Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire

The Good
The upgraded graphics are gorgeous. They may not be next-gen, but for someone who has played the original EGA version, they are a welcome improvement. The cumbersome interface has been simplified, thanks to the new point and click interface. Combat is now more exciting thanks to the addition of critical hits. The game itself feels like a vacation simulator, most of the time you just wander the streets of Shapeir, train at the local Adventurer's Guild, wander the desert, eat and sleep for free at the Katta's Tail Inn and enjoy the fine entertainment it provides (dancing, poetry). The sounds and music are excellent.

The Bad
Not much to dislike. The pacing is a bit slow, so those seeking an action packed game should look elsewhere. The ending feels a bit unfinished, sometimes you just read a block of text describing your actions (small complaint).

The Bottom Line
The definitive version of a true classic. AGD must be congratulated for upgrading the graphics, sounds, music and control scheme, while leaving the great elements intact. A must own for fans of the original game.

The Good
It seems that the current favorite word thrown around by a lot of media executives is "remake". 9 times out of 10, the remake will just a mediocre mockery of what it once was.

This? This is one of the few instances where it was made BETTER.

Any additional review I can give on this would be more of a review of the original game than this product, so I'll only talk about the parts that I like that are new to the game.

• new content They added some new content to the game (and even some hidden ones) which actually helped round out the game, in my opinion.

• new combat engine the new combat engine is actually... wait for it... good. Not just good, REALLY good. The original combat engine in the game was nice, but ultimately produced a lot of options that felt unnecessary as a sidestep left or a sidestep right never really felt that it made a difference. As a result, your effective action choices in the old game was dodge, attack, and block. (Which was how it worked in the previous games) There is nothing intrinsically wrong with it, it just felt like it was somewhat of a wasted potential.

But what AGD did here, was take that model, and made it 5 times deeper. Heck, I would wager that you can probably make a pretty interesting online multiplayer fighting game out of this engine. Suddenly, each move has a true strength and weakness. There is a real rock-paper-scissor relationship between each move you make. Oh sure, the actual numbers on your character sheet do matter, but not nearly as much as it used to, making the fighting portions more about the strategic decisions you make instead of just the grind effort you put in previously.

The Bad
the problem with this game is the problem with the previous game - the pacing and the grind. (this, by the way, can be levied as a valid criticism of the franchise as a whole)

In both games, there are areas where you genuinely have to just sit around doing nothing, or run around in circles waiting for time to past. The addition of the "rest" button alleviates this somewhat.

The Bottom Line
An improved classic remake of an old Sierra style adventure RPG game mash up with Arabian Nights style fantasy elements.