Quest for Glory III: Wages of War is a game that combines adventure and role-playing elements. It was released in 1992 for computers running MS-DOS. This game is the third in the Quest for Glory series and follows Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire.

Quest for Glory II suggested that a character named Ad Avis would return in this game. However, the developers thought a darker version of the game might not attract new players. Instead, they created Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. This game only gave hints about Ad Avis's location, leaving that story for a later game called Shadows of Darkness, which became the fourth in the series.

The game was later re-released on Steam, with support for Windows computers.

Plot

Rakeesh the Paladin takes the Hero, who is also the Prince of Shapeir, along with Uhura and her son Simba to his homeland, the town of Tarna. Tarna is located in a region called Fricana, which is a jungle and savannah area inspired by central African ecosystems. Fricana is home to Liontaurs, creatures that are part human and part lion.

The city of Tarna is about to start a war. The Simbani, the tribe of Uhura, are preparing to fight the Leopardmen. Both tribes have taken a special object from the other tribe and refuse to return it until the other does. The Hero must stop the war and then prevent a demon from being released into the world.

The Hero becomes a member of the warring tribes and leads his new allies into battle against the demon wizard. After the battle is won, the Hero suddenly vanishes into darkness.

Gameplay

This game, like earlier versions, includes three main character classes: Warrior, Magic User, and Thief. A hidden class, the Paladin, is also available. In the ending of the previous game, a character who shows enough honor is named "Paladin" by Rakeesh and can be brought into Quest for Glory III as such. Additionally, any saved character from other classes can be imported as a Paladin, keeping all the skills they learned in earlier games. This system allows characters to combine abilities from different classes, such as a Paladin using their unique powers along with Magic User spells without any disadvantages.

In the game Wages of War, the Fighter class is preferred and can participate in the Trials of Simbani quests. Magic-Users face hostility and are only given a side quest involving creating a magical staff and challenging a leopardman shaman. Thieves have only two specific incidents where they can use their class-specific skills.

Quest for Glory III introduces an "overworld" map that displays all important cities and landmarks in miniature, unlike the interconnected screens used in earlier games. Traveling across this map may lead to random enemy encounters that players must fight or avoid. Time moves quickly during travel, increasing the chance of facing hostile encounters. The Thief class is less likely to be noticed during these encounters. Some random encounters are friendly and helpful, such as the Awful Waffle Walker, which helps prevent starvation, or Arne the Aardvark, who may provide useful hints.

Development

The game was created using Sierra's SCI1, the Sierra Creative Interpreter, Version 1. Wages of War was the first game in the series to use the VGA graphics engine, which would later be used for the next game in the series. Instead of using a text parser to control the hero, players used a mouse to point and click as the main way to interact with the game.

Corey Cole stated that Lori Cole was responsible for "90% of the design work" for Quest for Glory III. She completed this work while also overseeing the VGA remake of Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero.

Because of a programming error, it is not possible to achieve a perfect score in Quest for Glory III. Additionally, due to a glitch that occurred early in the game, players might make the game impossible to complete if they miss a key event.

Corey Cole has said that the game was developed with a budget of $750,000.

Reception

The changes in this video game series received different opinions from fans, especially the new point-and-click interface that replaced the text parser used in earlier games. Many considered the game to be not very impressive.

Computer Gaming World said that Quest for Glory III has the most unique and interesting setting in the series. The magazine praised the beautiful VGA graphics and music. It called the game another great creation from Sierra and suggested that the next game might be even better. In 1993, Dragon magazine gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.

Jim Trunzo reviewed Quest for Glory III: Wages of War in White Wolf #34 (Jan./Feb. 1993). He gave it a 4 out of 5 and noted that the game improved in many areas. He said the art and music were better than earlier games, the new interface worked quickly, and the story helped players feel immersed in the game. He also said it was hard to believe Sierra could make a better game, but he thought they might.

In 1994, PC Gamer US listed Quest for Glory III as the 28th best computer game ever. The editors said the game had a well-organized story, great graphics, and a strong soundtrack.

PC Mag’s Neil J. Rubenking called the game a perfect mix of roleplaying and adventure elements. He liked how the characters added humor during tense battle moments.

Michael Baker of RPGamer gave the game 3 out of 5 stars. He said the game could have been more detailed and exciting. He criticized the combat system and noted that the VGA graphics were not used as well as the EGA graphics in the previous game. Richard Cobbet of PC Gamer called the game "a bit of a filler," meaning it felt less significant compared to other titles.