After having completed the game, I�d have to agree with both points of view.
In my opinion, Beyond is nowhere near as good as DD. Does this make it bad? Absolutely not. But where I would rate DD in the 90 percentile (in fact, I believe next to Zork it�s my favorite rpg ever), BD would rate about a flat 60%.

Interest (quests, riddles, etc.): 90
Story: 85
Character development: 50
Challenge: 20
Fun factor: 80

Graphics: 50
Interface: 30
Documentation: 20

Interest, story, character dev, challenge, fun factor = x1 (325)
Graphics, interface and documentation = x1/3 (100 divided by 3, = 33)
358 divided by 6 = 59.7%


Please keep in mind that these are simply my opinions.


The bad (and I�ll try to support my opinions) -

the clumsy interface. If you�re going to provide for two characters to be run simultaneously, you MUST also provide a way for us to switch between these characters to facilitate healing potions, spell use, etc. And NO, the pause (spacebar) is NOT an acceptable alternative.
This may work fine for those of you (us) that don�t mind taking a break to plan strategy, heal, etc. � but those of us who prefer to win �on the fly� are horribly cheated. To us, using the pause is like playing a timed chess match and being able to call timeout whenever you please. Not good.
Besides, I don�t believe for a second that the pause was intended to HAVE to be used � it should be there as a luxury, not a necessity - it simply wasn�t finished.
Heck, even having the �leader� selected doesn�t necessarily provide for the correct character doing the desired action.
The interface isn�t only NOT intuitive; it simply doesn�t work in some regards.

Here is my biggest complaint. For a game to be designed without taking into account the most, uh, thorough player is a damn shame (at the very least).
I play EVERY rpg to be the best I can be. I don�t rush through anything, I kill ALL the monsters, play ALL the quests, explore ALL the black (fog of war) � and by doing this in BD I was rewarded with what? Two characters that were so silly in their power as to suffer NO challenge what-so-ever. And yes, I played on hardcore. Also, please don�t give some lame option like �don�t play the battlefields then��. The game is designed WITH battlefields � of course I�m going to do them! Read the rest of this paragraph.
I can see two ways of fixing this � a) provide an �extreme� option (after hardcore) that will/would kick your butt, or b) create an engine that recognizes the individual's strengths and spawns accordingly.

Personally, I like rpgs with only one character to control (and to maximize their profile). While running two is somewhat interesting (planescape was pretty cool in this), I like doing everything with my character. I didn�t even use the dolls. I want to succeed without aid (I don�t use dolls, summons, npcs, traps). If I want to play with numerous characters, I�ll play NWN or baldur�s gate with my friends (and I do). Just give me a bow and let me go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif" alt="" />

The skills are cluttered and without documentation, far too dependant upon trial and error. Singlehand, doublehand, and single with shield? All for a sword? Okay, I can live with this � but now let�s add shadow swords as a separate option and NOT have shadow as a separate option for bows. Hmmmm. Consistency please.

A near total lack of documentation. If you don�t go to the forums, good dang luck understanding alchemy, holy water, no lockpicking, luck, making permanent potions, quests that don�t show up or show up repeatedly (I could go on and on�).

Far too linear. This is not a complaint exclusive to BD. It�s an inherent problem with almost all prgs � it just so happens that DD was superb along these lines.

A near total lack of hotkeys. Not good.

there are a number of other �bad� things for me also � the unique (green) items not being finished, the numerous bugs in gameplay, at least 2 battlefield keys not even in the game, etc.



the good �

I love all the quests and how they (at least) are not linear, requiring thought, planning, and some, but not obnoxious, retracing of steps.

I love the multiple aspects to the creation (building) of the character � evasion, speed, accuracy, armor class, etc. and figuring what exactly works for this character to develop them to their maximum.
The tradeoffs and consequences of choice(s) are very complex and fun to analyze in furthering this development.

The story was quite engaging and kept my interest. Well done.

There are a TON of items and learning how they contribute to the advancement of the character is/was truly fun.

The interesting weapon and clothing choices (my bow-azon ONLY wore a hat � no helm to mess up her hair. Ha!! And she looked quite bitchin�)

Riddles are always a hit with me!

The idea of the battlefields. Larian�s games are very demanding on the player to figure things out (unless you take the easy way out and read walkthroughs � and no, that�s not a slam against walkthroughs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />), thus being somewhat fatiguing. The battlefields are/could be an easy mindless diversion from the constant �thinking� while allowing the player to continue pursuing their goal.

As much as I complain about the skilltree and it�s lack of documentation, I also love it for it�s attempt at focusing your character creation. I personally like the more specialized aspects over the jack-of-all-trades type.


This is all just off the top of my head, and even 60% is far from bad (it�s still ahead of Diablo II and Sacred, for me any way, and i played both).
I recommend this game. It�s worthy of your time and money. And if your style of play doesn�t require maximizing your character or completing every quest or uncovering all the black, you�ll probably rate it even higher than I have.

And remember, this is just my opinion.