It's hard to believe that a single game could turn a generation of gamers over into the revolutionary Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragons. The unqiue freedom and flexibility in a computer game was something new that appealed to many gamers. Pools of Darkness was the fourth game to be released as part of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box games, and arguably one of the greatest classic games to ever be released.
Character creation in the D&D game is normally a long, complex, not to mention tiring process.
However, PoD have created a system that is so straight-forward that even I as an 8 year old could create a set of characters that would make any Giant shrink in fear.
Once you have created your party of 6 heroes, you are ready to start adventuring. Now all that's missing is an adventure... And what an adventure awaits for you! Originally your party begins in a small town called Phlan. Upon eventually leaving Phlan, one of the Gods, Bane (one of those totally evil and nasty gods) claims leadership over the realm with four of his underlings. Before you know it, entire towns and cities are being wiped off the face of the realm! It is up to you to save
the realm by destroying all four of Bane's underlings! (You could leave it for another party to clean up the mess, but this would lead to a very boring, not to mention short gaming experience!)
All four underlings reside in different dimensions or realms, which makes it near impossible for you to hack and slash at them. Though luck is on your side, as they can one by one be reached through magic portals known as Pools of Darkness (do you get the connection now??). And just for those who feel they should offer mercy to these underlings (after all, I’m sure it wasn't as if they had a choice to become evil... No, that was the game developer's fault!), think again! As each possess an item of great power that you require to restore the realm.
The content of this game is massive. Really, I mean you have an entire realm to explore if you so wish. Even after you have finally finished the game (if you finish it - yes, it's that colossal) you have the option to go through one final dungeon known as "Dave's Challenge" (thank god we're in the 21st century where game designers have become a lot more creative... I think).
PoD was by far graphically better than any other of the Gold Box games released, using the full VGA 256 colour system, rather than the more basic 16-colour system. Possible one of the major visual appeals to fans of the game is the font style. Simple yet stylish and very easy to read.
Combat is basic, yet for the experienced gamer there is plenty of room for strategic encounters. But no matter how one does it, we are all striving for that one sentence: "Congratulations, your party gains experience."
Overall, PoD was a defining game for other classic D&D games that were released towards the end of the 90's. I do not believe we would have experienced games such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale or Morrowind if it weren't for Pools of Darkness. If you are fan of D&D or are just passionate about RPG games, then you would be fool to miss out on experiencing this classic.
