There is a completely original gameplay idea on display in this FM, and it is utilized supremely well, making some puzzles more intricate and thoughtful. The first mission serves as almost a training mission to get the player familiar with the concept, and the second is a large mansion (Yep, with secrets "locked away"!).

I really enjoyed figu...

A mansion heist with an added side of detective work, and a fun card game as well!

What really sets this FM apart is that apparently the murderer is randomized each time you play, as are the clues/murder weapons. The work that must have gone into it! Well done Nick!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 hours here, and had the culprit narrowed down ...

A two mission campaign, the first a well made city, with lots of exploration, in combination with verticality. Within the City there's an immense Hammerite Cathedral, again superbly done, but the FM really comes into it's own after you get into the titular Catacombs.

There are shades of the Bonehoard here with many (many!) undead enemies, and...

There's an Inn, and some surrounding buildings, then an underground area opens to the player. The atmosphere is very good as others have commented, the story is pretty straightforward; there's the tomb, go find it. I finished it in two hours.

How is this mission rated so high when it has pretty obvious issues even for an original FM.

Made by the late Lady Rowena, who also admitted many of the issues with this mission before she sadly passed away.

The main issue I had while playing was sound propagation. I know there are tiled floors everywhere, and this adds to the challenge ...

I spent over 10 hours in both missions combined, (6+ in the second alone!) All secrets found including the chess pieces (yes, I needed some help!).

While I found the first mission was good, (a fairly nice village in the woods, with a central, busy inn). I think it was leading us to a false sense of security, preparing us for the second which ...

....Just keep going, and explore every. single. corner. The design of this mission is breathtaking, with a surreal, bizzare sense to the layout. I have to admit to getting completely frustrated at one point, I was running around in circles! (I did get a hint from the walkthrough and then carried on). As a general rule, keep going up (Ascend?) an...

Needless to say there is a nice surprise for the original game players. It actually brought a nostalgic smile to my face.

But the mission is so much more than that one surprise. It is a well developed and designed map using original textures, (another nostalgic moment for TDP fans). Set in daylight, in an environment that is not a million mil...

Very good for an early TDM mission, playing missions 12 years apart I can see the difference in build quality.

I spent way longer here than I should have, looking for keys. It's easy to forget how this engine and The Dark Engine differ. It was fun though, exploring via rooftops, looking absolutely everywhere. The atmosphere and story were bo...

But this mission; Volta II Cauldron of the Gods was a lot of fun! It's very strongly influenced by Escape, with a little Lost City thrown in. The atmosphere is one of foreboding, but really the emphasis is on exploration, and what a place to explore! Really very well done.

Anybody who has played the last three missions of TDP will instantly r...

Here's another original classic that is showing it's age unfortunately. There's some innovative stuff in here that shows the author was trying to explore the limits of Dromed. There's quite a bit of glass, some shatters, some just suddenly disappears. Many of the AI's have different sounds than we're mostly used to, Haunts that sound like spider...

By well designed, I don't just mean gameplay and atmosphere, (both of which are very well done), I loved the way the mission progresses. I started off looking up at the chains and gargoyles, thinking how do I get up there? Hours later I'm looking down at the chains and gargoyles thinking now I've got to get down. The verticality will come, just ...

Let's repeat all that has been said about TBP in other reviews; It's an immense campaign (ten missions), all of which are meticulously detailed with architecture and build quality that will never be surpassed. I spent at least some of the time just looking at the incredible views. The time, energy and effort that went into this campaign is obvio...

The Mansion is quite large, and well guarded. You will have to be careful roaming around here. There's plenty of loot to be had around every corner. The readables are at a minimum and don't give much away about the second half of the mission. Without giving too much away here once you trigger the second half the mission really comes into it's o...

...To spend several hours (I spent 7+ hours here) climbing, sneaking and generally exploring a large city environment. The City is absolutely beautiful. Lots of verticality, (up and down!) and lots of windows to climb in and mansions to creep around in, and this is it's strength. This mission really hit the spot for me, I really enjoyed the shee...

Still fun to play, although the newer FM's highlight it's age. A good story, some fun puzzles, and a small city area to play in. There's even some early verticality in this mission. Well worth playing even 25 years later!