The whole tower was amazing, and I wish the rest of the game was as good in terms of level design, but ToSC was a later expansion. That floor in particular, though. Wow. That was impressive and a sign of things to come in BG2. Notably, Irenicus' dungeon has a LOT of areas that are reminiscent of the steampunk style in the lower levels of Durlag's Tower.
The next floor down is just as good, though, especially with the switch puzzle. Once you get to the main switch control room it's all over, but until then? That was a great area with all the traps and automatically sealing doors.
Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of that tower. I even love how it is gatekept from low level parties.
The whole tower was amazing, and I wish the rest of the game was as good in terms of level design, but ToSC was a later expansion. That floor in particular, though. Wow. That was impressive and a sign of things to come in BG2. Notably, Irenicus' dungeon has a LOT of areas that are reminiscent of the steampunk style in the lower levels of Durlag's Tower.
The next floor down is just as good, though, especially with the switch puzzle. Once you get to the main switch control room it's all over, but until then? That was a great area with all the traps and automatically sealing doors.
Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of that tower. I even love how it is gatekept from low level parties.
I was less of a fan of Watcher's Keep because it felt thrown together. There wasn't a very cohesive theme, despite the hand of Helm being everywhere. The maze, in particular, felt absurd. I was expecting a more advanced version of Durlag's Tower, but it really didn't measure up.
I guess to each, their own. To me, it felt a bit out of place - something that might have made more sense in the testing area of Spellhold. Come to think of it, that would have been far better than that silly riddle statue.
Durlag's benefits from having a cohesive story. And that story becomes relevant for passing certain puzzles in the lower parts of the tower. Durlag's tower is a believable setting in the world.
While I do think the first level and the final seal level of Watcher's kind of work storywise, the inclusion of the demon maze, the elemental wizards and the machine level are all just kind of a hodgepodge of DnD epic content. The writers did throw a technical explanation in there, but it's lame and lacks the emotional component of Durlag's story.
Oh, I like Watcher's Keep, and I always make sure to have my party clear it out. However, it feels like it was put there to keep ToB from literally being a series of boss battles.
As such, it is the one-stop shop for "adventure role playing" in that game.
Comments
Not sure if serious or ironic
Serious, Durlag's is a classic!
That maze level was a mistake, IMO.
While I do think the first level and the final seal level of Watcher's kind of work storywise, the inclusion of the demon maze, the elemental wizards and the machine level are all just kind of a hodgepodge of DnD epic content. The writers did throw a technical explanation in there, but it's lame and lacks the emotional component of Durlag's story.
As such, it is the one-stop shop for "adventure role playing" in that game.