Dungeons & Dragons Heroes

Sam invests some time in this light-hearted RPG.

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I love a good in-depth RPG, I've been addicted to them for years. From the Temple of Apshai trilogy back on the C64 to the groundbreaking (and insanely tough) Dungeon Master, I've always been able to get my jollies from dressing up fake people in fake gear that gets ever more impressive-sounding and then taking them off to listen to fake stories told by other fake people against fake backgrounds, laying waste to all kinds of obviously fake creatures at every corner. Bring me an RPG and I will expound on how they are the truest form of escapism to be had on a computer. But they can get a bit long winded, can't they? Now don't get me wrong. I loved Baldur's Gate one and two, even wrote-off hundreds of hours of my life to complete them. Maybe it was these games but since then I have been less willing to dive headlong into a chunky RPG. So it's just my luck that the makers of RPGs have decided not to make such deep and involving titles anymore, preferring to streamline both the complexity and the story for a more immediate experience. And you don't really get any more streamlined than this unless you play some weird Japanese GBA title about collecting flower pots for your aunt, or some-such nonsense.

Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes, takes place in some fantasy world where some nasty thing has happened in a typical fantasy fashion. There's something to do with re-awakening ancient evil that inevitably send some plucky chaps off to recover some scattered bits of something or other, so here we have to collect some Soulshards and gems and then bring 'em all together and send that silly nasty man back to the pits of hell that he so obviously belongs in. The D&D licence is only really recognisable on the box, and maybe in the rules, but for the most part you could strip out the D&D and be none the wiser. Spell points are called Mystical Will for some unfathomable reason. And as it's more fun to do things with a friend up to four of you can embark on this quest. Almost all of the following comes from my time playing the game with one or two mates, although I will mention the single player experience.

Here you get to pick between a wizard, cleric, fighter or rogue as your representative in the dungeons. Naturally each has their own strengths and weaknesses yet some are weaker than others. The cleric in particular is poorly represented in the power stakes which consequentially makes it a boring choice to play. On the opposite end the wizard is supremely strong, especially once it gets to higher levels. Make your choice, watch some passable FMV to get you in the mood, and then hey-ho! It's adventuring time. Probably the best way to describe the gameworld is like a properly 3D version of Diablo, but with less straight edges. The camera is very well behaved for the most part and does its best to help you get into the game without turning itself into an annoying little side challenge. For my money it could do with a little more girth in the wide-angle extreme but even when the game is played with some friends it works well and will rarely frustrate. Which are more positive words than can be said for the colour schemes of the dungeons you will crawl through. Apart from the primary colours of the ID rings around each player it seems as if all hue has been sucked out of the world. Yes, once more we find ourselves in the land that Quake begot, with browns and greys ruling supreme and all variation of colour smothered by the Bland Queen. It isn't that terrible but it can be easy to miss objects and loot, even when they twinkle to get your attention. There is some variety in the landscapes, with the obligatory ice, swamp and hell levels all standing up to be counted and these landscapes are all nicely detailed and richly populated (for an action RPG). with features to bring the world to life. Yet even on my cheap and over saturated telly the whole thing looks overly muted. However, the utterly brilliant water effects with their realistic rippling and wave motions almost completely make up for this. The terrain is also easily navigable with pebbles and ridges causing no hindrance to our heroes progress.

Playing the game is just like any other dungeon hack. Attack, heal, attack, heal, listen to some dude, attack, pull lever, heal, attack, level up. Rinse and repeat. There's no great cerebral challenges to be had and the whole experience will not be bothering the boffins in the non-linearity lab all that much. A handy Questpoint Indicator will always point you in the right direction. The map is in a funny position, occupying a largish section of the left-centre of the screen, and the useful tooltips have the nasty habit of lingering for too long in their position smack bang in the centre of the action. The story too is almost instantly forgettable, not surprising when you consider just how many worlds I have saved from collapse by my miraculous appearance. But all of this similarity works well for the game. You can pick it up and have it mostly sussed in five minutes and the flow of the game is only ever interrupted by a visit to the shop. The inventory system is another example of the thought that has gone into making this an enjoyable game. Players can swap things about with the greatest of ease but for some reason you can't give your pals any of your gold. Then again, they can just buy any item for you and pass it on so this is no problem.