Quest for Glory III: Wages of War is a mix of adventure and role-playing game released in 1992 for MS-DOS. It is the third game in the Quest for Glory series and follows Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire.

Quest for Glory II suggested that the character Ad Avis would return in this game. However, the creators thought a darker game might not attract new players. Instead, Quest for Glory III: Wages of War was made, which only briefly mentioned Ad Avis’s location. This story thread was saved for Shadows of Darkness, which became the fourth game in the series.

The game was later re-released on Steam for Windows.

Plot

Rakeesh the Paladin takes the Hero (and Prince of Shapeir), along with Uhura and her son Simba, to his homeland, the town of Tarna. Tarna is located in a jungle and savannah area called Fricana, which is based on central African ecosystems. Fricana is home to Liontaurs, creatures that are half-human and half-lion.

The Liontaur 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 sacred relic 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 gains membership in the warring tribes and leads his new allies into battle against the demon wizard. After the battle is won, the Hero suddenly disappears into darkness.

Gameplay

This game, like the earlier versions, includes three main character classes: Warrior, Magic User, and Thief. A secret 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 used in Quest for Glory III. Any saved character from other classes can also be used as a Paladin, keeping all skills learned in earlier games. This system allows characters to combine abilities from different classes, such as a Paladin using both their unique powers and Magic User spells without any problems.

In the game Wages of War, the Fighter class is preferred and can participate in the Trials of Simbani quests. Magic Users face challenges and are only given a small quest to create a magical staff and confront a leopardman shaman. Thieves have only two specific events where they can use their class skills.

Quest for Glory III introduces a new "overworld" map that shows all major cities and landmarks in miniature, unlike the connected screens used in earlier games. Traveling across this map causes time to pass quickly and leads to random enemy encounters that the player must fight or avoid. The Thief class is less likely to face these encounters. Some random encounters are not hostile and may help the player, such as the Awful Waffle Walker, which helps prevent starvation, or Arne the Aardvark, who can provide useful hints.

Development

The game was developed 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-based control system, players used a mouse to point and click as the main way to interact with the game.

According to Corey Cole, Lori Cole completed 90% of the design work for Quest for Glory III. She did this while also overseeing the VGA remake of Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero.

Because of a mistake in the programming, it is not possible to earn a perfect score in Quest for Glory III. Additionally, an unexpected error early in the game can make it impossible to complete if the player misses a key event.

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

Reception

The changes in this video game series received different opinions from fans, especially about the new point-and-click interface that replaced the text parser used in earlier games. Many people think the game is a basic effort.

Computer Gaming World said that Quest for Glory III has "the most exotic and intriguing backdrop" in the series and praised the "beautiful" VGA graphics and soundtrack. The magazine called the game "another excellent product from the creative team at Sierra" and predicted the next game would be hard to beat. 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), giving it a 4 out of 5. He said the game improved on earlier ones with better art, music, and a faster, smoother interface. He also noted the story quickly draws players into the game and believed Sierra might create an even better game next.

In 1994, PC Gamer US listed Quest for Glory III as the 28th best computer game ever. The editors wrote that the game has a strong plot, great graphics, and a good soundtrack, calling it "what adventuring is all about."

PC Mag's Neil J. Rubenking described the game as a "perfect blend" of roleplaying and adventure elements. He appreciated the humor shown by characters 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, and criticized the combat system. He also thought 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."