Dungeon Master 2 (Second Review)

Title		Dungeon Master 2 (Second Review)
Game Type	RPG
Company		Interplay
Compatibility	AGA only
Players		1
HD Installable  Yes (HD only)
Submission	Chris Sterne (chris_sterne@panam.wimsey.com)

Review
Dungeon Master II is the sequel to the original Dungeon Master game released
in 1986.  Although I have not played the original one (I recently obtained
a copy, but have been unable to get it to run on my system), the screen
shot on the box of the original is very similar to that of the sequel
version.

 In Dungeon Master II, your goal is to seek out the Zo Link machine, which
controls a portal between peace for your land of Zalk and domination by
the evil Dragoth.  You may select from one to three other champions to
assist you in this quest.

The main game playing level measures about 10,000 square units, with
several smaller areas above and below the main level.  Players move
through the area one square at a time, and are presented with a
first-person 3-D view from the current square.  This view is also where
various elements (levers, objects, etc.) may be manipulated.  There is a
nice variety to the surroundings, which consist of forests, hedge-lined
paths, marshes, stone dungeons, earthen caves, etc.  Rain and
thunderstorms may occur outdoors, with occasional lightning ground-strikes
during very severe storms.  Actually, I thought it rained too much.  Those
players interested in mapping the game area will be pleased to know that
all barriers are one square in size, and pits in a floor line up with
holes in the ceiling on the level below.  Several tools are available to
assist mapping.  The game may be saved at any time, in ten different
positions.

A wide variety of creatures, each with their own characteristics, roam the
playing area.  Some burrow under the soil, some walk, while others fly.
Some may not attack unless provoked, while others always attack.  Those
with some intelligence will try to avoid thrown weapons or cast spells.  A
battle is not always necessary if you can run.  The most annoying creature
I encountered was a hovering yellow Attack Minion.  It would seem to
appear from nowhere (althought it came along a valid path), and then
inflict heavy damage with its lightning bolts.  Personally, I prefer to
explore and map such games in a relaxed manner, finding a battle more of
an irritation than a challenge.

Weapons and magic spells are important to help you in your quest.  These
may be found scattered around the playing area, or purchased from several
specialty shops.  I thought the animation done by the shopkeeper during
purchasing, bargaining, or selling was imaginative.  Spells are formed by
selecting a sequence of symbols, but the multi-step spell-casting
interface can be awkward during a battle.

Maintaining the well-being of your party members is also important.  Food
and water are occasionally necessary, but I did not find it much of a
hinderence. After a battle, members may need to be healed or cured from
poison. Walking into an obstruction will cause injury, meaning that
walking into a wall to see if it is really an illusion is not the best
solution.

The following are a few observed anomalies or bugs:

 - I did not experience any system crashes while playing the game, but did
   experience one or two times when the game seemed to freeze.
 - During some battles, it took about a second to respond to an action
   request, although this was rare.
 - When returning to Workbench after exiting the game, the mouse pointer
   would be corrupted until clicking on the Workbench screen.
 - The "Music Off" option could not be saved, even though the state of its
   corresponding control button could be saved.
 - If a member was being repositioned at the moment the entire party was
   killed, the arrow pointer image becomes stuck with the wrong image.

I found Dungeon Master II to be quite satisfying in terms of its playing
area size, variety of surroundings, creatures, and attention to realism
details. It is a step up from the "Eye of the Beholder" pure
dungeon-centric games.

Alphabetical list.