Biggest issue I got whit the game is the morphing. While as a plot element it's interesting, the gameplay mechanics of it are annoying. There's a lot of times I've just waited to morph into some form that would make situation easier (like the beast form in combat). It just isn't done in a way that would be fun.

-edit--
I just finished the game and I have to add poorly done jumping bits as one of the reason. The controls are already a bit poor in the game, and whe you add the platform jumping bits on it, the game is just annoying. And then there's the lack of certain direction as well. Most of the time you just run around and do stuff, not knowing what you are actually doing.

All in all, LoL2 is pretty poorly designed game. It's evident the makers of it use the same design sensibilities that would have worked better on a similar game that LoL1 was, but now placed in first person RPG those same elements are just misplaced. This is definetly a game I won't be returning to, as in the end the game felt more like a chore than a fun adventure.

I played LOL2 first, and I loved the hell out of it. It was an amazing game at the time, and the most atmospheric one I had ever played. When I tried LOL1 after that, it seemed fun enough, but It was a totally different type of game. It wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I just sort of lost interest. I seem to have had the same reaction as people who played the first one first, only reversed.

I agree that LOL2 hasn't aged as well as the original. It is entirely possible that established nostalgia has a part to play in that perception. I spent countless hours on the first Eye of the Beholder 20+ years ago, and LOL1 was exactly what I was looking for afterwards. I wanted to like LOL2, I really did, but the 2d models really take away from the immersion in a 3d world. As a kid I marveled at how amazing Ultima Underworld seemed, but I wouldn't bother with it now, perhaps for the same reason.

I love LOL2. The cheesy FMV is part of what makes it great. LOL3, on the other hand, is a bit rubbish.

I might be spewing what other people had said, but I did not enjoy the game play at all. The hit boxes were a bit wonky, the map system was bad, and the graphics made may eyes puke with terrible 3-d, FMV, and synthesis enemies mixed together in a ugly three way. I just watch the cut scenes and enjoyed the cheesy actors and story this game have's. I wish LOL 2, was more like LOL.

You need very badly to learn DOSbox (fairly easy once you get the hang of it), because that allows instant Win7/8 x64 compatibility with 16-bit DOS games like LoL2...;)

Where's your LOL3 CD? If lost or unreadable, Bing or Google "LoL3 no cd" and see if you can locate a no cd patch for the game.

My biggest peeve of LOL2 was waiting for upwards of 30m to shapeshift to fit into certain places. I never got very far because the waiting bored the hell out of me. I wasn't a fan of LoL1 but I didn't dislike it. Just the difficulty was super tough for me.

I loved LoL3 though.

I might, and from what I saw online, the game had a good story and the FMV's were enjoyable, I just wish the game play was not that sluggish from what I remember and saw in the game play. I will probably give it another chance down the road (since games, like movies,art, and music deserves to be reviewed by the user to see any opinion change or not) and maybe, I might like it months or years from now.

Graphically, unless you play this game under a GLIDE emulator (I do!) the game is pretty oooo-gly--a pixel fest. It's not bad at all under a GLIDE wrapper, though. The game runs much better now than it did on the actual 3dfx hardware of that time...which is to be expected of course, as things were still pretty primitive back then. Lol2 was one of the first 3d games I ever played, IIRC. I think I originally played the game with a single 3dfx Voodoo 2...!

Was saddened to see this topic. Lands 2 is probably my favorite game of all time. It was well received in almost all critical circles (especially overseas), and contains arguably the greatest story in 90s RPG history. It has a wonderful, wonderful soundtrack and is littered with secrets. Its replayability is endless. I've probably played through it 10 times and I've found new things every time. Westwood really poured their heart out into this game, not only in the amazing story but in the levels of detail found throughout its many fantastic locations. Throw in the fact that it also has a brilliantly cynical sense of humor and it only amplifies my appreciation of the game.

I find -- generally speaking -- that criticism usually takes one or two forms.

1) The game is vastly different from Lands 1. I can see people who prefer the turn and dice roll style of D&D to be turned off by Lands 2's system. Lands 1 is my first memory of video games (I watched my dad play it when I was very young), and I too was somewhat turned off by the alien interface and how different it was. With time and age though my appreciation for 2 has only grown and grown.

2) Whining about the curse. These complaints are harder to take seriously because the dampening spell is given to you at about the 13.5% mark of the game (Huline Jungle caves).

Different strokes I guess, but it is a bit unsettling to see a topic that says "LOL2 hate" when both the first two games are pretty universally loved, albeit for different reasons.

Any game that deserves "hate" in its title is Lands 3, although EA never gave that game a chance. There are issues far deeper than that, though.

Yes I registered here just to post this. lol

Love to see people talking about this game though!

Yes, the "hate" affectation is a neo-cultural fad at the moment that indirectly implies that it is wrong to criticize practically anything...If I I'm not mistaken, the phrase was originally coined by Mac/Apple-product users who decided to start calling people who don't like Apple's products, for one reason or another, "haters." It was hoped that by calling such people names they could get them to cease and desist their criticism of Apple products. "Haters gonna' hate," etc. Of late, the phrase has been expanded to include just about anything--thus if people criticized LoL2 (or any other sacred cow) they get the label "hater" thrown at them these days in response.

And of course you are right--"hate" doesn't fit here and in most of the contexts it used for today. It's far too harsh a word to describe the reality that every product has its pros & cons, its critics and its fans, etc. There's just no room there for "hate" that I can see. "Haters gonna' hate" is a faddish, cultural expression that can't die soon enough to suit me...;)

WHO HATES LANDS OF LORE 2?!

I'll fight you..

About 70% of the entire game, you will be running through jungles where huge, pixely plant bitmaps keep flying into your face, covering the entire screen nonstop and where the path forward has deliberately been made hard to see.
It's also very glitchy.
I can't progress out of the first jungle because the game keeps crashing as soon as I try talking to the thomgog guy (bacata?).

Game needs Glide...not advisable to even attempt this game without a solid Glide emulator--like nGlide (1.03...don't bother with earlier versions), Zedge's or Zeckensec's wrappers...;) Play with all three and make a choice--the latest version of Zedge's works great for me (whereas earlier versions did not.)

When you need to "see" in the game, make liberal use of the TAB key to bring up the automap, which is quite good. Jungles in real life are choked with foliage and can't be navigated without a map in most cases, btw. (Don't leave home without it.) I haven't crashed yet so I cannot speak to your problem with Tocatta.