Game Review: Dungeons

Welcome to the anti-Valentine edition!  No gooshy lovie-dovey stuff or candy hearts over here.  Instead, I'll be reviewing Dungeons:  a game where the main goal is to build evil... well dungeons and lure heroes to their doom.

In Dungeons by Kalypso Media you play a former Prince of Darkness who has been overthrown by his vile, vicious, and also now ex-girlfriend Calypso.  Banished to the lowly rank of Dungeon Lord, you must now work your way back down through the levels of the underworld by placing gimmicks, treasure, and monsters all designed to lure heroes to their doom.  Placing gimmicks (essentially dungeon decoration) earns you prestige, which is necessary for various tasks throughout the game.  It also helps lure heroes through the dungeon, as they tend to follow from one gimmick to the next.  Every hero is motivated by different needs; some are motivated by piles of shiny treasure, others by battling monsters.  As their needs are met, they fill with "soul energy," which is what YOU are after.  Satisfy your heroes and then slay them for a percentage of their soul energy, or imprison and torture them in order to squeeze every last ounce out.



While it sounds fairly straightforward and easy, there is some strategy involved.  Each entrance into the dungeon releases heroes at the rate of one or two every 3-5 minutes (some even faster).  Let me tell you keeping track of 5-10 different heroes and fulfilling their needs while simultaneously not letting any of them escape or attack your Dungeonheart (the source of your life and power in the underworld) isn't as easy as it sounds.  That's not all there is to each level, though.  There is usually some quest that you are fulfilling while waiting for heroes to be ready for death or imprisonment which is also taking your time and attention.  In addition from time to time (and usually at the worst possible moment) your bosses will show up with a job for you to do, and you have to keep the bosses happy!  Of course, if you get tired of the strategy aspect you can always switch over to "sandbox mode" which allows you to simply build dungeons and lure heroes to their doom outside of the main plot line.

Throughout the game the heroes will spout off hilarious phrases like "mmm, treasure!" or "taste my +1 dagger!"  On the whole the game is fantastically light and fun, making it a good break if you've been on run of heavy gaming sessions.  The game has a little for everyone, and while it may seem overly simple at first, it soon reveals itself to be a challenge.  I give it a 4/5.

Happy Gaming!

Anticipation

You gotta hand it to the folks over at Blizzard - they certainly know how to keep an audience in suspense.




















Any other company that kept a fan base waiting more than 10 years for a game, and 2 full years after the game's official announcement would have lost them long ago.  But fans of the iconic Diablo franchise are just as excited about Diablo III today as they were 2 years ago when it was officially announced.


Blizzard has done a masterful job of releasing tidbits to keep its audience waiting, while still making us feel like we were getting something.  Concept art, screenshots, gameplay previews, even playable demos (the Diablo III PvP demo was available for play at Blizzcon 2010) have kept fans just satisfied enough to keep us hanging on.  And let's face it, the fact that Diablo II was one of the best RPGs of all time doesn't hurt - NPD Group listed the Diablo II: Battle Chest in their top 10 best selling computer games even last year, 10 years after the original release.


Many fans were psyched to find out that Diablo III was being previewed with Morgan Webb on G4's X-Play last night, holding their breath that at last we would hear an official release date.  Imagine the wave of disappointment when all we were rewarded with was a "hopefully in the near future" - sounds like Morgan is as excited as the rest of us to get her hands on the game.  The preview did include a great look at some of the skills of the different classes, the knowledge that the game will again have a randomized world, and "essentially endless combinations of skills and tons of equipment and things to explore".  The other big reveal?  Diablo III is going to be even more focused on multiplayer and getting people to explor how the combination of different classes and their skills can make the game even more dynamic.

Personally, I can't wait.  In fact, I went online today to preorder the game.  Want the gem I found?  Go to walmart.com and search for Diablo III and you'll find this gem:




"Preorder this item today and it should ship on 08/01/2011"





Happy gaming!