Dungeon Lords Collector's Edition Review

Article Index

Eschalon: Book II

Publisher:DreamCatcher Interactive
Developer:Heuristic Park
Release Date:2005-05-05
Genre:
  • Role-Playing
Platforms: Theme: Perspective:
  • Third-Person
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For the most part, the changes are very nice. It's just that they're also a little bit sloppy. Consider the scout skill. It shows nearby enemies and usable objects on the mini-map, which is helpful. But after I've used the object (such as opening a treasure chest) it remains on the mini-map even though it can't be used any more. Why? Or consider the identify skill. Every weapon and piece of armor in the game must be identified, right down to the weakest, rustiest dagger. And the game doesn't keep track of what you've identified, so you might have to identify that weak, rusty dagger dozens of times. Or consider the repair skill. Only items that you're wearing can get damaged, but you have to unequip the item in order to attempt to repair it. And for some reason helmets take way more damage than anything else, while weapons can't get damaged at all. Oddly, the spells I used all seemed to work pretty well, but the skills all seemed like they were the first stab from a programmer who didn't care much about the project, and I found that to be a little disturbing. Haven't players of the game already beta-tested it enough?

And so, overall, there are various ways you could look at the Collector's Edition. If you got scared off by the early reviews of Dungeon Lords and decided to skip the game, then the Collector's Edition is a worthwhile purchase. It's sort of like a more serious-minded, grittier version of Fable, and it should provide you with hours of fun. If you bought Dungeon Lords, then I'd just suggest you patch your version of the game and play it instead. I enjoyed playing the Collector's Edition, but I don't think the new changes are worth $40 extra. And, finally, there might be those of you who dislike how DreamCatcher has handled the publishing of the game, and their decision to create a Collector's Edition rather than a free patch. For you, I'd recommend you stay well away from any Dungeon Lords products. If DreamCatcher's mismanagement of the game actually nets them a profit, then there's little reason to expect superior service in the future.