Level 24 - Malak: The last cave level. Build level 2 castle at the beginning to enable Teleport back to the first chamber after the walls close and Sentinels appear. Castle can be utilized to take out the Sentinels. It is easy to die here though if not being careful. Rebound and firestorm are useful against the Sentinels.
02:37:18 Level 25 - Uluth: The last level of the game featuring the Demon Lord Vissuluth end boss. The beginning can be slightly difficult to get through without dying, but castle can be built outside the trap so it should not be much of a problem if dying is not an issue. Castle should be built close to Vissuluth for fast mana recharge. Firestorm seems to be the most effective spell against him. Rebound should be kept active to avoid getting hit by meteor and rapid fireballs.
02:51:00 End Sequence and Credits
ABOUT THE LONGPLAY: Every secret level is shown, 100 % spells collected in all level and no deaths. In many levels bonus experience scrolls can be obtained with some specific trigger, for example killing every creature of specific type etc. In few early levels I used a cheat to kill all creatures after completing the level just to show secrets in these levels, but after that I didn't bother. However, all the fast to get scrolls obtained by killing creatures are shown. There's no need to get these extra bonuses and no challenge killing every minor creature manually. Actually by using the cheat spell exp normally accumulated by killing these creatures was lost. If some spells are not acquired at first chance for example by missing secret levels, spells can be obtained later from enemy wizards. I didn't remember there was an option menu for adjusting volume when pausing ingame. Otherwise I would've done so, volume is set to max as default and SFX get distorted at times as a result. Sorry about that.
Comments by level:
------------------------
00:01:54 Level 1 - Jahwl: Tutorial level introducing basic combat and castle building. First four spells: Possess mana, Build Castle, Fireball and Speed can be found here. It's almost possible, although tedious to complete the whole game with only these spells.
00:03:58 Level 2 - Kopahk: Simple level introducing first easy to kill enemy wizard. Three spells can be found here: Beyond Sight, Shield and Invisibility. Beyond Sight spell identifies wizards and balloons on the map screen, Shield is useful when rebound is not available. Invisibility is not very useful in single player mode.
00:06:03 Level 3 - Myrnan Gor: Another simple level where the objective is to kill different creatures. Dragons (jumping worms) are a bit hard to hit with a fireball. A hidden cache of mana can be helpfull at the beginning and for reaching the mana quota. This level has another not a very useful Morph into creature spell. Like Invisibility it should prevent attacks by creatures, but spells can't be used while active. Anyways the objective of the game is not to hide from creatures.
00:08:55 Level 4 - Arachnium: First cave level. Another very simple level where the objective is to kill few spiders. Very useful Meteor spell is found here.
00:11:01 Level 5 - T ' Klom: First level with two enemy wizards that can be killed in any order. This level has the entrance to the first secret level that is revealed only after all creatures in the level are killed. I used a cheat to kill all after the level was completed. Summon creature spell is found here. It might have some uses, but more powerful summons require high level and there's no way to control the creatures once summoned.
00:12:53 SECRET Level 1 - Karakir: Nothing particular here. Some exp scrolls and a not that useful Whirlwind spell. Have to wait a while at the end for the balloons to finish gathering mana before the exit is revealed.
00:17:07 Level 6 - Phyrydia: Straightforward cave level with some experience scrolls and Rebound spell that is very useful against enemies with fire based attacks. The spell is revealed after one of the passages near the exit is explored.
00:20:16 Level 7 - Periluim: First level with three wizards and they now can use Speed spell. Belix is usually hard to kill, got a bit lucky this time. Not very useful Steal Mana and Duel spells can be found in this level, but also a very useful Lightning spell.
00:22:32 Level 8 - Ul Buthnen: It can be hard to cast a castle at the end of the level in one of the smaller caverns. However, it helps if casting is successfull. Health spell is found in this level. It is useful in some situations not to have to wait for health to recharge. Only level 1 should be usually cast, upgraded levels have worse cost to effectiveness ratio. This level has the entrance to the second secret level that is revealed by destroying the structure found at the other side of a magic mirror near the regular exit.
00:27:24 SECRET Level 2 - Ymbul: A mazy secret level with lots of exp scrolls and a very useful Teleport to castle spell. The spell and few caches of exp scrolls can be accessed only after killing all the humans outside the maze. In addition, extra caches of experience scrolls are revealed after killing all the creatures. I used a cheat here to demonstrate this secret.
00:35:19 Level 9 - Evirith Gor: There are four wizards, but only Jark has to be banished along with some Manticores. Tremor spell can be obtained here, it's mostly useful against Bugs produced by Cymmerians.
00:41:30 Level 10 - Cymmeria: When the last objective is triggered the gods will summon many more creatures. Those need to be converted into castle mana before the level is completed. However, the gods are pleased and exit to next level is immediately revealed if all the mana is collected before going to the trigger. Mana needs to be either in the castle or in the balloons. Tremor would be effective against the Bugs left behind by Cymmerians, but lots of mana to cast it is needed so lightning towers become more helpful for that task. The Bugs seek players castle and are taken out automatically.
00:48:13 Level 11 - Tropolos: Very easy to complete level using the Castle spell. This level hast the False Mana spell. It is useless in a single player game.
00:50:02 Level 12 - Jaleen: Linear level. Shield spell becomes helpful here if playing safe. Some exp scrolls and entrance to the third secret level are hidden in the walls. Certain amount of castle mana is needed to gain access to the Crater spell found in this level and required for those secrets.
00:56:34 SECRET Level 3 - Pav Durivium: Nice number of exp scrolls in this secret level. There's a pillar that requires to be at least partially destroyed by digging before one of the secret rooms is revealed. This level has a not so useful Magic Mine spell.
00:59:40 Level 13 - Galiphur: Simple level with a task to banish all wizards. Concentrated spiders provide an important mana source at the beginning of the level.
01:02:00 Level 14 - Tunuk: No wizards in this outdoor level, but lots of creatures that have to be destroyed. There's a trap that is hard to clear if you don't manage to cast the castle inside the trap. This level introduces the Moon Dwellers with powerful lightning attack. Moon Dwellers leech and concentrate mana and are hard to hit, because usually residing at high altitude. This level has Earthquake spell that can be used to create tunnels quickly.
01:09:19 Level 15 - Zyggogg: Large open cave level with one long tunnel and a room behind magic mirror filled with monsters. Straightforward level, but monsters can be hard to track and kill because there is not much loose mana in the level.
01:16:07 Level 16 - Darklava: Interesting cave level with multiple objectives. Heavier resistance here compared to previous levels. Almost died once when not being careful. Using of Shield spell is mandatory against the sentinels if Rebound is unavailable.
01:22:46 Level 17 - C' Lannesh: First big enemy castle in this level. Lightning storm weakens it efficiently after which the wizard is easy to banish. Best to kill lesser wizards first so they can't steal the mana when going after the owner of the big castle. This level has Gravity Well spell that takes a high level castle to cast so it's rarely used.
01:27:35 Level 18 - Gleph: Difficulty increases in this level. Multiple enemy wizards and many different monsters, including Wyverns. At the beginning it's best to break most of the Cymmerians so the Bugs will seek the players castle after it's been built. Best location for castle seems to be at the middle of the Sentinels that appear shortly after the beginning of the level. The castle can be used to easily kill all Sentinels after which lots of exp scrolls are revealed. When enough mana has been gathered all Wyverns in the level have to be found and killed to reveal the entrance to the fourth secret level.
01:37:11 SECRET Level 4 - Beleem: Short secret level with lots of exp scrolls and a Cave In spell amply demonstrated in the next cave level.
01:40:55 Level 19 - Baraghan: Simple objective level to banish all wizards. I believe at this point they have access to Shield, because they can take several hits from Meteors. The last spell of the game, Alliance can be found around a location where volcanoes erupt. It might be collected by an enemy wizard if not acquired fast enough, but can then be obtained from the wizard.
01:45:09 Level 20 - Ammyridia: Some Wyverns and a Hydra to be killed in this level. Mana is scarce and takes a while to accumulate. Best tactics for Wyverns and the Hydra seems to be quick attacks with Meteors and then Teleport back to castle for regeneration. Rebound could be used, but doesn't seem as cost efficient. Entrance to the fifth and last secret level is revealed after destroying the big building at the lake that appears after completion of the main objectives.
01:51:21 SECRET Level 5 - Ommosyth: Lots of exp scrolls spread across this level. There are two extra caches revealed after all the Wyverns have been destroyed.
01:56:56 Level 21 - Cresidan: In this level the Cave In spell is demonstrated and also made use of Earthquake. There are difficult to spot Sentinels inside the tombs. Some care should be taken there and the Rebound spell kept active as much as possible. Some exp scrolls are revealed and might be triggered after certain time has elapsed or it might monster related trigger, not completely sure about it. Level could be finished much faster if not going for the exp scrolls.
02:05:57 Level 22 - Hodor: Three Hydras in this level, but I only had to kill two. Level 1 Volcano is quite effective, because the Hydra can't block those with a Lightning attacks unlike Meteors. The Hydra also teleports less often when using the level 1 Volcano instead of level 2. Small cache of exp scrolls is revealed after destroying the big building.
02:15:42 Level 23 - Jathnar: Several wizards in this level with large castles and lots of high damage output monsters can kill the player instantly. Best strategy might be to first leech mana from spiders, then from Yragore before going after Prism. After the beginning it takes some time for the balloons to gather all the mana required to complete the level so it should not matter much in what order rest of the objectives are completed. Moon Dwellers can harvest lots of mana so it might be a good idea to try and find those after other objectives have been completed. Fire towers are built into the castle so the Fireball spell could finally reach level 3 (firestorm).
02:31:13 Level 24 - Malak: The last cave level. Build level 2 castle at the beginning to enable Teleport back to the first chamber after the walls close and Sentinels appear. Castle can be utilized to take out the Sentinels. It is easy to die here though if not being careful. Rebound and firestorm are useful against the Sentinels.
02:37:18 Level 25 - Uluth: The last level of the game featuring the Demon Lord Vissuluth end boss. The beginning can be slightly difficult to get through without dying, but castle can be built outside the trap so it should not be much of a problem if dying is not an issue. Castle should be built close to Vissuluth for fast mana recharge. Firestorm seems to be the most effective spell against him. Rebound should be kept active to avoid getting hit by meteor and rapid fireballs.
02:51:00 End Sequence and Credits
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