The world itself is fully 3D, no more cardboard like statics through which you move at one square increments. But it remain a classic because at the time it managed to tell a more compelling story, it wanted to impress, and it sported very nice graphics for its time. This RPG is a classic and is fondly remembered, though today it might not be your number one game of the past to run to.
The gameplay might be a little slow for some, with an over-abundance of text at the expense of action and which might put some off, but generally speaking this is a fine RPG for followers of Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur's Gate. Combat is satisfying and while the interface and some of the quests take some getting used to, it is certainly worth making the effort.
The narrative skill on display here is certainly high, while the complex puzzles and environment are suitably different from other such games to make it stand out. Betrayal of Krondor might not be that well known, but it remains an excellent slice of RPG adventuring. There are the usual RPG customisation options, with plenty of choices regarding classes, skills and magic, while combat plays out in turn-based fashion and which requires a fair amount of tactical consideration. The various quests and plot twists maintain player interest, while the colourful supporting cast of heroes and villains of various shades really help to bring the world to life. The game is structured like a book, with the main plot split into chapters which are narrated in the third person, and while the story isn't exactly original, relying as it does on some fairly typical fantasy cliches, it remains engaging throughout. The game itself is first-person adventure that sees players travelling through the land of Midkemia, engaging in quests, combat and interactions with NPCs as they go. Feist provides the inspiration for Betrayal at Krondor, an unusual and compelling RPG that makes for an entertaining experience and which was later turned into a novel by Feist himself, with its events becoming part of Riftwar canon.
I spoke to the programmer-who-was-made-king when I got my copy for review, and he frankly struck me as a good-natured lug without the slightest idea what he was doing.The Riftwar series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. It proved a big hit, so that VP took an inhouse programmer with no game design experience and ordered him to make a followup as quickly as possible. The reason it came to be that way was that a certain VP at Dynamix who tangled with and hated the Betrayal at Krondor development team fired them all right after the title was published.
I would go so far as to say it was a near-clone, done by people without the slightest idea how to make a good game and whose only thought was "cram more of the same down their throats but make it much, much more." So combat balance was lacking, character writing was abysmal, etc. Not a gameplay sequel, which really doesn't matter, but a sequel in terms of project, marketing, concept, and appearance. I don't think Betrayal in Antara is a sequel to the Krondor saga.