Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
| Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor | |
|---|---|
 Cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Stormfront Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Mark Buchignani, Ken Eklund, Sarah W. Stocker |
| Composer(s) | David Beaupre |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows 95/98/ME) |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM |
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is a Forgotten Realms Dungeons and Dragons role-playing video game released in 2001 by Ubisoft.
Contents |
Gameplay [edit]
Ruins of Myth Drannor takes place from an isometric 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[2]
Plot [edit]
The story is set in the city of New Phlan.[1] 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.
Development [edit]
Producer Chuck Yager said the game was originally designed using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules, but was converted to 3rd edition partway through development.[1]
Critical reception [edit]
In the first two weeks it was released sales of the game vaulted it to number one after so much wait and anticipation;[3][4] however it had many returns and did not finish out the year in the top 10 of PC video games sales.[5] It received lackluster reviews and was plagued with bugs. One major bug would cause the player's system files to uninstall when the game itself was removed.[6] Other bugs included problems with installation, save game files, graphics, and gameplay.[2] Chris Chan of the New Straits Times complained that most of the game is spent "[engaged] with a lot of mindless battles and health and spell recuperation exercises."[1] Mark Meadows of The Wisconsin State Journal called the game "A half-finished adaptation of D&D's new 3rd Edition rules that was rushed out the door despite being over a year late."[2] GameSpy stated of the game, "If you see this game, walk away … really fast!"[7] Later patches fixed some of the stability issues.[1]
Adaptations [edit]
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, except in Europe. Despite the many criticisms of the game itself, opinions on the novel have generally been positive. The Collector's Edition version of the game contained a copy of the book, an original pen and paper module, an audio CD, and a bag of polyhedral dice.[8] The printed adventure was called Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Chan, Chris (April 22, 2002). "In battle against evil". New Straits Times. Retrieved November 9, 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Meadows, Mark (November 1, 2001). "Bugs, Design Flaws Sink 'Pool of Radiance'". The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin). Retrieved November 9, 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
- ^ Walker, Trey (October 10, 2001). "Pool of Radiance debuts at number one". GameSpot. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ Walker, Trey (October 17, 2001). "Pool of Radiance hangs on to number one". GameSpot. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ "NPD REPORTS ANNUAL 2001 U.S. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SALES SHATTER INDUSTRY RECORD".
- ^ Salminen, Carl (November 24, 2001). "Pool of Radiance". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 26, 2001. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
- ^ Rausch, Allen (2004-08-19). "A History of D&D Video Games - Part V". GameSpy. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
- ^ "Amazon.com:Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor".
External links [edit]
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