Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone

This game was heralded in magazines as not only an RPG, but an RPG written by R.A. Salvatore of Drizzt fame— and therefore should be amazing by default. What came out was by no definition an RPG— it had a lackluster story and offered only played-out and oddly angled completely linear sidescrolling with a healthy does of button mashing. Suffice it to say, the game fell flat on its face at retail. This game suffers heavily from it's PS2 co-development: Tiny levels that are barely rendered with washed out graphics— most things are 2D in the background. The PS2 was an under-powered console and this game is the worse for it. It's a straight port. Let me reiterate: This is not an RPG. It's a hack 'n slash game that gives you some points to spend on making moves more powerful at the end of every mission, but ultimately gives you enough that you can power up every move in the game, even the ones that aren't worth using. Any RPG elements feel like they're tacked on merely because this game is set in the Forgotten Realms. In the end, this game has more in common with Contra than anything else. Let me reiterate again: It's an extremely average and ultimately forgettable story. R.A. Salvatore has never proven himself to be a particularly talented writer and in that regard, this game doesn't disappoint. Let me reiterate for a third time: This is just a sidescroller button masher. Some of the angles are weird ala Resident Evil 1 and 2 where you are running toward the camera while enemies you can't see charge at you making for frustrating fights. There are very brief moments of isometric views to make you feel like it's a real game and you can actually see what you're doing, but then it goes back to being Contra sidescrolling or being annoying. There are almost no secrets or anything to mix it up. You just run down a 10' wide path from start to finish. Why did I buy this again? It was part of a D&D pack and I thought "maybe I was too hard on it back then..." I was not.

This game is nonstop fun. Great character customization with different weapons and armors that add great bonuses as well as awesome looks to the characters. Great plot. Controls are easy to learn and customize to your preference. Overall, it's a great game. I only have 1 complaint: the game just kind of throws you into combat without a proper tutorial, but as I said earlier. The controls are easy to learn, so my complaint is a small one. Overall: Epic Hack-N-Slash for the PC.

Demon Stone is a very fun game, with the great DnD background as a setting, but it's not a role playing game, per se. It's really a hack n' slash game with some minor leveling customization. The game plays very much like LOTR: Return of the King, without the great backstory to lend it credibility.

I got this game through the D&D bundle. I'd never head of it before, so i read a few of the top reviews for it and decided to try it. When i started playing it i couldn't stop before i finished it 6 hours later. I've played many of the old D&D games by Bioware, so i thought i was going into something similar, wrong! All in all a pretty short, but awesome game with many faults. Hard as nails on the hard difficulty and quite frustrating until you learn how to counter each mob. The faults of the game include poor camera angles, poor AI, stunlocking by mobs, loss of sound at some points and few choices during combat. But what redeems it is the awesome leveling and gearing system, as well as the fast paced combat that actually works, even if it is quite simple. Already after the first level, after 10 minutes of play, you get skill points and money to upgrade your character. This just feels really good, and is continued throughout the game. This kept me going, as i quickly got new rewards while moving forward. The few cutscenes in the game are short enough to keep you interested, while they explain the story with no play input. I played it with a ps3 controller.

Did I mean you can play as Drizzt Do'Urden in one of the game segment? YES!! How AWESOME is that? Sure in Baldur's Gate you can meet him, but here..., you can BE him... Yes, I'm a huge Drizzt's fan (for those who does not know who he is, go pick up books like Homeland, etc. from R.A. Salvatore and start reading. Highly recommended if you are into action fantasy genre. Drizzt aside, to be able to play all three archetype of character classes in D&D is nice... Each with their own unique skills. And... there is a dragon fight too! I love this game. A bit short, but it is sweet.