of humanity in the first place. However, the goddess Erda believes she can help ISH by guiding him towards rejecting the desire for power. The four characters are Alberich (a cruel and sadistic dwarf king), Loge (a fire spirit), Siegmund (the son of the god Wotan), and Brünnhilde (a Valkyrie warrior). The story begins with Alberich arriving back in his kingdom to discover that he has very little left, nothing in the kingdom works, and his workers have formed a union and gone on strike. In order to break up the strike, Alberich must find something to satisfy the disgruntled workers, and with this aim in mind, he sets off to procure the gold of the Rhinemaidens. The second part has the player in control of Loge. His story intertwines somewhat with that of Alberich's - in the employ of the gods, he is charged by Wotan with retrieving the Nibelungen ring and the magic crown of Wotan from Alberich. The third section tells the story of Siegmund, son of Wotan, as he attempts to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother and sister. The fourth section tells the story of Brünnhilde, Siegmund's half-sister, who saves him at the end of the third chapter. Her act enrages Wotan, and she is forced to flee to Valhalla where she can obtain a magic artifact to bring back to the asteroid on which the story begins - thus completing the titular "ring". Differences to the original opera The four individual chapters of the game refer to the first two parts of the opera cycle, Rheingold and Die Walküre, and the story is, for the most part, recognisable from its source material. However, there are several significant differences. The most obvious alteration is the inclusion of a science fiction backstory that precedes and concludes the game. Another change is that in the opera, Siegmund is killed while fighting his sister's lover Hunding, whereas in the game he is saved by Brünnhilde. In the opera, Wotan confronts Brünhilde for saving Siegmund and confines her to eternal sleep, while in the game, she brings a magic artifact to the asteroid. Development Ring was the second game developed by Arxel Tribe, following its 1997 title Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon. Reception Sales Ring was a commercial hit. Libération reported its sales as 150,000 units by May 1999, following its launch in October 1998. According