Champions of Krynn is worth more than a look, that's for sure. The "Gold Box" series from SSI set a lot of standards, and while it is true that the Pool of Radiance series is a much longer series in terms of hours of play, this series picks up the pieces that Pool of Radiance and Forgotten Realms dropped.
First of all, if you are a true Krynn fan, this game is a must have. As a fan of the series of books, there was no better story line to grab my attention immediately as "Caramon has led a party of adventures to.
..” enough said, I was hooked.
The appearances of characters from the books will keep every Krynn fan moving along, that's for sure, but what about groundbreaking game play?
This was the first RPG I played that has a class specific quest. Taking a knight in your party through the side quest assigned to the party is definitely cool. For the old D&D gamer at heart, this was an ultimate element. The hardest thing for RPG video games to accomplish is the true "Role Playing" element. Going through this quest will allow you to truly get into the mind of the knight class, allowing you to answer a series of questions the way someone of the noble order would, and ensuring that you are playing your character the
way he/she is intended.
A lot of writers have complained about the introduction of the rule "If a player character is unconscious or dead at the end of the battle, he will not earn any experience points". While I agree, this was not an AD&D rule, it was a rule that was adopted by many a player sitting around tables late at night. After all, why should Tony the fighter get a share of my experience points? I fought and killed a dragon and survived to tell about it, why should some of my experience go to the guy that got knocked down by the dragon's first foul breath?
If I have one complaint, it lies with the series of games as a whole. During development of the series, the programmers decided to introduce the character class of Paladin. If there is one thing I loved about the gold box series of games, it was the ability to create six characters and carry them through three games worth of material. With the inability to create a Paladin in Champions of Krynn, it hinders that process.
That's a mild complaint, however, and this game is one of my favorites. It's worth a download, it's worth a play, and it’s worth your time. Best of luck, and "May Paladin is with you..."
