Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
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| Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor | |
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| Developer(s) | Stormfront Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Mark Buchignani, Ken Eklund, Sarah W. Stocker |
| Release date(s) | September 27, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Computer RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows 95/98/ME) |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | PIII, 500MHz, 128MB of RAM, 16MB D3D video card, broadband internet, DirectX 8.0a |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse |
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is a Forgotten Realms Dungeons and Dragons computer role playing game released in 2001 by Ubisoft. It is the sequel to the 1980's gold box game Pool of Radiance.
Ruins of Myth Drannor is based on the AD&D module of the same name, but with rules updated for the third edition of AD&D.
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[edit] Gameplay
Ruins of Myth Drannor takes place from a top-down third-person perspective, similar to the Baldur's Gate series. Unlike Baldur's Gate and other Infinity Engine games, Ruins of Myth Drannor features turn-based combat rather than real-time combat. The game uses three-dimensional characters over pre-rendered two-dimensional backgrounds.
The game is a dungeon crawl, with focus on hack and slash combat and exploration of large dungeons with many bare, similar-looking rooms. Story progression and interaction with other characters is a minimum part of the game, although there is some interaction with NPCs and other in-game characters.
[edit] Reception
Sales for the game were initially low as it received lackluster reviews and was plagued with bugs, especially in the multiplayer part. The situation was so bad that uninstalling the unpatched game could wipe the user's system files. The main complaint about the game was that it was boring: as the AD&D module it was based on is intended for a large player group. This, in combination with the initial lack of multiplayer support, is understandable. And add to this some infinite and confusing dungeons, and an only one gamestyle — hack'n slash — to make this title a boring and repetitive one. Later patches fixed some of the stability issues, but by this time stronger competition such as Bioware's Neverwinter Nights had been released.
[edit] Criticism
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor was criticized for a number of bugs, such as a very serious issue in the unpatched version that would delete the Windows's System Folder if the game was uninstalled.
Besides a number of bugs, players complained that the story was too slow and the game itself was too huge, and the lack of true character development (feats and skills were handled by the game itself), prevented anyone from specializing characters. Early battles were sometimes too difficult and too time consuming, and the hack-and-slash theme was very repetitive. Worse, the sheer slowness also meant it was very easy to forget where important keys, people, and items were (though you could leave markers on the map).
A number of editors were released to allow players to enhance their party so they could complete the game.
UbiSoft has stated that they will not be releasing further patches for the game.
[edit] Story
A dracolich and his sorcerous queen have seized control of the Mythal, the ancient magic that once protected the long abandoned elven city of Myth Drannor. Once the elven ruin is completely in their thrall, the cult intends to expand its domination one city — and one soul — at a time.
Four heroes are sent to Myth Drannor by Elminster to stop the dracolich and the sorcerer queen from using the power of the Mythal to conquer Faerûn. They must travel to all areas of Myth Drannor, from the dungeons below the city, to the city itself, the catacombs beneath the city, et al, in an attempt to stop the evil from taking over the region.
[edit] Novelization
A novel based on the game, written by Carrie Bebris, was published by Wizards of the Coast and also included with the collector's edition of the game. Despite the many criticisms of the game itself, opinions on the novel have generally been positive.
