Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

"This resurrection of the Gold Box AD&D series of games deserves praise."

Several years ago, SSI released Pool of Radiance, the first CRPG licensed to use the AD&D rules. Set in the city of Phlan on the Moonsea of the Forgotten Realms, you begin with 6 first level characters and defeat the evil Tyranthraxus. Through another 3 games (4 if you count the action game Hillsfar) you lead the same team of characters against Tyranthraxus and his minions. Then SSI lost the TSR license.

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor resurrects the Gold Box series by SSI. Set in the ever mysterious city of Myth Drannor, your team of 1st level adventurers is bound to solve a mystery that is slowly unraveled as you adventure.

Graphics are impressive, with detailed 3-D character models (and shadows that move as the models move), flashy spells, and realistic weapon animations. In addition, the backgrounds are representative of the descriptions of the areas in the AD&D 2nd Ed boxed set ''The Ruins of Myth Drannor''. The areas are beautifully rendered, and visually convey the descriptive text contained in the original source material.

Sounds are an immersion in the world. As you near orcish enemies you can hear them conversing - in Orcish. As you near, the voices get louder and clearer, and are eventually in English (the game assumes your characters speak Orcish). There is also the sound of your characters grunting as they swing their weapons forcefully. Absent, however, is the twang of the bowstrings, the thud of the enemies as they hit the ground, and the incantations that go along with spellcasting.

The music is a beautifully scripted - if repetetive - orchestral piece. It tries (and most of the time succeeds) to convey the ''mood'' of the area your party is in.

The interface is a typical point and click interface found in so many modern CRPGs, with the mouse cursor changing to depict your possible actions. There is a lack of realism in some areas. Loot from battles is gathered in a pile, and usually that pile is nowhere near where the monsters fell. Your characters can destroy almost any piece of furniture in the game, but why? There is no gain for doing so.

The challenge is right on. Just like pencil and paper D&D, the same group of characters can defeat a group of monsters one day, and be trounced by the same group of monsters on the next... ''Any Given Saturday'' in gaming is a hard and fast rule. At the start of the game, your first level characters are challenged by Orcs, Skeletons, and Zombies, but before you hit 3rd level, you will be fighting up to 7 hit dice creatures. They ARE defeatable with some strategy.

The switch to 3rd edition rules is refreshing, however, the charm of third edition is lost. While most of the feats are carried over to the game, they are assigned based on your class, not selected. Also, where are the druid, bard, wizard, and gnome? The true joy of D&D3E is the ability to totally customize your characters. PoR:RoMD does not allow that.

All this added together, excellent graphics, and music, good sound, an easy interface, and an attempt to convey the beauty of D&D3E make for a great gaming experience. A must buy for D&D players and a good game for CRPG fans, I give this game an 8.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/03/01, Updated 10/03/01