Return to Krondor is set in a rich gameworld that makes use of courtly intrigue, thieves guilds, gritty and unusually detailed presentations of cities and interesting characters. The game is based off a series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist. You play James a squire at the court of Prince Aruthia. James is a former member of the "Mockers", which is a thieves guild in Krondor. You immediately get a sense that the character has a long history, which needn't come into the present story to exist. The game benefits from excellent voice-acting, and the other members of your party have in-depth backgrounds as well. The backgrounds are sketched out as you play the games and the world was so intriguing that I eventually read one of Feist's novels. The gameplay is quite entertaining, with a lot of replayability. Particularly in the first chapters, you can wander the city and get into battles which consistently produce random loot. There is a lot of incentive to build up your characters and search for the best items, which seem to never turn out the same from game to game. Some games I have found extraordinarily good and interesting magical equipment (all equipment has descriptions), and other times I've found more mundane and completely different equipment. Another benefit are scripted encounters which you will run into while you are exploring. For instance, two thieves jump out and engage you in some witty banter, in which some backstory about James is revealed, before you go into combat on the streets at night. The random encounters are often Chapter specific (chapters being the way the game is divided), so you will miss some and catch them again on another play through. The graphics have not aged all that well, being flat and clunky. However the camera angle, which is individually placed in every presentation, turns an interesting and unique storytelling perspective to each place you are in. Another neat feature is the narrator descriptions of things going on "off-screen" at the end of each Chapter. For a good part of the game, your party is divided into two groups. You play each group sequentially and the places you are at in the country eventually converge, tying more than one plotline together. The narration, voice-acting and plot goals present a sense of urgency and purpose when you are moving through the story, but the game does not punish you for taking your time and really enjoying the section you are currently in. Return to Krondor is an excellent RPG. A different, but very well done, complement to its predecessor Betrayal at Krondor. I highly recommend it.
