Dungeons 2

I am extremely sorry to see this game rates at 3.5 stars at this point of time; it certainly deserves more. After finishing the game I think the biggest issues people have with Dungeons 2 are: -Short campaign -Frame rate drops during play -Small number of units, controlling units late game can be an issue (sorting out which units you want for attack can be tedious) Now that we've talked about cons, you may ask - what are pros? Well, actually - everything else. It's pretty charming setting with like-able narrator and it plays well especially for those who are fans of building games. I've certainly enjoyed it. So, sure, $40 may be too much because campaign is pretty short, but if the game is on sale for $20 don't have any doubts - give the game a chance and I'm sure you'll like it.

As a big fan of "Dungeon Keeper" and "Dungeon Keeper 2", I've wanted to try this game for a while now, but held off due to its lackluster reviews here on GOG. GOG gave me the core game for free, and I picked up the DLCs at a steep discount at the same time, so I finally had a chance to try it out for myself. And it's not for me. The art, sound, and voice acting are all very well done, but the story needs some serious polishing, the gameplay itself just doesn't feel right, the controls are not as intuitive as I'd like, and this thing is constantly listening for an internet connection, even after uninstalling GOG Galaxy (which installs itself when you install the game, with no way to opt out that I see). I'm constantly being bombarded with "player available for quick game" notices, and the game freezes any time my internet connection drops out, even though I'm only playing single player. It's technically solid, but it just feels wrong to me, and anyhow, I don't like software that keeps trying to phone home.

Excellent game in line with Dungeon Keeper 2 and Evil Genius. First thing to point, it is not a Dungeon Keeper clone/ripoff (which many people who gave game low grades expected). Unlike one other game (which I wouldn't mention, and it is not present in gog anyway) it is not simply "do as DK, add more rooms", game tries to have own mechanics and as for me they are good. Pros: * 3 different factions to play, each following own theme. Each faction have 12 units + worker and 7 spells (also 3 spells are shared for all factions). * Good humour and narrator. * Story is fun and worth playing. * Underground gameplay feels good, and now you can fill back empty squares, which I always missed in DK. * Overworld raid is actually funny. Now you can retaliate against surface dwellers! I don't know why so many people hate this element, as it plays nice and feels kind of natural. Cons: * Each faction have limited amount of rooms, which means your dungeon will be compact, with no need of grandeur expansion. * The only thing why you explore underground is to find a gem block, after you found it further exploration not required. * No Possess or any other option to walk your dungeon. * Too many Game of Thrones references. * Game of Winter DLC campaign sometimes have quite cheap game design moves resulting in difficulty spike. Well, at least they admit it as a Narrator says it, so I'm not sure should I count it or not... In short, the game is not ideal, I'd rate it 4 out of five stars, but since we don't have that many games of this genre, I'll add it one extra star for all good 68 hours I spent.

I was really enjoying this game for the first 4 or 5 missions. I'm not a Dungeon Keeper afficianado and I know this game is supposed to be a spiritual successor to that. But from what I've heard this still isn't quite what that series was. Overall I really like the Dungeon Building and defending aspects, but the story missions force you to split your attention between that and a simple Warcraft RTS interface when you send units onto the surface. I could have completely done without the surface combat elements and if the game had just had more focus on the dungeon-crafting aspects I would have been much happier with it. There is a tutorial but it's not very good at explaining some of the more basic things to a newcomer like me. And the interface is tought to navigate at times. Overall I did enjoy my time playing it but feels like the dungeon master aspects need more depth and more focus on what the game really wants to be.

Despite some technical and longevity flaws, this game really shines as a labor of love for the genre. I came away deeply impressed by what the developers achieved and was thoroughly engrossed throughout. If you're a Dungeon Keeper purist who has been waiting for nothing more than a graphical upgrade then this game is not for you - the RTS mechanic, while great, is a radical departure from the spiritual/demonic predecessor. The multiplayer is also weak, mostly due to the lack of a community playing this game. In all other cases, fans of Dungeon Keeper should give this game some thought. The writing, voice acting and humor is spot on. The graphics, gameplay, music and sound are terrific - especially in terms of setting the mood across various areas of the landscape.