Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
16 hours between Wulfgar / Drizzt Solo and Multiplayer before deciding to put my 2 cents.
First I’ll start by saying that two main complaints are legitimate but pretty exaggerated.
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Netcode does need work and diminishes the value of twitch mechanics which otherwise work flawlessly Solo but at the same time you’re in a group so unless you’re the type to scream “But I pressed the button!” and rage. It’s mostly an annoyance right now and not bad enough to kill enjoyment of the game.
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Enemy AI is indeed a bit derpy taking “Action Movie” turns to attack the player. This is most notable Solo. At the same time if the enemy were to aggro stick the player all at once I doubt it would be Solo’d above 2. Hero difficulty. Far as I’ve seen the issue with hitting enemies from range, esp bosses is generally fixed and in the end this isn’t a competitive game. I’ve seen 5/5 star games where the AI is still easily exploited. Just play the game and stop trying to break it.
– Real player with 207.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dungeons & Dragons Controller Games.
To start this review, many of the first negative reviews, and highest rated ones, are both much too critical and based off of a low amount of hours.
This game is marvelous, but it would be ignorant to write this review and say there are no issues. Of course, there are some glaring issues. But many of them are no where near as detrimental as some of the high rated negative reviews make them seem.
The worst issue in my opinion is the lackluster AI. Many of the enemies, simply won’t attack you, if you don’t start attacking them. And you get warmed up to that very fast. However, there are some AI, who are very aggressive, and being warmed up to AI not generally attacking you, it makes it feel like… a normal game. However, if you’re playing with a team, I have not yet encountered an enemy who will actively attack you whilst reviving a teammate.
– Real player with 89.0 hrs in game
Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale
Finished it years ago and neglected to review it - like most games in my account. Not as bad as some say, in my opinion, but probably not the best either. Lower your expectations (if you ignored the negative ratings) and you might actually have som fun. Strange minor bugs once in awhile but nothing gamebreaking that I know of or experienced personally. No major technical issues either. I actually liked Daggerdale, despite its shortcomings, and I still do. My biggest complaint would be the fact that you cannot remap your keys without some tweaking in the ini or through the use of software such as autohotkey. Very annoying even though I got it to work in the end.
– Real player with 51.8 hrs in game
To start things off I will say that most of my hours playing this game was on the xbox 360.
And I have beaten it a few time on the 360.
STORY:The STORY is simple but not bad.
GAMEPLAY:The gameplay is a hack and slah type but has other types of sords and bows to chose from.
:::
:::NOTE If you are buying the game(PC version) for the brand and nothing els then dont bother because,there are a few hoops to jump through to get the game working right.
What do I mean?
The PC port is awful and shet and the devs have long forgotten about it BUT there is hope.
– Real player with 48.1 hrs in game
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
I hesitated honestly to recommend it, but Beamdog has been doing bugfixes still in 2020-2021 (!), so that certainly deserves respect and appreciation as such! (Beamdog is the company responsible for the Enhanced Edition. The original was developed by Black Isle Studios [Fallout 1-2, Planescape].)
Though it looks like Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 (same engine, though not the same designers), the design and story are very different. I highly recommend playing BG1 and 2 in priority. IWD is much more linear (though I like the ambiance), with very little choices, and the AD&D rules used in BG1 and BG2 were butchered a bit in IWD. Although the rules are very similar, many of the character statistics have changed. The game balance (difficulty) is sometimes very odd in IWD. Many creatures can hit -15 AC easily (beyond rolling natural 20 which are always automatic hits in all those games). In terms of being linear, it is more of a dungeon crawl, from point A to point B, and so it is not a region to explore in an uncertain order à la BG2 or Fallout. And, really, sometimes your party is crawling forward under waves of creatures to slay.
– Real player with 155.9 hrs in game
Having never played neither D&D or an Infinity engine game before, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much value was put on the table in Icewind Dale: EE, not just as a videogame, but also as an introductory of sorts to D&D for new players.
Right of the bat you’re given the option to create a party of six (though you can choose to roll with a smaller party, or even solo the whole game) with a ludicrous amount of customization at your fingertips. For those new to the whole thing such as myself at the time, the options available might seem too overwhelming at first with all the different races, classes, weapon proficiencies, etc. Needless to say I’d spent the first few hours just to setup my party. This is a good thing.
– Real player with 129.7 hrs in game
Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition
Baldur’s Gate is truly a masterpiece. Despite it’s beauty, tactical depth and great story, the game does not take itself too seriously. This cannot be said of many other leading RPG titles, which I soon begin to find rather corny. If you like RPGs and have not played Baldur’s Gate, then this is an absolute must, you do not even need to waste your time reading this review but of course you are welcome to. If you have played the original BG and are curious about Beamdog’s boob job, I share with you my opinion.
– Real player with 425.6 hrs in game
Classics are often thought to be timeless for future generations to enjoy, but the same cannot be said for Baldur’s Gate—and it’s not because CRPGs are uncommon. To go blind into BG in 2016 is practically impossible because how modern expectations are at odds with the brutal accessibility of ’90s computer games.
Baldur’s Gate, simply put, is an sarcophagus; it is a coffin of a bygone time of design philosophies and of late ’90s player expectations, immersed in the counter-culture of D&D and of fantasy-fiction that is written in its code like hieroglyphics to modern eyes. The game’s reverence is both a nostalgic call-back as well as an appreciation of BG’s systems as a traditional role-playing experience.
– Real player with 203.9 hrs in game
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
Can’t express enough, nor can I make this a full review as it would take far too long, how amazing this game is. Still survives more than 18 years after launch through the Enhanced Edition and I’ve been playing since that launch. Roleplaying online for over 15 years, as well. It continues to get amazing improvements as it goes along, and I’m excited to see how much more it can bring.
– Real player with 7840.3 hrs in game
You know what you could be playing instead of a MMO?
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition.
– Real player with 965.0 hrs in game
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
If you’re thinking this is just going to be another double dragon game then like what Captain Tenneal likes to say on the show MXC: “Well, YOU’RE WRONG!!!”
This game incorporates some of the most advanced mechanics you’ve ever seen in any beat-em-up. And mind you these two games came out wayyyy back in 1996. Expect to see: Critical hits in your attacks, spell casting, combos, FOUR PLAYERS!, backstabbing, infinite combos (if you’re good enough), secrets, forked paths, different equiappable weapons, level ups, and unlockable in game perks such as arts, galleries, and even house rules to play around with.
– Real player with 598.0 hrs in game
Gather your party before setting forth! Or just yourself. That way you don’t need to see the disappointment in your friend’s eyes as you die to a kobold.
“BY THE ABYSS
- Fighter, every time he falls down. Every time.
Chronicles of Mystara is two ported games with some retro flair - Shadow Over Mystara, which is a cult classic beatemup which has as much accolades as Gary Gygax giving birth to the 20-sided die, and there’s Tower of Doom, which can come too.
They’re coin-op arcade games with a flair for the tabletop, giving you classes, items, branching paths, Tower of Doom even has effects for enemies failing saving throws. All of this makes for a game that’s novel, intricate by nature, and has earned its cult classic status.
– Real player with 28.7 hrs in game
Fantasy Grounds Unity
The Skinny:
Easily one of the best programs on my computer and just keeps improving itself. More detailed below.
The Thick of thing:
I began looking for an online resource to start playing Pathfinder remotely, as I only knew a handful of people who played and they lived all over the place. I started with Roll20 and stayed there for a year. During my tenor there I had to keep restarting things on every new game I made. I could not use the same assets without bringing them in again to the new map, and eventually started paying subscription to gain abilities to automate and utilize the feature that made life easier. Content creators were great (independent artists and such) but I began to realize the subscription model was going to make me pay more than any other game I owned. So I started looking at ‘competitors’ which I learned there were many.
– Real player with 794.0 hrs in game
Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU) is a special case. It has a lot of downsides; however, FGU is the only product that provides flexibility, official support, automation, and most importantly regional currency support.
On the bright side; FGU runs on the local machine. The GM can use whatever maps and props he likes. It is also possible to make modules and share them. I can make an entire adventure including images and tokens and just send the file to a fellow GM or move characters between campaigns. I can run 50000 different campaigns and the best of it, once I purchased FGU, it is mine to keep. The official support is also great. You just buy the system once and it is yours. Most of the settings are updated with new features. If you are following a rather popular system, there are tons of adventures and if you are a DIY person you can make your adventures. The FGU also comes with 11 RPG systems and starter info for the most popular syste. Unofficial support is also plenty, there are a lot of unofficial RPG system files out there. You can also port or make your own system. With FGU, the sky is the limit.
– Real player with 549.5 hrs in game
Dungeons & Dragons Online®
Introduction;
I have spent many hours on this game over the years, and even though it may feel a little antiquated now, it is still one of the best RPG’s that I have played in a very long time.
It feels like a true RPG, and a true adaptation of the AD&D Rule Set that true AD&D gamers are familiar with. There is none of that level scaling crap in this game which has become a trend recently. It is all leveled content.
This is one of the few games which I install every time I have to do a re-install of Steam for what ever reason.
– Real player with 2656.1 hrs in game
I have been playing this game for years and only recently started playing it through steam. I would say my actual hours are probably closer to 2000. this is a huge, well established MMO with tons of content. if you like customized builds, look no further. you have the ability to create your character from the ground up. you choose where every ability, skill, feat and enhancement point goes, and you can even multiclass. ever wondered how an Archer Monk Wizard would fare in combat? Now you can find out.
– Real player with 639.2 hrs in game
Fantasy Grounds Classic
OK, so please read the full review instead of just taking note of my thumb down vote for this game. That was a tough choice to make. This program is a very mixed bag, some wonderful things in here that are blended together with some horrible design decisions.
Context: I use this program as a face-to-face tool for my gaming group, no outside connections. So this review will ignore any feature dealing with that. Also, will not be comparing this to any competitors. My setup is a dual screen PC, with two instances of the program open. One (GM) on my monitor and the second (Player) on a TV laying flat. Players are using miniatures and real dice, while I am using tokens and the program’s dice.
– Real player with 1343.8 hrs in game
*** Update as of 3-July-2020****
I’m not going to remove the previous review because it’s all accurate still. That being said, FGU has more features and is better than classic, mostly.
However, even perhaps more importantly…. There is a piece of software called “Foundry” that is LOADS and HEAPS better than every other options out there. You pay 50 bucks for software as the host and it works just.. seamlessly. Check it out, it’s outstanding and incomprehensibly good. People connect via their browsers, but with NO exaggeration, it has 1/50th the load time of FGU or FG, and is so utterly beautiful. Check it out, you will be impressed.
– Real player with 530.5 hrs in game
Neverwinter
After playing this game for a while, i have to say i have enjoyed many hours of game play. Yes, you can pay ( with a ton of cash, it is not cheap) to obtain the end-game enchantnments and mounts quicker but nothing that you can not get with spending some time grinding out content. The best possible thing for any new player coming into the game would be to find a good guild. This will save you tons of time. Money can not buy you skill, i see 3.2 item players out dps and out play 4.3 players everyday. If you like Wow or mmo’s , you will enjoy this game. ( I suggest buying VIP, it is worth it for 10$ )
– Real player with 3242.5 hrs in game
Awesome game. Shitty Free To play structure. If you like nickles or dimes then dont play this shit. RNG boxes will rape your bank before you get anything worth a fuck. Campaigns that force you to log in for ten days to repeat a garbage ass daily before you get enough of what you need to advance to the next portion, rinse repeat until you can move along. The gap between end game people and people that are just coming back or just starting is rediculously huge. To the tune of someone doing 80 million damage while you do 6 million… I know how to get to that damage level i just dont see myself playing this game as a second job to get there. This game was not like this in the beginning when i started to play and would be great if it went back but someone on the management team at this studio is a greedy fuck and needs to calm down. I want to reccomend this game but there is no maybe option so I rounded down like a jerk.
– Real player with 538.4 hrs in game