Resurrection: Dungeon Keeper
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Most likely inspired by the announcement of Dungeons, Resolution Magazine has cranked out a quick retrospective feature for Bullfrog's original (and excellent) Dungeon Keeper. Here are a handful of paragraphs to whet your appetite:
Indeed that's Dungeon Keeper's primary source of charm and allure, being able to play the bad guy and not fighting a losing battle. The black and white fantasy good and evil may be tried and tested but playing the bad guy is a path less trodden, and is the unique factor that defines Dungeon Keeper's experience.
The quote is one of many delivered by the narrator as an introduction to a level. Your task is to build a dungeon on this land, fill it with wondrously evil creatures and fiendish traps, and decimate the heroes and fellow dungeon keepers, who dare halt your inevitable advance. With the evil agenda and a combination of god game, RTS, and RPG elements, Dungeon Keeper stood out as a unique and engaging title back in 1997, and represented yet another success for the seemingly unstoppable developer Bullfrog.
However, despite the sprinkling of multi-genre magic, the main experience remained as with previous Bullfrog titles in the area of micro management. You plan out the tunnels and caverns of your dungeon, before your lowly imps carve them out. You find veins of gold and ensure timely collection so to pay your greedy creatures of war. Finally, you actively place traps and pickup and drop creatures onto enemies to engage them in battle. Without your hand your dungeon would fall.
