Dungeons & Dragons Heroes

"A boring clone of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance"

Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes so badly wants to be Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, like teenage girls in the Eighties so wanted to be like Madonna that they dressed like her, talked like her and gave attitude like her. Now, being derivative is not a bad thing if (i) the source material is good and (ii) the copycat successfully emulates what made the original so appealing in the first place. With respect to the source material, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes has picked a worthy target to rip-off. I loved BG:DA, as did so many other gamers, because it successfully merged Gauntlet-style dungeon crawling with the classic RPG elements of the Dungeons & Dragons universe. The game revitalized the action-RPG genre, leading to numerous clones in the subsequent years, including D&D:H. However, D&D:H is much less successful with the execution of its intellectual thievery. This action-RPG simply does not get the correct mix of action elements to RPG elements. BG:DA had great, challenging combat against tough foes, and the new powers and abilities you gained from leveling up your character really made a difference in your encounters with enemies. This is not the case in D&D:H. Mashing on the melee attack button works just fine to dispatch the various beasties you encounter. The enemies are not very bright, and will just come rushing toward you. The only challenge you face is from the number of enemies you face during an encounter. Healing when you are low on health is rarely a problem. The net effect renders combat incredibly boring. This is a real problem, since you spend most of your time fighting and the story is not nearly engaging enough to make up for the lackluster battles.

Graphically, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes looks OK, but the action has some framerate hiccups. The characters are not as well animated as those in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, and move very stiffly. You can adjust the camera to suit your liking, but it can still be difficult to see your character in a corner because walls do not become transparent as often as they should. The soundtrack is a bore as well.

With so many better action-RPG games out there, it is impossible for me to recommend Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes. This game was shipped only for the Xbox (despite Atari being a multi-console developer and the PS2 being the dominant platform at the time), and spawned no sequels. I guess there is a little justice in the world. Don't waste your time with this one.

Graphics: 6/10. Not bad, but not great either.
Sound: 5/10. Completely forgettable.
Story: 5/10. Something about ancient heroes being brought back to life to fight a resurrected evil. Basically, “Generic Fantasy Plot #4.” Like the sound, quite forgettable.
Gameplay: 4/10. Very, very boring.
Overall: 5/10. There are much better games in this genre for you to play.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/08

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