Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

When I first heard about this game I could hardly contain my excitement. After all I was a BIG fan of the old SSI 'gold box' - some of which I still play to this day! As time went on, however, I became more and more disillusioned as it became evident that the game was not going to be everything the developers had hoped (mainly due to extremely tight deadlines). It was thus with some trepidation that I bought this title.
First off let me say that the game is not on a par with the Baldur's Gate series and certainly not in the same league as Planescape: Torment - and if these are your sole experience of the CRPG then this title will almost certainly disappoint.
Having now spent several hours playing the game I can see many similarities between it and the old gold box titles - all that has changed are the graphics and the ruleset!
The game is supposed to be using the D&D 3rd edition rules but in fact the rules used are much simplified from the pen & paper version which also makes this game an extremely good introduction to the genre for novice role-players (more hardened players may well get frustrated).
Anyhow, despite the fact that there are many other better rpg's available for the PC I cannot help but like this game. It takes me back to my school days when I would feel compelled to stay up to the small hours of the morning just to finish clearing the dungeon level I was stuck on!
Just two words of caution however - 1) combat is SLOW and there is a lot of it and 2) The choices of race and class are quite limited which along with the linear nature of the storyline does not leave much scope for replayability.
Overall, a solid basic rpg but with some annoying flaws.

Proudly emblazoned on the front of the box is 'The first ever game to use the new D&D Rules'! While it's true that it does use the 3rd Edition ruleset, what it doesn't say is that this game was initially 2nd Edition and was converted. As the engine was not intended for 3rd Edition gameplay, some compromises had to be made, and these include the inability to choose your own feats and skills (special combat abilities and non-combat proficiencies, respectively). You may well disagree with their default choices. In addition, Attacks of Opportunity are occasionally spurious, and some classes and races are missed out (such as Wizard - you only get Sorcerer - as well as Gnomes).

The interface is generally adequate, but falls flat in the turn-based combat when casting a simple spell involves right-clicking in the right place, sliding off a menu option, finding a spell level and again sliding off and clicking the spell you want. That's not to mention targeting. What's more, if you make a mistake (like sending your sorcerer to the front lines), there's no way to undo it.

It's not all negative. The graphics, while not exceptional, are good, especially spell effects, which all seem to be unique. Sound is okay, in the sense that there are clinks of armour as you run and grunts when you hit creatures, but the background music is dreary and repetitive. There's also little voice-acting, and no interaction between party members.

Nevertheless, this game with its turn-based combat plays very much like the pen and paper version of Dungeons and Dragons. This differs from Baldur's Gate 2, which plays more like a computer game - but the fact is, the latter is slicker and faster, and generally works much better as it doesn't require such micromanagement. There are no PC scripts in PoR.

The game generally consists of dungeon-crawling. Certainly, the levels are huge, and there are lots of them, strewn with more magical treasures than you know what to do with. It doesn't have much of a sense of a story unfolding, though - you get a certain objective, spend hours and hours persuing it, and then get sent off on another similar mission. Being set in the long-dead Myth Drannor, most of the enemies are undead, and although half of them are skeletons or zombies, at least there's a bit of variety in the different levels of experience these creatures have achieved, making a Skeleton Lord a challenge when you first meet one, but Skeletons pushovers from a short way through the game.

So, should you buy it? If you're willing to work through its faults of repetitive and slow gameplay, reduced implementation of D&D rules and frustrating interface, there's a vast game to play there - 100 hours of gameplay is claimed. But don't buy it expecting it to be Baldur's Gate - there's almost zero story and a totally different play style in Pool of Radiance.

Pool of Radiance is a mediocre RPG, especially when compared to the Baldur's Gate series. It's not excellent, it's not unplayable, but make sure there's not another RPG you might prefer if you're considering Pool of Radiance.

I like RPG's. I like D&D. I liked the old silver and gold box SSI games. I like turn based combat. This game seems to have been made for me and in a lot of ways that is why I am so disappointed.
The game is painfully slow on a fair machine (P600), the interface is annoying with far too much micro management (I want to use my wand. I have to put the wand in my hand. I then wish to use the wand. About '6 clicks' in total. Sounds fine until you have done it 50 times). The dungeon graphics are repetetive and dull. Combat takes ages as the huge number of creatures slowly shuffle towards you. Your thief cannot scout or open locks without the rest of the party standing next to him/her. Many of the rules do not seem to work (attack of opportunity anyone?) Many features seem random and rushed (lots of tables and boxes. Which you can smash. No other use really). Few of the quests seem targetted, you end up wandering each level slowly killing everything with little or no feeling of accomplishment.
I don't mind that they haven't implemented some of the female scripts for races or all the 3ed feats. It is not what that it missed that worries me. It is the awful way things have been implemented that annoys.
My overall impression was that the game was rushed out and hurried to retail, and the problems with the engine were so inherent and ingrained that they came to the decision that without starting again they could not make this game better. I put about 30/40 hours into it and then just had to give up, it is that bad. Try BG or BG2. Try Planescape. Try the original Krondor game. Read. Just steer clear of this dog.