Dagger My Dale And Call Me Atari
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale is a nice classic throw back to the old dungeon crawler games. Set up as a 4 person co-op game both online and local, this is a welcomed gem. Loot drops are a plenty in this game however you still feel somewhat limited as well.
You start by choosing 1 out of 4 characters: Human Fighter, Elf Rogue, Dwarf Cleric, and Halfling Mage. Each character has their own skills, special ability, and specific gear types they can use. Like with most RPGs, when you level up you increase your stats with Stat Points, gain new abilities with Ability Points, and new skills with Skill Points. The only draw back is that you can not take back points once you have selected the skills and abilities after you close the menu, so pick wisely.
The max level is only 10, but you will spend several hours trying to max out as the pacing of the game works to that by tossing monsters that scale with your level. The monsters can be some what challenging solo, but get even harder the more people there are playing with you as the waves tend to get bigger. spawns are faster, and some monsters start to revive others.
The majority of this game is to play co-op, this is where the most fun can come from. Solo players can join other open games online, but you may run into people that steal or hog loot as it is finders keepers rules when it comes to loot drops.
This isn't to say there aren't any problems with the game. The models are not really detailed close up, which makes close up cut scenes look sloppy. There are some collision issues in small hallways, and some times you find yourself caught on a wall when in a corner. The grab distance to pick up items is very small, you need to stand right on top of an item before it allows you to pick it up. Animation in combat seems to be slow and some hits that seem to connect do not.
The things I would have liked to have seen would be the ability to choose my race and my class separately and build a character class more tuned to my own play style. The majority of D&D is about YOUR character and this game seems to tell a story about a particular band of heroes. More races and classes would have been a nice addition.
I hope that if they continue to make these arcade games, that they make a system where you can transfer your character from this game and continue onto the next one. For instance, taking my level 10 Rogue and importing it into the future game so I can get her beyond level 10.
If you enjoy dungeon crawler games and want to have something to kill some time before Hunted: Demon Forge comes out, this is a nice game to tide you over.
