Yeah, there are a few annoying bits as you mentioned. I’m a bit over halfway through myself. So far I had real trouble dealing with the giant horde of skeletons (I decided to go for a very magic-user heavy party this time and, whoops, the skeletons are highly resistant to magic!)
I also found the light beam room with the mantises beyond it very annoying, but it didn’t take me long to get past it. I’m just on the level with the beholders now. You just have to use guerilla tactics on them and they’re not too hard (hit and run). Not sure about the bullettes yet…
But a few little annoyances like that aside, I’m really enjoying this game. I love the art and the atmosphere, and a lot of the puzzles are fun and interesting. Most of the locations feel a lot more believable than the first one as well. In EOB1 all the levels just felt like abstract mazes, and I never felt like I was in dwarven ruins or a drow city or whatever. But in EOB2, even with basic grid-based maps, they managed to make the locations feel alive and believable.
When you look at it, the story isn’t really any more complex than in EOB1, but it feels more involved and intricate, with more and better interactions with NPCs.
I have been waiting about 25 years to play this game, and despite all the buildup I’m definitely not disappointed.
