I finally want to get into Ishar II - if you know your Ishar, please take a look ;)

[dex]

Hello there!

Really long introduction:
I really want to finally start getting into Ishar II and beat the thing. I played Ishar III first (unfortunately), on the PC (DOS CD Rom Version unfortunately), played for quite a while but never really got the hang of it. Then played part I (still on a friends PC) and still didn't get into it. However, I never played part II - always wanted to, though. So I recently bought Ishar I, II and III for the Amiga (each in their AGA version) and would really like to finally get started with part II after all these years (don't ask, I just want to play this particular episode the most)

A request:
If there are some fans out there who know the game or even played through one of them, here are some questions! (And no I do not want to hear even a word on how Eye of the Beholder or even Lands of Lore is better, I already beat them, great games, and yes, Ishar is actually a great series )

My questions:
1. I played through Eye of the Beholder, Lands of Lore, Blade of Destiny, Elvira (though I used a guide) and quite far in Hired Guns, Dungeon Master II and several others in a similar style like Whale's Voyage. How difficult is Ishar compared to those?

2. I'd like to finish part II, is it easier with an imported party from part I? Should I actually start with Ishar I?

3. How long is Ishar II (approximately based on your own experience maybe)?

4. Is there a way to make life in Ishar II easier WITHOUT cheating? Something like recruiting the right chars early in the game, powerful item locations and so on?

5. Last but not least, I read the two available solutions I found (one was in German) and both did not describe anything in the game in great detail - especially the perfect party of characters. Is there something like an ideal party? Do I need mages or healers?

[kriz]

Guide for Ishar 2 found on this magazine : http://amr.abime.net/issue_343_pages , is 4 pages .. gives you a good start of the game .. (page 102 - 105).

[dex]

Thanks, this is a nice introduction!

[Marcuz]

Compared to EoB, Ishars are way harder (silly stamina and food consumption, so that if stamina goes to zero you don't do damage, I recommand cheating just for that); the story progression is not very clear and either a guide or just playing the game twice, one to get to know the locations / problem another to beat it is pretty much required.

Compared to Elvira... they are really different games.

I started Ishar I and II many times, never finished them: at some point the gameplay balance is just making not worth to complete the game, imho.

[dex]

Same here, started them, never finished them. Turns out that Guide for Ishar II is actually a full solution (spread across 4 issues of The One Amiga) - it's similar to the other solutions in that it's not exactly detailing everything, though Wouldn't be possible for that game I guess (which is good, it's quite open an can be played fairly non-linear).