Any redeeming qualities to this game?

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I bought POR a few days ago, and haven't had the chance to play it but i've read a couple reviews. It seems this game is universally hated. Before I waste precious time on a bore-fest, is there anything worthwhile here?

 

I can`t really think of any good qualities in this game.

 

I love quoting myself, too. For example:

See?

 

looks like I dodged a bullet with this one, I bought it a couple of years ago, I wanted Icewind dale but the store didnt have it, when I got it home, there was nothing in the box, I took it back and was told they couldnt find it, so I walked out with Torment instead...

worked out well.

 

I didn't think it was that bad. I grew up with The Bard's Tale and the Gold Box games, and I don't see the "featureless, colorless dungeon" as being all that different. Still, I'd have expected more variety in the graphics from a more modern game.

I loved "the Bard's Tale" and its' sequel "The Destiny Knight", and I'd say that those games were even more featureless than Por2.
The main issue is that the dungeons aren't much more detailed than the original Pool of Radiance game, although the graphics are still much improved.

I'm probably one of the rare few that actually liked it, but I'll admit that it wasn't as good as other games out at the same time. My main complaints were the lack of ability to choose your own skills and feats, and the lack of documentation on which feats/skills would be automatically selected. If they aren't going to let you choose, they should show you what would be picked as the feats become essentially no different than class features.
Oh, also the combat against the grunts did tend to drag on and on, and made you wish there was a way to speed up the enemies' turns while still giving you all the time you wanted to act.
The bugs didn't hit me that badly after I fully patched the game. Maybe it just works better under Windows 98SE than under an NT-based OS like XP, Vista, or 7.

I also found the battle timer where you had a certain amount of time to act or lose your turn stupid and useless given that enemies are NEVER affected by this.

 

I am still miffed at the butchered Rogue class.

The type of game that would benefit from stealth and they don't even bother to add it.

 

What are The Bards Tale and Destiny Knight?

I've played this game once (with the speed mod, god they walk slow) and I had fun for an hour but wasn't entertained enough to try again.

 

An old school RPG series. Good stuff back then, though lacking by today's standards.

 

the full title was The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight.
They were games released in the late 1980s for multiple platforms. I played the Apple IIGS version of them, a re-release with improved graphics and sound, making it one of the best versions. The Apple IIe version had MUCH worse graphics and sound than the Apple IIGS version or even the MS-DOS version. I'd say the MS-DOS version is somewhere in between the IIe and the IIGS judging from the screenshots.

Those games are largely responsible for my lifelong addiction to RPGs. The Bard's Tale, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Final Fantasy Legend II for the Game Boy. Funny thing, I played CotAB and FFLII before playing their respective original games (Pool of Radiance and Final Fantasy Legend I). Mostly because they were gifts. Of course, if you like Bard's Tale, you should try the original Wizardry games. Grandaddy of all such games of that type. The Bard's Tale is very similar to Wizardry in gameplay. Although Wizardry is more primitive in every respect due to far more limited technology.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/appleii/564324-the-bards-tale-ii-the-destiny-knight
http://www.mobygames.com/game/bards-tale-ii-the-destiny-knight

http://www.mobygames.com/game/tales-of-the-unknown-volume-i-the-bards-tale
http://www.gamefaqs.com/appleii/564328-the-bards-tale

 

I rather enjoyed it.

It did have its flaws -- even after being fully patched, it still tended to lock up and random spots, necessitating frequent saves. Then there's the dungeon crawls -- you start out in this nice outdoor area, and you can see a wider world but not get to it. Then you have to go through a dungeon, which has four huge levels and takes forever to clear, before you get outside again. You break out to a wider outside area which is nice, but then you have to go into *yet another dungeon* pretty soon. That sucked!

Despite its warts, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It had good art in places, good music all around, and good ambiance. It was the first game I played that used surround sound for ambiance, and it was nice. The long stretches of boring monotony were occasionally broken by scenes that were actually rather beautiful -- and they seemed the more beautiful because of the prior monotony. I was sustained through the monotonous bits by my enjoyment of the tactical combat -- that's something you don't really get from other isometric RPGs. "Temple of Elemental Evil" had the same kind of dynamic, but it just didn't engage me the way POR:ROMD did.

 

You're doing it wrong.

Man, I could write a small book about why this is my fav CRPG, but I will spare you that tedium. (Yup. Brown is my fav color!)

Current Wrecking Crew:

Cleric/Fighter (Human)
Ranger/Rogue (Halfling))
Rogue/Sorcerer (Halfling)
Monk/Rogue (Human)
Sorcerer/Rogue (Jarial)
Fighter/yet-to-be-determined (Emmeric)

the Rogue's back-stab feat makes even the seemingly weakest & lightly armored of characters stunningly efficient killing machines

first few times thru the game were extremely difficult due to poor character builds & equipping ineptitude, but once you get that down, it's Hello Kitty Island 101

 

Why cleric/fighter instead of cleric/paladin?

 

cuz I aint that smart!

many character builds yet to try!