Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

"A return to the Age of Classic rpgs. . ."

First I would like to state that players thinking this is baldur's gate 3 should go somewhere else. Not only is the game developer different, the entire interface and general feel of the game is not that of black isle. with that said let's move on.

Gameplay: People have been complaining about this game for several reasons. Some being that ''its not like baldur's gate!'', ''it's too hard!'', ''it's too tedious!'' and so on and so forth. To those people, I say that they have not given this game the fair chance that it deserves. Mainstream gamers hoping for another Baldur's Gate rushed to Pool of Radiance thinking they had another easyshort rpg. Instead, what we have here is a classic return to the old days of the SSI gold box series. In fact, this game feels much like the old SSI rpgs except in 3d with 3rd edition rules. Much of the gameplay is based on combat and exploration. While the AI is nothing special, the player will be challenged (which many people don't seem too happy about) to keep his fledgling heroes alive long enough to finish the game. This is the first AD&D crpg since the old SSI gold box games that has provided a real CHALLENGE to me. And I welcome it. It is quite true however, that the gameplay can get somewhat tedious. However, it is quite easy to ignore it once you get into the game. In general, I believe the gameplay is quite solid once you get past the first few hours.

Interface: The interface does take some time to get used to. Combat is now turn based making it very different from the real-time system of BG. Also, the interface is much leaner compared to BG. It's actually very usable once you get used to it and memorize the various hot keys. The camera is focused on your party and you can only shift it slightly away from your party. This I have to admit, gave me a pounding headache for the first day as I was more accustomed to the BG system. Indeed, I believe that the camera system for baldur's gate may have been more appropriate for this game due to the enormity of the maps. In general, the interface is done well.

SoundMusic: Nothing special at all here. Sub-par, but i never really paid too much attention to music or sound while trying to fight orcs.

Graphics: The 3d graphics in this game are very quite nice and pleasing to the eye. Spells such as Cone of cold look much different now and in my opinion, much better. Charecter animations are done well and the designs look good. All in all, well done.

Replay Value: Since I havent beaten the game yet, I can't say anything yet.

Technical Issues: There are some glaring bugs and glitches that need to be ironed out. For instance, the ''install'' bug that wipes your hard drive. Personally, I have not experienced any of the bugs except for the random game crash bug.

Bottom Line: A solid rpg meant for those who are up to the challenge and remember a by-gone era of rpg gaming. Also for those who are willing to over look the not so perfect translation of 3rd edition rules. All in all, this is a solid game even though there are some glitches and bugs that have to be ironed out. I reccomend this game to whoever is really into rpgs.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/01, Updated 10/05/01