Set in the world of Forgotten Realms, a long established staple of the Dungeons and Dragons game, this game delivers a well crafted story by the famous fantasy writer RA Salvatore (well known for his novels on the adventures of Drizzit a Dark Elf). The use of a renowned fantasy writer and some great voice acting by Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek fame) has ensured a well polished and enthralling adventure/combat game.

The formula hasn't changed much from The Two Towers. However, what has changed is the graphics. A lot more work has gone into delivering environments that have more depth and detail than the previous title. There is a lot more action as well. The game delivers one combat action experience after another, filling the screen with hordes of monsters taken directly from the pages of the Dungeon & Dragons monster manual.

To combat these hordes you have a choice between a fighter, a sorcerer and a rogue, the latter being a Drow half-elf. Character abilities are pretty standard fare, however one of note is the rogue's ability to hide in shadows and sneak up behind monsters to deliver a killing below. Areas in which she can hide are shown with a sparkling area and, once entered, she becomes transparent. As you progress through the adventure you also pick up magical artefacts that are specific to each character and enhance their abilities (ring of jumping, gauntlets of ogre power, etc.).

As the game progresses you can jump between each character as the situation dictates, utilising the most appropriate set of skills for a given situation. Killing a monster earns you experience points that can be spent on additional combos and abilities or enhancing existing ones. Certainly this function is not as comprehensive as one would expect from a Dungeons & Dragons game, however it's adequate for the game and you can eventually develop some quite powerful characters.

Play experience is very much in the style of mashing buttons to slice and dice your opponents and blocking when you can see a big hit coming your way. While you control one character the AI picks up the actions of the other two. However, it would have been nice to have the ability to have more control on their action by delivering global commands (everyone but me beat up on the demon!).

The sheer volume of monsters can at times seem repetitive and often the action will swirl around the character you control, making it difficult to discern friend from foe. The combat graphics make up for this with some good sets of animation and body fluid effects. The spell effects are a particular stand-out as well with attractive use of light and movement delivering some realistic effects.

Unfortunately, the pace and direction you can take in the game is heavily scripted. There are some good touches to this including the banter between the fighter and the Drow, but it would be better to have had more control or more options on the path you can take in the game. This would certainly have given it more replayability.