Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pools of Radiance

1989 KevätAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons is presumably the most eagerly awaited new role-playing release of the year. Thank God the project is in the hands of SSI, who usually keep their promises.

The package, at least, is stylish and holds a nice amount of stuff. There is, of course, the obligatory rulebook, the Adventurer's Journal with hints, information and tables for this module, a flimsy machine-specific instruction leaflet and a translation table for turning the runes into English. The disks are in there too, four of them, making eight disk sides in all.

First off, you put together a party of adventurers. A six-strong band is the maximum, which still leaves room for two Non-Player Characters.

Character creation, at least, is thorough. First you pick race and sex, roll the stats, choose a class and an alignment, and give a name. And then you also pick a portrait to represent the hero and tweak the sprite to your own taste. Afterwards you can still adjust the hero's stats to match your own AD&D character. Base cheats will of course max out every stat at this point.

And then we're off. The screen switches to the 3D mode familiar from the Bard's Tales. First there's a guided sightseeing tour of the main attractions of the city of Phal, after which the party is on its own. Like proper tourists, you first rush off to buy souvenirs such as armour, swords and bows. Then it's straight to the town hall to check whether there's any suitable job on offer.

Before you know it, you're busy clearing the city's slums of monsters. The monsters appear in the distance first (if you're lucky) and then things move to close quarters. The tactical combat takes place in a Gauntletian setting, and combat turns are handed out according to each character's initiative.

Combat flows very smoothly and is considerably more rewarding than in many other role-playing games. Heroes who've been hacked down don't die straight away but can be saved with some quick first aid. As tradition dictates, a dead hero can be brought back to life, but it isn't entirely automatic. A champion who has been utterly obliterated by a dragon, for example, is guaranteed not to bounce back up again.

Once the orc horde has been put to the sword, the dividing up of the dearly departed's estate begins. What is exceptionally positive is that when a band of ten leather-armoured, short-sword-wielding orcs have kicked the bucket, you really do get to collect ten suits of armour and ten swords. After a fight the weary heroes pitch camp, the members of the magic profession study their spells and the others daydream about a trip to the countryside. Out there you get to admire Ultima-style graphics. The 3D graphics are bare, but on the plus side the buildings have their own individual features. The combat graphics are simple too, but they do the job. AD&D earns a special plus for the option of switching the heroes over to fight under computer control, which lightens the burden of endless orc-slaughter.

The world of Pools of Radiance feels thoroughly workable and realistic. You can hire NPC muscle for dangerous expeditions, there are brawls in the taverns and whatnot. Eight disk sides promise more than enough to do. The menu system could have been better, and the disk spins like nothing you've ever seen. Even so, disk swapping is pretty rare, which testifies to careful design.

AD&D isn't quite in the class of Ultima V and Dungeonmaster. Even so, it is insanely good and definitely belongs among the elite of role-playing games, leaving behind even such institutions as the Bard's Tales and the Phantasies. The matter ought to be reasonably clear: AD&D won't entertain anyone sitting on the shop shelf.