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Aldon's Crossing
February 26, 2002
Aldon’s Crossing is a role-playing game much like Diablo, though of course without the 3D graphics and stereo sound effects— this is a handheld game we’re talking about here. It’s like Diablo because it is based on customizing and leveling up your character (a fighter, a mage, or a thief) by interacting with a variety of characters and completing quests. You can buy better weapons and armor as you earn more money, and you can also find some great items in the various dungeons you have to clear out in order to complete the quests. Right now I’m helping the people of Aldon’s Stand by turning all of their water purification machines back on— an anachronism I know in this magic-based, somewhat medieval universe, but it does make for an interesting story.
That’s actually my favorite part of Aldon’s Crossing- the story. DragonBane’s story isn’t quite as compelling, and it doesn’t feel like your making a lot of progress, which makes the overall pace of the game slower. Aldon’s Crossing moves at a good rate, challenging but not so frustrating that you give up trying to make any progress at all. The control system is also very simple and intuitive—just tap on the screen in the direction that you want to go. Simple commands like checking your inventory or stats, looking at the map, drinking a potion, etc. are all on a handy little control panel to the right of the main screen, saving you from learning a complicated set of Graffiti shortcuts. That little panel is customizable too, so you can set it up in the way that makes the most sense to you. Combat messages and the like scroll across the bottom of the screen when necessary.
Another difference between this game and Dragon’s Bane is that combat is real time, not turn-based, a system that I have always personally preferred. And since you’re dealing only with yourself and a pet (dog or cat, your choice), you don’t have to manage a large party of adventurers. Everything seems to have been very well thought out so that the game can be as simple as possible. That’s a hallmark of great design that allows you to immerse yourself in the experience instead of spending a great deal of time learning to play. You can save your game at many point, and there are several slots available too- that’s great for when you’re approaching a tough battle and don’t want to have to worry about starting over. And if you ever do get really frustrated, check out the forums on the developer’s web site for some hints and tricks to help improve your gameplay.
The graphics are on a par with several Game Boy Color games that I’ve played, most notably Heroes of Might and Magic. There aren’t a whole lot of animations here, but the use of color is great and the backgrounds, buildings, creatures, etc. are all easy to distinguish from each other. No sound effects either, but that doesn’t bother me personally- I usually turn the sound on my Game Boy down anyway. If I want stereo sound, I’ll play a PC game, but that’s just my opinion. One other thing to note— you will experience very short loading times fairly frequently, but they don’t slow the game down all that much. I think it’s just another example that the developers are pushing the envelope and making the Palm OS do things that it wasn’t designed to do, all with great results.
Aldon’s Crossing has earned a spot in my permanent arsenal of Palm software- it’s fun, engrossing, and challenging enough to make me want to keep playing to find out what happens next. And since Aldon’s Crossing is module-based, once you finish the game you can create your own levels or download ready to play modules from the developer and from fan sites as well. If you like RPGs or are just looking for an interesting new game experience, I highly recommend Aldon’s Crossing. It’s available for $19.95 at the Constant Games web site.
PocketGoddess rating for Aldon’s Crossing: 
