Dungeons & Dragons Heroes

"A Great Game for Beginner Dungeon Crawling Fans and Veterans Too"

Dungeon crawling RPGs have been one of my favorite types of games for a long time now. I usually play them on PC, and I've become quite accustomed to the keyboard and mouse interface for them. I love being able to have 10 or so hotkeys for spell and skill launching. So playing dungeon crawlers on consoles often seems like a step back, but if a game is made well enough, I can get into it just as much as I could any PC dungeon crawler. Thankfully, D&D Heroes does a wonderful job of simplifying the complex control scheme of the average PC dungeon crawler, and comes off being a pretty enjoyable experience.

The game is typical dungeon crawling style. Most of the game, you will be in dungeons or similar areas. You will be fighting enemies, smashing crates, opening treasure chests, and finding keys to open locked doors. There are about 15 or so dungeons or areas to go through, so the game is relatively short, and could be finished in 2 or 3 long gaming sessions. It took me a little longer since I played it an hour or so at a time. However, it was pretty tough to put down when it was time to quit. Like any good dungeon crawler, I always felt tempted to keep playing. I always wanted to see what was around the next corner, clear an area before quitting, or wait until I went up another level.

D&D Heroes lets you choose between 4 “Heroes”. They are pretty much standard RPG classes with little extra. You have a standard Fighter, a Wizard, a Cleric, and a Rouge. They all have their advantages. Fighters are tankers and can take a lot of damage, Wizards can cast spells, Clerics have white magic and have some melee skills, and the Rogue uses a bow and arrow to attack from a distance and can also dis-arm traps.

I chose to play through the game as a Wizard, so my review will be based on the single player game played through with the Wizard.

One thing about this game is that it's not particularly difficult. In fact it's more on the easy side. You will have plenty of health potions, mana potions, and Resurrection amulets throughout the game, so don't expect a very challenging game. You will fight a few bosses along the way, but they are also pretty easy and can be taken down with some basic tactics.

Graphics 7/10

The graphics in D&D Heroes fit the game well. They are nothing spectacular, but they get the job done. Each area has it's own design, so you won't feel like you are in the same place over and over, which is nice. The game uses an over the head camera which can be zoomed in and out and rotated with the right analog stick. The enemies mostly look good, and you will have no trouble distinguishing a Troll from a Hobgoblin. Since I played as a Wizard, I was able to see the spell effects, which looked pretty good. A powered up Magic Missile spell will send balls of energy towards your enemies, Meteor Shower will pelt your enemies with meteors, and the Ice Sphere spell will freeze anything in it's path, allowing you to shatter them into pieces.

The best graphical feature this game has to offer is the before and after boss fight CG cutscenes Before you fight a boss, you will be treated to an intimidating cutscene, which looks pretty good. These consist of a dragon rising from his sleep to fight you, a Lich getting up from his throne to summon creatures before you can even act, and a few others. My personal favorite is the cutscene after you defeat the Beholder. The Beholder begins to shake, and explodes into a bunch of bloody chunks of flesh, leaving behind the gem you were seeking………very cool.

While the graphics were good for the most part, they far from tap the Xbox's full potential, leaving you satisfied, but knowing that they could have been better.

Story 7/10

What can I say. It's a dungeon crawler. The story is there, but the majority of the time you will just be going from area to area trying to get to areas you have not been to yet. The ultimate goal is to defeat the re-born wizard Kaedin. You will get little bits of the story hear and there when you return to the castle after finishing quests. These are short, but get the job done. Eventually you will be searching for the 5 gems that will open the portal to Kaedin's realm so that you can defeat him. Not a bad story, but don't expect deep character development or any more than a dozen or so NPCs throughout the entire game.

Music/Sounds 7/10

The music is perfect for the game IMO, but I've never expected much from music in a dungeon crawler. Although Divine Divinity did spoil me with it's excellent soundtrack. You always have music going at any given time in the game. Some of them are re-used, but they never really get old. The sounds effects are well done. Blocking attacks will give you a nice armor clang, and spells will echo through the halls as you cast them. D&D Heroes is pretty mediocre in this area.

Gameplay 8/10

The gameplay is the best part of D&D Heroes. Simple to use controls will allow you to jump right into the game, and your character will get stronger as you progress. You will have two buttons for spells and skills, and one button for item usage. You can quick cycle them at any time by pulling R, and using the D pad. The system works well for the most part, but most people will find 2 spells which they like and will stick with them for the most part. I found a combination of Magic Missile and Ice Sphere were more than enough for anything this game had to throw at me.

Melee attacks will roll out in a combo fashion when you mash on the A button. You can get combo finishers too, but I found them to be pretty useless since they take up a spell slot on your quick launch. I'd much rather have a spell at my quick disposal.

D&D Heroes is mostly a very user friendly game. There are save points everywhere, you can also save at any time through the menu, and as I said previously, there are tons of potions and power ups to find during the entire game. I think at one point I had 140 some Mana potions and 90 some Health potions. You have an auto map which is simple to follow and always points towards your next destination, so getting lost is almost impossible. Most enemies are pushovers and will drop with one or two magic spells, or one or two melee combos. Yes even from the Wizard. There really isn't much of a threat during the game, and it almost seems like they tried to make the game too user friendly.

The dungeons and areas will start off pretty short, but will get more involved as the game progresses. The Bone Necropolis, which is the second to last area will take you some time to get through, and will probably be the biggest challenge.

The simple interface and user friendly gameplay are nice, and make this a great place for people who have never played a dungeon crawler to get started. Not really a lot to turn the player away, just incentives to keep the user playing.

Re-play value 7/10

With 4 characters to pick from, there are 4 ways to get through the game. I'm sure not much would change, but the play styles for the different classes should provide enough variety to make people come back again. There is also up to a 4 player mode which some people may enjoy. On top of this, you can import your character to any multiplayer game after you complete the game and save it. So you can level up your character even after you have completed the game. I don't really se a point though, since you won't have much trouble with the game in the first place.

So who should play this game? If you like dungeons crawlers, then this game should be a must play. It may not challenge you like some other dungeon crawlers, but it's still a very fun game. Any dungeon crawling noobs should also take a look at this game since it's a great starting place for the genre. The multiplayer modes may also entice people who game with others. This would be a good game for a few friends to sit down and play together. Hardcore dungeon crawling fans may want a little more, but this game is perfect for the casual dungeon crawling fan.

My review score 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/07

Game Release: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes (US, 09/17/03)