DESCRIPTION

Atari's first console game based on the Dungeons & Dragons license offers four-player simultaneous combat against a bestiary of creatures from the third edition of the tabletop role-playing game's Monster Manual. The hack-and-slash action is played from an overhead perspective similar to the view in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Four character classes are available, including fighter, wizard, cleric, and rogue, each assigned a specific race and gender. Experience gained from defeating monsters and completing quests will help develop a character's skills, traits, and latent spell-casting abilities as documented in the Player's Handbook.

Also similar to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is the real-time combat with an emphasis on cooperation between characters. In addition to casting spells, over 40 combat moves can be initiated, many of which are class specific. Featured monsters include hobgoblins, trolls, drow, mind flayers, yuan-ti, fire giants, ice golems, liches, gargoyles, and more. In true Dungeons & Dragons fashion, players will be able to upgrade their weapons and magic items, such as rings and necklaces, as they journey through trap-filled castles, dank caves, arctic wastelands, and other locales making up the realm. Brenda Braithwaite, whose previous credits include Wizardry 8, serves as the game's lead designer. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide