ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two other important Interplay games of 1988: Wasteland and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I. Wasteland's game engine can be described as a blend of The Bard's Tale and top-down games like Ultima. Wasteland remains the favorite computer role-playing game (CRPG) of many gamers who played it back in the late 1980s, and for good reason—it's a captivating and highly innovative game that deserves its place beside The Bard's Tale. The interface is icon and mouse-driven, though conversing with characters requires input from the keyboard. It was inevitable that a major developer would secure the rights to create an official Lord of the Rings CRPG, but it took much longer than we might have expected. Character creation and development are based on stats and skills. The skill system is quite elaborate and is broken into three categories: active, combat, and lore.
