Baldur's Gate was impressive, but now MINSC LEADS! SWORDS FOR EVERYONE!! Only half-jokingly referred to as the 'Best RTS of the year' by some reviewers, this foray into the Forgotten realms goes easy on the actual role-playing and simply places your party into seemingly impossible combat situations and watches as you desperately fight your way out of them; only to find yourself engaged in yet another desperate battle. There are RPG elements, and there is a story. Other reviewers have pointed out that the story is fairly typical High-Fantasy fare, but for what it is it's competently told, and the narrator is at least a better voice talent than the bored-seeming narrator we got in Baldur's Gate. The expansion pack 'Heart of Winter' has a decent story, though, at least to this reviewer. However, the game is linear. Apart form the choice between Being Good or Evil (Evil basically just makes the game harder, at least it did for me!) you don't really have a lot of choice as to how the story plays out. The story takes place in Icewind Dale, appoximately 100 years before Drizzt Do'Urden came to the surface, I mention Drizzt (the hero of R.A. Salvarore's fantasy novels.) as the adventure was inspired by Salvatore and you will meet a character from the novel Crystal Shard. So fans of Salvatore might want to give this a look. ANYWAY, your party has travelled to the 'Ten Towns' of Icewind Dale for no adequately explained reason and as you agree to escort a merchant caravan you get ambused by the plot and must fight for your very lives! Actually, on reflection this all does sound a bit basic, but I liked it. You even all meet at the Inn! As well as a lot of stuff mentioned in R.A. Salvatore's novels, there are also shout-outs to Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment hidden around the game. So, why the 4-star rating? Because if you're a fan of pseudo turn based combat this game delivers! Oh how it delivers! You may choose a party of up to six adventurers with varying abilities. Most players will probably elect to take a balanced party and even here there is a lot of choice but the game is still beatable with a more esoteric party. (Try taking only 3 characters and multi or even dual-classing them for a 'hardcore' challenge! I dare you!) It will likely take you more than one playthrough to find the 'perfect' party. The game relies on micro managing your 'party' to explore and not be killed by traps, interact with NPC's to gain quests, shop and receive rewards and, of course, defeat monsters. This all sounds a bit overwhelming, but the 'tactical pause' which enables you to issue orders and use abilities while the game is paused (the actions take effect once you unpause) make this far easier than it sounds. Like Baldur's Gate this game uses the 2nd Edition D&D ruleset, and fans of that venerable game will probably have an advantage in knowing what classes work and what don't - but don't let that stop you non-D&D fans, as the game does explain itself. Take some time to read the manual and the little text boxes when you're creating your characters, and you will be just fine. The game also uses classic D&D monsters, with their own, unique ways of messing you up. Although early monsters will simply 'zerg-rush' you, later monsters will use magic, stealth and powerful magic items of their own! Beware! This makes for a nice variety and you can at least rest assured that for all the battles and carnage this game throws at you, it seldom gets repetitive. Loot drops are fairly frequent and are 'semi-randomised' meaning that once an area is loaded the loot is 'fixed' between a couple of options. This was designed to add re-playability. Most of the loot is always available, but occasionally you will maybe notice you get a magic ring instead of a dagger in one or two chests, for example. Your party can gain a much higher level than is available in Baldur's Gate, and some of the loot and spells are quite powerful indeed! Well, I believe I've said all I can. Final Verdict: Fans of D&D new and old should go check this out. RPG fans should know what you're getting into. If a more tactical and cerebral version of Diablo or Sacred appeals to you then give this game a look. if you're looking for epic story and rich characters over action - then you are probably advised to try Baldur's gate or the much-celebrated Planescape: Torment.
Then Stonekeep is the game for you! A first person western RPG in a very similar style to Eye of the Beholder II, Stonekeep has you taking the role of Drake, a young man returning to his destroyed home after a 10-year exile. As Drake you must travel deep underground to retrieve the essences of 12 Gods to defeat the Dark Lord; Khuul-Kuum. Stonekeep plays in 1st person, in real time. However, unlike Doom and it's ilk, you move a set distance (a single map square) every time you push 'forward'. Due to this, the game has a slow pace, and maneuvering in combat can be tricky if you don't want to be hit. The screen 'spins' when you turn, so an enemy or chest in front of you will *always* be in front of you if you occupy the same map 'square'. This can be frustrating when trying to escape a bad situation! It does make some combats quite tense and exciting, though. Like most RPG's there is a wide variety of weapons and armour to experiment with, from staves to swords to arcane wands. Also, you can throw many items, rocks, daggers, axes, even molotov cocktails. Interestingly, you don't 'level up' in Stonekeep. Instead, your skills with various weapons increase depending on how often you use them. With your main 3 attributes 'Strength, Agility and Health' increasing depending on how often you get hit, how much you move about, etc. I found this a simple and intuitive way of 'levelling'. This means you don't have to waste any brain cells thinking about your character build. Combat is simply point at bad guy and click to swing. (Right click for right hand, left click for left hand) Weapons take time before you can swing 'em again, and baddies do have vulnerable spots. Combat is pretty fun, to be honest. Simple and fun. Due to a Mystic Scroll which changes items into simple pictures you can carry an infinite amount of items in Stonekeep. Inventory management is a list, with each item being represented by it's picture. I would have preferred being able to 'group' items based on type (Weapons go here, etc.) but that's because I'm an OCD nut. You can use page up, down and the home end buttons to quickly traverse your inventory. You will be pressing those a lot, by the way. Being able to carry many items means you will have a BIG inventory in no time. Luckily, the game pauses for you when you bring up your inventory screen, so you can take time to scan which particular item to use during combat. Watch out, because your enemies will be throwing stuff and using healing potions, too! The game does provide some inventory management items, such as a key ring so all your keys can 'become' one item, an a quiver for arrows, a bag for throwing stones, etc. So your inventory shouldn't give you much of a headache. One thing I really liked was the interactive journal. I catalogues Drake's stats and items, as well as maps. You can edit most entries, (For example, when you figure out that the green potion gives you a strength bonus, you can change it's item description to reflect that.) which is nice. Like Eye of the Beholder II you are given very little story at first (unless you read the background novella which shipped with the original boxed game) but your story builds as you discover scrolls and notes and interact with NPC's. Is the story any good? Well... I never did finish the game, but it seemed OK. A few different factions inhabit the ruins of Stonekeep. It is fairly standard High-Fantasy fare, though. Like Baldur's Gate you can have a variety of NPC's join your party to fight by your side. These NPC's are encountered at various points in the dungeon. You get to micro-manage their carried items, too. These NPC's have their own personalities and will talk to Drake often. Some NPC's won't adventure with others, so be careful! (The Elf and Dwarf character won't travel together, for example) The graphics were great for their time. Real actors rotoscoped for the most part. The voice acting is very cheesy, but to be honest, not *too* bad as to be a distraction. The levels can look very 'samey', after a time. You'll be referring to your map to get your bearings often! Ok, I have rambled on FAR too long, but if you were a fan of the Eye of the Beholder game series or even the Lands of Lore series, I'd say give this a go. You'll have a blast!
