Strahd's Possession is shockingly faithful to the original Ravenloft module that was first printed back in 1983. It is a great RPG and I invite anyone to try it out.
I have finished and enjoyed this game. It's well-made and well-executed. The controls are fine, the music is lovely and the scenery can be stunning. The combat can be a little janky but otherwise, it does its job well. The story is good and there is a good twist in it. There are a few RPG elements in the story (where you decide certain dialogue decisions, or whether or not to bring in bounties alive or dead). But there is one big problem... The ending. I would compare this ending to KOTOR 2. It's not that it's a bad ending... It's non-existant. There is no sense of recompense, of satisfaction. I don't know if the devs didn't have enough time, ran out of money or were rushed to complete it, but the ending is terrible. It's so jarring, especially when compared to the slow, well-woven narrative that was displayed throughout the entire game. I don't know if the devs are planning on making a sequel, or a prequel, or what they have in store for this. There is great lore in this game and it would be very interesting to see this universe be expanded upon. But the ending of They Always Run is an abrupt stop to what was otherwise a great game. It's the only reason I removed one star from my rating, preventing this game from being a true classic. If you like Prince of Persia, Flashback and other 2D action platformers, considering getting this game.
There are hundreds of people who will write a deeper, better, more detailed review of these three games. I thank them for being able to put down into words the feelings and throughts I possess. The Eye of the Beholder series is the reason why I first started playing computer games as a child. Why I still play them now. Yes, these games are ugly and flawed. The graphics and music are of their time and have not aged well. Yes, it is tedious grindwork, trying to get through the mazes and endless corridors of the game. But these games... I have stuffed so many hours of my life in these games. I can't help but love them.
I've played this game for decades. I first played it when I was just a child, after finding this on cd-rom. I've played through it numerous times, and sadly, I can only come to one conclusion: This game is a waste of time and patience. After the first two maps, you find yourself doing the exact same thing over and over again. Invading minuscule territories filled with hundreds of fighters who will combat you to the death, leaving you with worthless wastelands that need years of TLC to return to their original worth. Your opponents always have tons of weapons at their disposal, and always (ALWAYS) find a way to attack you at the worst possible moment. They never fight one another in any meaningful sense, preferring to pass through neighbouring counties to attack YOU. Wolves, droughts, floods, famine, rats, and so many other "random" events hammer you season after season, softening you up for the eventual 1000-peasant bum-rush by the closest AI. I've tried to like this game, I've tried. Goodness knows I've tried. But I can't. The armies are worthless to control on the map unless you scale down the speed to a snail's pace, everyone gets to act MUCH quicker then you, forcing you to be constantly on the defensive. I'd like to say to buy this game. But unless you enjoy hours of frustrating gameplay, followed by miserably cheap AI who somehow always find all the resources they need in a snap, avoid this game.
I have just purchased this game as a duo with Settlers 2. I have tried it for a few hours now, and I simply cannot get past its glaring weaknesses and inherent flaws. First off, there are no rally points to any buildings. Meaning that you have to run around each building you possess to find your troops. Second off, there are no clear indicators on the map where your mines and buildings are, which can make it fustrating to always have to run around to figure out where your people are. Then, the fact that you have to research your barraks is laughable. Did these people acutally play a real-time-strategy game before doing this awful thing? The camera is atrocious. There is no zoom out, so you're stuck with looking down at your troops like you have a stiff neck. You can make it circle, but it comes back as soon as you release the button. The controls are correct, but nothing more. Combat is, in a word, disgusting. The computer can simply create any number of troops out of thin air, without any need for time or ressources. Meaning that it is not a fun challenge to fight the computer. It is a endurance match, where you have no satisfaction for your troubles save for another frustrating, repetivive area after this one. Any allies you happen to come across are imbeciles, unable to come and aid if you are inches away from their "target area". Every three minutes or so, the weather changes, making it even more difficult to pinpoint what your people are doing, and where they are. The ressources in each map are scattered around so thinly that you need to run across half the damn map just to find them. You waste so much time actually building up the city, only to finish its quest and having to start a new one immediately. There is no fun to have here. It's a pooly-made, badly put together game that tries to be a real-time-strategy game, but fails miserably. it is frustating to believe that this game is acutally good, only to see its glaring flaws further down the road. I want my money back.
