Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

"When you want something done right - do it yourself."

Obviously this is the statement that Pool OF Radiance: ROMD is sending out. Compared to Neverwinter Nights, this game is truly superior and not for its excessive eyecandy, but for its wholesome gameplay that does not bore you and still manages to put excitement into a 23-year-old’s heart.

Let’s put things into perspective – why do we want to play D&D? Because, just as the name implies, we want Dungeons and Dragons. Unfortunately for the folks at Neverwinter, “Dungeons” actually means rolling hillsides and boring city alleys. Somebody ought to buy them a new English dictionary because obviously they can’t grasp this fundamental principle.

Secondly, why do we need D&D? Because we love the thrill of wondering in sinister dungeons, collecting items, spells and skills, and saving the day. There has to be a certain atmosphere that underlines this concept, a foreboding scenario that puts the player at the helm of fate. This is where ROMD is superior because it brings out this sense of doom wonderfully in the game. You only have a handful of NPCs to interact with, because that isn’t the point. The point is going through these dungeons, kicking ass, and saving the day. I would not want to meet every idiot, wandering stranger, townspeople, etc. that had nothing to do with the plot other than scenery. With the number of keys, sub-quests, etc. players do not need the hassle of listening to winos or doomsayers mumble nonsense that does not affect the game one way or the other.

I truly cannot understand all the negative reviews that have surfaced about this game. What is the benchmark of these negative voices? Let me compare some actual facts between ROMD and Neverwinter:

Storyline – ROMD has a far deeper storyline that stays true to the D&D legacy than Neverwinter. We come to Myth Drannor to destroy the Pools and restore the Mythal. This objective has all the simplicity and effectiveness of SWAT team objectives, and better yet – it makes sense.
In Neverwinter, who are the Old Ones? Nothing more than Lizardfolk spin-offs. If they wanted to save their skin, why couldn’t they just conquer another Plane rather than hibernating in a Stone? They have so many Planar gates in the Stone, why couldn’t they hop into any one of them?

Player Stats – In ROMD theoretically you have a maximum of 16 levels per character type, which means that if you wanted to you can cheat and become a level 96 character if you maxed all 6 character types. In Neverwinter, you theoretically can only reach 20 joint-levels.
What does this mean? It means that all the neat spells that make D&D unique are wasted, because even if you cheated, you would only be able to reach one level 16 and one level 4 character types.

Gameplay – ROMD is turn-based, but Neverwinter is “realtime-turnbased”. What does this mean? It means that “Mass” spells will not work as effectively because enemies will still move on your turn. Melee and Ranged attacks almost have no meaning because of this also.
In ROMD you can have up to 6 personnel in your team, Neverwinter lets you only have 2, including yourself. You can summon 1 Familiar and 1 other being [presuming you CAN spell], which puts the grand total to 4.
If I wanted to player single-player realtime, semi D&D, I would rather buy Morrowind – and I did! Neverwinter has its feet stuck between to worlds, which does not say a lot about it. Conviction either way is better than limbo.

Inventory – ROMD grand weapons are stronger [max enhancement +5] than Neverwinter [max enhancement +3], which also means that Neverwinter enemies are wimps in ROMD. *grin*
These weapons are found in dungeons and catacombs in ROMD, which makes sense because they are weapons of old, either buried with the dead or in their hands. In Neverwinter, you buy them at the market – if the storekeeper had these with him, why couldn’t he just hand them out to the dozens of mercenaries to save his town, business, and life from the Wailing Death?

The list goes on, but I‘m sure my point is made. I can only pity those who can’t see this rare gem as it is, both as a single-player game, and as a multi-player game with randomized dungeons. If this is the majority sentiment of game-players worldwide, I fear that this may be the last time I see a genuinely worthwhile D&D title.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/03, Updated 02/04/03