Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

"The Pool of Radiance isn't as pure as it was before."

Oh yeah! We've seen the first one and heck we loved it! After a couple of years hoping for a sequel of this jam-packed action/adventure RPG that combines a well written storyline with great twists and a music that'll be remembered. Awaiting for a new DnD stuffs here and all, well waiting's over here we've got a sequel. Okay, I should start blabbing and get on with the show.

I'll start with the things I found great around here. So let's talk about the graphics. Around the game everything is really 3D-ish back here which could be considered a good thing for some. The background has a couple of great moving environment and has a couple of sharp/very detailed drawings. Though I say you won't like some drawn people around here. Yeah they're cool in 3D and all but it reminds me of uh... threads of fate maybe? they look quite bulky and block like. Anyways, animations are pretty decent and has a few to little flaw back there though some broken pixels and some minor glitches that I caught.

Okay, after tha visuals let's tackle the audio. Okay you could say an orchastrated sounds but not too grand. Maybe here's another downer for the game. The audio isn't a great addition though at least it'll keep the room with a music enough to atleast give you the idea that you're already battling. The audio doesn't give much of what we've expected though at times it became a bit annoying and a little too repetetive. The basic points are there like the simple swishing and stuffs. Hacking or slashing do have their unique sound though it don't have any other sound for it the the usual 'thug' or 'tshook' sound. The game's sound lacks things like creating two sounds at once. The game stops and performs the newest sound when an action is taken.

Now, the most important thing. The Gameplay! Ubi and Bethesda has done some great and bad things here. To start with is the less character restriction/class here. That'll bore a couple of gamers simply not having a class in this kind of game. This could score a 50 50 since some would say that this completely makes the game basic and gives you the chance to completely customize you character. Another is the abilities/stats. All has a set number (8 actually) with some stats boosted through the race bonus. Meaning you can't make up a purely strenght dependant character or a full-pledged mage. Anyway anothing thing that I found is that the game contains no Gnomes, Bards, or Druids. Okay here's a little quickie: The game has some feats similar to the likes of NWN this simply gives the characters special bonus at a certain point. The Class system has a stat that increases when you gain a level. The A.I. here is average and could be bad(bad meaning mean).

Okay, though you could have feats you couldn't choose them so less character customization here. Also, you couldn't put points on a stat. The game functions/levels up like some RPG basing the stat gained from race/class. The game could be good but it tends to be repetitive and fairly in a slow pace. Another is like some past Diablo like games where the dungeons takes like an hour to beat. Yeah! that long and the bad part around here is that the dungeons completely look alike around here. And lastly the new menu system isn't the best and has a few flaws.

I recommend this to those who could squeeze in a long game in their scheds or take on the game simply to uncover the game's story which I say isn't very good. Well, I may look that I hate the game but don't take it too seriously. The game has some good points though the bad points have covered them(Hehey! I haven't even shared how it'll do your system bad once you've installed it in a customized directory). Well that's it! You gotta try the game than base it from a review. There are a billion people in the world and each of them could have a completely different ways/ideas about things. I say try the game first.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/03, Updated 02/25/03