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Last week some guy from Norway posted a message begging for sympathy because apparently Norway is only one step ahead of Afghanistan and the Namibian desert in terms of software releases and he hadn't gotten Throne of Bhaal yet. One of the other guys on the board told him to dig out Bard's Tale and I jokingly added that surely he had a copy of Curse of the Azure Bonds or Secret of the Silver Blades lying around.

A discussion ensued about the ending of the saga, Pools of Darkness, which was entirely off the point of the post, the original purpose of which was to make us feel sorry for Norwegians.

This whole thing does have a purpose: Will Ruins of Myth Drannor change computer RPGs the way the original Pool of Radiance did?

I think I was 14 when Pool of Radiance came out and there were basically two other CRPG options: Bard's Tale and Ultima, both of which worked fine on the Apple IIe computers we had a school. Pool of Radiance blew me away. Not only was it state of the art (Intel 386, 4 MB RAM, 20 MB hard drive, 5.25" floppy drive), but it actually incorporated the AD&D rules! Plus it had a cool story, semi 3-D graphics, and was followed by three great expansion games. It wasn't just a run around and shoot things game.

I look back on it and think, "Man, did that look crappy!" but I also remember playing Pac-Man and Berserk on an Atari 2600 and thinking that the only thing cooler would be getting Valerie Tawcimack to make out with me between band and pre-algebra.

So is Ruins of Myth Drannor going to shake up the CRPG world like its namesake? What new inspiration will its creators bring? Who's game will reign supreme?

No.

Have you checked the previews? It looks to be a good CRPG, but not the earthshaker BG2 was.

I haven't heard much about Pool of Radiance for two reasons: 1) I've been too busy lately getting my butt kicked by Melissan to worry about some new game, and 2) a part of me doesn't want to read too much about it for fear of spoiling the excitement and newness. Of course, I tried that tack with Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace and couldn't believe what agony I put myself through for a disappointing movie.

That said, I am kind of wondering what new twist POR can put on D&D3 that hasn't already been covered in BG2 and couldn't be tweaked out of the Infinity engine. I know people keep describing it as "aging" but I rather like it. The interface is intuitive, it's relatively free of defects, and the game works well in the CRPG format.

So what are they doing to make POR better than BG2?

@HLD, I wouldn't look for a "new twist." The developers and PR folks are pretty defensive over the fact that it doesn't go quite as far as BG2 in offering non-linear gameplay or inter-party interactions. Otherwise, it's very much where BG2 is. That's still a pretty good place to be.

I'm more impressed with Arcanum, which I'm playing now, for review. It's graphics are lo-fi compared to BG2 (it uses the engine of Fallout and Fallout2), but it offers an enormous amount of character configuration, and the intriguing game concept of technology (mid-19th century to sci-fi) vs magic. I'm hoping Buck starts a category for this one.

[ 07-09-2001: Message edited by: fable ]

HLD,

Hey, that was ME that started with the Bard's Tales comments!!!

I am anxiously awaiting Pool II, as well as Arcanum and obviously Neverwinter nights. I have pretty much avoided reading anything about Pool other than the fact it will incorporate 3rd edition rules. I've seen a few screenshots, and it looks to a step up graphicaly from BG2.

I loved the Fallout series (even though I never finished either of them!) and Arcanum will probably prompt me to re-install both of the Fallout games and try and play through them all the way.

Sounds good, Buck. It would be neat if we could cover both, but I know how that goes.

Originally posted by HighLordDave:
<STRONG>So is Ruins of Myth Drannor going to shake up the CRPG world like its namesake? What new inspiration will its creators bring? Who's game will reign supreme?</STRONG>

I doubt it will rock my world, but I am always happy about a cool RPG with a good plot that keeps me entertained for a while.

From what I've heard, I'm pretty sure that it won't be anywhere near the game that BG2 was. For starters, I've read that there will be no mages. Yep, no mages. That pretty much makes it fall several notches right there, regardless of what else they may incorporate.

I was kinda excited about the game but after reading stuff about it at gamebanshee I'm not even buying it