Pleasantly Surprised By Defender of the Crown (IIgs)

["Tempest" <tempest@atariprotos.com>]

Ever since I put my trusty old Apple IIe away in favor of my IIgs, I've
been looking for some games to make it worthwhile.  With the Apple II
compatibility hicups I've had, and the poor quality of the IIgs games
I've been trying (most seeming like second rate versions of their Amiga
and ST cousins), I was just about to banish my IIgs to the basement for
good when I poped in DoC.  I was amazed at how good this version was,
not only were the graphics and sound excellent, but the gameplay was
amazing as well.  I grew up with the CGA PC version of the game (which
wasn't bad except for the ugly colors), later moved on to the
semi-crappy NES version (not randomized enough and broken gameplay),
and it was only recentally that I got to play the original Amiga
version, but I found it lacking in several areas (the gameplay was a
little different than the other versions).  Other than being hampered
by some nasty load times, the IIgs version seems to have it all.  Why
couldn't more IIgs games have been like this?

The only version I haven't compared the IIgs version to is the Atari ST
version.  I assume they're pretty similar except in the sound
department.  Is the IIgs version one of the best out there?