Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon is the sequel to Eye of the Beholder and the precursor to Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor. It is, in many people’s opinions, the best of the trilogy, offering great role playing game action for a game released in the early nineties. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), which accounts for some of its excellent game play. It features the first person perspective and runs from an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons engine.
The story of Darkmoon begins when the heroes of Waterdeep are relaxing at an inn. Khelben Blackstaff contacts the party with a note stating that strange things are happening at the temple of Darkmoon. His scout, Amber, an elfin mage and thief, was sent to destroy the evil temple, but she never returned from her quest. There are shallow graves in the Waterdeep woods around the temple, and each of them contains human remains. Khelben magically whisks the party to the woods near the temple, assigning them to infiltrate the temple’s towers and determine the source of these evil happenings. Dran Draggore, a dragon disguised as a human, seems to be behind the mad plots. Storm the tower, kill the clerics and beholders, and put
an end to the reign of terror.
The party consists of four players. At the onset of the game, the user is presented with several choices. He can import players from a previous game, which is fun if you developed an attachment to one. It can also give the user the jump on some of the powerful early enemies, since heroes will come equipped with better items and higher attributes. He can also start with a predefined party, or he can custom create his own. These four people will be the basis of the party, but there is room for a total six adventurers, so friendly characters can also be recruited to join the team along the way.
Play is done in standard RPG fashion. Heroes gain points by defeating monsters, solving puzzles and avoiding traps. Spells must be learned through prayer or memorization, so it is important to rest often so the magic users can increase their offensive and defensive value to the team. The interface is very simple to master, and the graphics and sound are both decent. Eye of the Beholder II, however, is much larger than its predecessor and is going to require a much greater investment of time. It is also more difficult in terms of the puzzles and strength of the enemies. In short, it is a great sequel, and is probably the best title in the series. It is a great download for RPGamers or fans of SSI’s AD&D formats.
