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A fun blast from the past

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 23 / 24
Date: December 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First off I am new to the GBA and have been a PC gamer for 20 years. I played the original EOB on the PC so I can't help but compare it a bit.

The game plays very well and offers a good amount of 3rd edition D&D rules, but it assumes you already know and understand those rules so be ready.

The graphics are pretty much like the original, which is nice. I like the fact that they decided to go for the isometric view for battles, it works much better on a tactical level. The sounds are nice too.

There are only a few monsters that you fight but the battles are fun. The puzzles aren't so hard that you can't figure them out with some effort.

All in all I very much enjoyed this game. I only have two complaints. One is that is is too short. Now since I'm new to the GBA maybe this is par, but it only took me about 14 hours to finish the game. That doesn't bother me too much since I think it will be fun to play through again with a different party. My other complaint is a major bug that I experienced. At some point about half way through my two front characters all of the sudden had Armor Classes of over 100. This is not possible with the armor and magic items in the game yet no matter what I did I couldn't get the ACs to go back to what they should be. This made the game too easy because basically those two characters could never be hit by any monster. This is a pretty glaring bug that should have been found in development.

So.... my recommendation is that if you like D&D and you know the rules.... and you want a nice little dungeon romp.... this is a great game to get. If you're not too keen on D&D you may want to think hard about whether or not you're going to buy it.

Too short for the money I paid

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: December 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I originally played Eye of the Beholder for the SNES and never got too far in it. This gameboy advance version was almost identical to that game with the exception that when battles were engaged you were switched to an 3d overhead view. I went through this game over the weekend and was disappointed in how short it seemed. Total play time from start to finish was about 7 hours. Eye of the Beholder had a total of 10 or 11 levels. With a party of 6 adventurers I still had about two characters reach level 10 experience.
At some point one of my characters had an AC of 145 after he acheived the 6th level. Even though I was wearing lots of magical items the cumulative AC should only have been about a 29 or 30. What I disliked the most was that no experience or treasure was awarded after I beat the final level. The game quickly ends and the credits roll. I got jipped. This was the first game I bought for the GameBoy Advance and I only wish it could have been longer.

Fun, but way too short for the money!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I just beat this game and it only took me about 6 or 7 hours to complete. I have played previous versions of Eye of the Beholder on PC , Super Nintendo and Sega CD platforms, and although the GBA version is a completely new game, most of the types of puzzles and traps are very similar, which probably allowed me to beat the game a little more quickly than people whom have never played any version of EotB. Even so, I can't imagine anyone taking more than 8-10 hours to complete it, and once you beat this game you will have pretty much seen all there is to see and probably have no desire to play through it again. Not to mention the graphics and sound are way below the Gameboy Advance capabilities, and are not much better than the original EotB game that came out for the PC over a dozen years ago. Plus a really poor ending is like a final slap in the face. So for it's price tag I cannot recommend buying this game as it is way too short, and has little replay value. I will admit I enjoyed the game, as it is moderatly challenging and fun, but it was over way too soon, and it's poor graphics and sound keep it from being a serious contender in todays RPG market. If you can rent this game, I recommend doing so, as it will be fun for at least a weekend.

Lousy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Clunky. Horrible graphics and sound. And it was not fun. I've played a lot of RPG's and this one was a royal stinker. It didn't even try to use all of the GBA's abilities. And the battle system was a nightmare. If you're looking for a good RPG pass this one. There are much better games out there.

Rating depends on the price, 4 stars for 5 dollar

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am currently playing this game on gba. I know the original version (on amiga and pc), and based on the reviews here on amazon, people said it had a map and isometric battle; i decided to give it a try ( i paid $25 for it).

(1) there are minor bugs in the map system such as it went up-side-down (!) a few times (no i was not drunk, it WAS upside down) the cursor goes astray. Not a show stopper though.

(2) the essential game killer here is this: you can rest after EVERY combat, with no food / drink problems (in contrast to the 2nd edition version) so your party will always be maximally prepared (you can always save so you do this after each battle) with all the spells prepared, and you will NOT EVER be disturbed in your sleep - the bad guys simply wait for you to be slaugthered, giving indeed the game the very short life span of 8 hours.

(3) apart from level 1, the maps are very different (you can look it up via a simple internet search, it won't spoil the game) compare the original eotb maps with those of the gba also published; gba maps are too simple.

(4) the story line is weaker than that of the original: the teleportation puzzle of the dwarven/stone etc keys as i remember them is gone, and the rest is simple battle, which gets a little pointless, because all the rooms look all the same. Not a show stopper either.

(5) in battle you are given a random setup of your figures, and the figures can NOT move around each other. Which means every character must have bows in order to reach an enemy but those in front will lose a full round re-equipping. The setup of who goes in line # that is too complex and i always wind up having the figthers in the back. This really IS very frustrating.

(6) i know dnd 3rd as well as adnd, and what the dice do in this game in battle is just way too weird - far too often a miss with a fighter with a dwarven waraxe +1 on a simple skeleton. Far too often a fumble with a 3rd lvl mage with combat casting, trying to cast a magic missile (!);

(7) some spells are completely irrelevant. finding 2+ level in your spellbook is a pain in the a*s.

Nice but not the real thing, it's a nice to have, nothing more. My advice, rent it, because you WILL finish it in one free saturday (promise). to the makers: It's fine to change a game a bit, but it has obviously not been tested. in my opinion this type of marketing is a Shame!

More Golden Seal than EOB

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you're a fan of the D&D computer games, you'll instantly know what I'm talking about. This isn't so much Eye of the Beholder. It's more like the old Golden Seal games. I haven't gotten very far, I'll admit. But so far, I'm not all that impressed. There is an automap. But it moves. And there's no compass in the "first person" view, so it's easy to get lost.

Only for D&D players

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Traditional Gamer - See " Golden Sun" for more information. I"m sorry but this game this jusn't cut the muster with other games on the market. The game is slow and the combat system terrible. I've played D&D hundreds of times and if you like the game, you'll like this game. For me go elsewhere for enjoyment.

I rate this five stars and nothing else

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: June 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First off, let me just say that this is a great game(even on Gameboy). It is not Poke mon, it is not Mario brothers ... it is a serious RPG. It is better on the GBA SP than on the PC because it can be played sitting on the couch or in the car(if one is not driving) or anywhere on Earth! The only complaint I have is no Paladin class to take advantage of all that Charisma but who cares, it's a gameboy. It becomes clear to me that I need to set some people strait on this. An RPG does NOT automatically mean pen and paper. It can mean an electronic computer game for single play or head to head, whatever. Roll Playing means simply that you "play a roll" that could be a fighter, thief, mage, ect. That could be for one person to decide or a group, whatever. D&D can(and should) be played by the PC, or other electronic device if that is your choice or with the primitive means and no good-looking graphics and sound. It takes some measure of intelligence to master this game even on a gameboy(oh and the interface isn't THAT bad if you just take the time to get the hang of it)The best combo is the one already there(but I chose to create a party from scratch using the same classes) You don't want two fighter/warrior types(as in D&D-one being a Paladin or Ranger) you only have four slots and they need to be filled with all the professions availible. A fighter needs nothing less than 18 strength, about a 14 or higher CON, and a decent DEX a Wizard is odvious a cleric is there in front by your side so you need to max his physical atts as well(CON being the most important besides WISdom), Thieves are good at finding things in the night while you sleep. I also chose my fighter to have high scores in all abilities as he will not only fight but lead(I am a warrior at heart) My Wizard is the most useful character though. She can cast without having to even touch or be touched by the enemy. The fact that you don't actually "die" until all of your party is dead is almost too easy, but fun.(memorizing spells is a snap). For [some that don't like this game] I think it's a sign of the times and of being too spoiled by all these wonderful things we have(games, fancy systems, PC's 3d graphics ect.) Portable systems that play games designed for the computer are breath taking.
LONG LIVE SINGLE PLAY!

WORST RPG EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: August 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game thinking that it would be cool. I had never played a D&D game before, but I was willing to give it a try. Once I started up my GBA,I played for about 5 minutes, then turned the game off. The graphics are great when you are in a dungeon, but the framerate is choppy. Once I got into a fight, my party turned into tiny stick figures! There is no in-game music,and the gameplay is [bad]. Here is a great tip to people who want to waist their time playing this game:keep tapping A and press random directions on the D-Pad and you will win.
Overall,don't waist your money on this,get a good RPG like Golden Sun.

Fairly dissapointing.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: September 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Um... Yeah. I'm a huge D&D player, and I think this game stinks. There Is no in game music, (Trying to recreate the feel of a dungeon?) Basically most of the game is spent wandering around mindlessly, until combat, in which it's impossible to hit your enemys. around 80% of the time your charecter will end up getting slaughtered. Not worth the time or money. Get the real D&D books instead. Only buy this game if you wish to wander around and get slaughtered.

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