Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor

Lore & Background

The player characters begin the game by telling a patron in a local tavern about how they defeated Dran Draggore and saved the town. A mysterious man then enters the tavern to ask them to rescue the ruined city of Myth Drannor from the Lich named Acwellan who rules the city. The man tells the characters that the Lich has an ancient artifact called the Codex of Infinite Planes that is needed to save Myth Drannor, and then he teleports them to just outside Myth Drannor after they agree to the quest. The explorable areas of the game include the forest surrounding the city, the mausoleum, and also the city ruins which include a mage guild as well as a temple.

Reader's Guide

Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor was not developed by Westwood, the developer of the first two games, but rather in-house by the publisher SSI. Westwood had been acquired by Virgin Interactive in 1992 and created the Lands of Lore series instead. The game uses the AESOP engine, which was later used in Dungeon Hack, and both games share the same enemy sprites, graphics, and sound effects. The game employs an updated engine from the previous game, oft-unique NPC selection, and tweaks to the gameplay including an 'All Attack' feature and the ability for characters to wield polearms while in the second rank. SSI sold 50,664 copies of Eye of the Beholder III. The Eye of the Beholder series overall, including the game's two predecessors, reached combined global sales above 350,000 units by 1996. Reception was mixed to negative: GameSpy commented that it was 'a classic example of a company churning out a quick sequel to a good game and simply not giving it the love and care it really deserves.' Computer Gaming World's Scorpia wrote that the graphics were inferior to the previous games', 'aurally, the game is a nightmare', and that the 'big fight at the end is a letdown.' She concluded that 'Assault on Myth Drannor is a disappointment ... What started as a series with great promise has, alas, ended on a mediocre note.' James Trunzo in White Wolf #37 stated that 'New weapons, new monsters, new locales and even new weapons make Eye III better than its predecessors.'

Did You Know?

• The game was developed in-house by SSI, not by Westwood which had developed the previous two Eye of the Beholder games.
• The game uses a modified version of the Gold Box engine, not the AESOP engine.
• SSI sold 50,664 copies of Eye of the Beholder III.
• The game includes an 'All Attack' feature and the ability for characters to wield polearms while in the second rank.