The sequel to the interesting Ishar, Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom is a French, first-person RPG with atmospheric graphics and challenging party-based gameplay. It was first released in 1993.

Thankfully, Ishar 2 rights some of the wrongs of the first game. You can actually see where you are on the map now, which is a blessed relief, and the interface has been cleaned-up a bit, making movement and combat a bit easier.

Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom is still pretty archaic when it comes to gameplay in general. The game now cycles through day and night, but – in my opinion – the speed at which it does this is too fast. Healing is still hit-and-miss. Spell-casting is mostly unfathomable. And – like the first game – the English spelling mistakes are appalling.

It’s good that you can build a full party of five quite quickly, and it’s also good that you’ve got a large, open area to explore from the outset. Keeping your characters alive is something of a challenge, though. Again: like all the Ishar games, Ishar 2 is best played with a guide of some sort.

The Ishar trilogy on The King of Grabs:
Ishar #1, Ishar #2, and Ishar #3.

More: Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom on Wikipedia
GOG: Ishar Compilation on GOG.com