Post by earlparvisjam on Jan 24, 2016 1:19:13 GMT
I was one of the hopeful suckers that picked up Dungeons on release day, convinced it was the next generation of Dungeon Keeper games. It wasn't. It wasn't a very good game, even ignoring how it was billed as a spiritual successor to DK and DK2. So, it's taken me a very long time to risk plopping down cash for the sequel. Having played through the entire campaign and done some soul searching over its standing next to the originals and War for the Overworld, I have come to the conclusion that Kalypso finally figured things out.
Dungeons 2 pretty much takes the original formula and runs with it. Digging tunnels and placing rooms is there. Gathering gold is there. Picking up your minions and dropping them where you want is there. On top of that base (quite literally), there is now an overland conquest portion that allows a Dungeon Lord the ability to send minions off to trash the countryside in an RTS side-game. It all fits pretty well together and is tied together with one of the most surprisingly enjoyable campaigns I've played in years. Oh, and eventually a second faction opens up, with a tweaked play style that helps keep things fresh. The narrator is voiced by Kevin Brighting (of Stanley Parable fame) and has some incredibly witty and rather insulting commentaries throughout the game.
It's not without its issues. Controlling minions on the surface is pretty straight forward but getting them there involves picking them all up individually and dropping them on the exit you want. Additionally, your powers only work on territory you control. If you send your troops into a cave (sort of a looting mission on some maps), there's no using your big bag of spells to boost them, zap the enemies, or teleport them back to your base. It's an interesting tactical restriction that falls flat since it's frequently hard to tell who's controlling what sections of the map, especially in areas most likely to encounter fighting.
While there are two distinct factions of Dungeon Lords, there are significantly fewer types of minions for each faction. Apart from the gatherers, each faction has a warrior type, mana gatherer, tinkerer/breeder, and a smith. Kalypso tried to stretch them out a bit by giving them upgrade-able boss forms, but the game just begs for more variety. Even the ability upgrades don't really offset the feeling that the factions are missing something.
Gang, if you find it on discount, it's worth the cash. I'm sort of sad it's taken me so long to get around to buying it. I'm even pondering picking up the dlc. I never buy dlc...
Dungeons 2 pretty much takes the original formula and runs with it. Digging tunnels and placing rooms is there. Gathering gold is there. Picking up your minions and dropping them where you want is there. On top of that base (quite literally), there is now an overland conquest portion that allows a Dungeon Lord the ability to send minions off to trash the countryside in an RTS side-game. It all fits pretty well together and is tied together with one of the most surprisingly enjoyable campaigns I've played in years. Oh, and eventually a second faction opens up, with a tweaked play style that helps keep things fresh. The narrator is voiced by Kevin Brighting (of Stanley Parable fame) and has some incredibly witty and rather insulting commentaries throughout the game.
It's not without its issues. Controlling minions on the surface is pretty straight forward but getting them there involves picking them all up individually and dropping them on the exit you want. Additionally, your powers only work on territory you control. If you send your troops into a cave (sort of a looting mission on some maps), there's no using your big bag of spells to boost them, zap the enemies, or teleport them back to your base. It's an interesting tactical restriction that falls flat since it's frequently hard to tell who's controlling what sections of the map, especially in areas most likely to encounter fighting.
While there are two distinct factions of Dungeon Lords, there are significantly fewer types of minions for each faction. Apart from the gatherers, each faction has a warrior type, mana gatherer, tinkerer/breeder, and a smith. Kalypso tried to stretch them out a bit by giving them upgrade-able boss forms, but the game just begs for more variety. Even the ability upgrades don't really offset the feeling that the factions are missing something.
Gang, if you find it on discount, it's worth the cash. I'm sort of sad it's taken me so long to get around to buying it. I'm even pondering picking up the dlc. I never buy dlc...
