Dungeon Lords Collectors Edition Reviews:

[ti4200]

Dungeon Lords Collectors Edition Reviews:

PC GamerZone Review
http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r28378.htm

GameBanshee Review
http://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/software/dungeonlordsce1.php

[WeaselSpleen]

Dungeon Lords Collectors Edition Reviews:

>PC GamerZone Review
>http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r28378.htm
What the fuh...?

"The developers have added a wealth of new content to the game."
Yep, and titanium primates flow copiously from my puckered nether regions.

"Equally impressive is that the new content and features live up to the high standards of the original game. "
Ex-CUSE me?
Oh, maybe he meant high as in you-must-be-high-before-you-buy.

"Unlike other titles...it is difficult to tell which items or quests are new unless you have played an older version of the game."
What the fudge-packin' son-of-a-biscuit does this guy smoke to come up with pukosity like this?

"The new content adds to the game, but doesn’t fundamentally change or expand the game beyond its original design."
THAT's certainly the truth. It's still the same game. Unfortunately.

"The original title was extremely fun to explore with a friend."
Yeah, a very special friend. Who comes up with this smucking spilth?

"The collector’s edition doesn’t contain much beyond the original packaging."
Ok, they're sort of honest about that at least. But right after that, they make this utterly ludicrous claim...

"Dungeon Lords was a solid, fun game when it was first released."
Sure, if your idea of solid is frozen jello, and if you consider babysitting your bratty nephew while you have a headache to be "fun".

"Older players might not feel the need to buy the extended edition."
Boy, nothing gets past this guy, does it...

"The solid foundation from Dungeon Lords is preserved in the expanded version."
ROTFLMAO!!!!
Must be that frozen jello foundation. I mean really, why even bother with descriptions like this? Why not simply come right out and say "I never played the original barely-playable, bug-ridden, unfinished, no-gods-be-dammed-fireplaces-in-Arindale pile of craptacular mule feces, but I'm more than willing to prostitute my integrity for the sake of some advertisind dollars."

"The developers have taken the time to improve upon their game, fixing balance issues and small problems that had irritated the fan base. It is very refreshing to see a developer spend so much effort paying attention to the fans."

Introducing... Shoes 1.5! Now they come with LACES! Whoooeee!


GameBanshee Review
http://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/software/dungeonlordsce1.php
"Even in an industry where games are frequently rushed out the door to meet some arbitrary deadline, Dungeon Lords hit a new low. The auto-map feature hadn’t been implemented yet, a large number of spells and skills were missing, towns were empty of furniture and NPCs, and there were a ton of game-stopping bugs. I don’t even want to hazard a guess about how many people who purchased the game were actually able to complete it in its original form."

Well, it's incredibly obvious which of these reviewers has actually PLAYED the original game.

[CymTyr]

I have not played the original version of Dungeon Lords, so I cannot confirm or deny any statement regarding it.

CE to me is a refreshing change of pace and I am finding it very enjoyable, personally. At first, I was uncomfortable with the FPS-like control system of Dungeon Lords, but it's grown on me. When I kill a hard boss I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.

In games like Dungeon Siege 2, I enjoy myself but it's not on the same level. For me, I really feel like I've earned that kill in DL.

One of the things that sets DL apart is that even on Easy difficulty the game is still quite challenging for the unprepared.

I can understand you being disgruntled after doing some research and seeing reports of what state the original DL was in when it launched, but D.W. Bradley has done some brilliant work in his time, and it wasn't all down to him. There are a lot of factors to consider and the fact that they came out with a Collector's Edition and have patched the game multiple times means that at least Heuristic Park is making an effort.

Cut them some slack. Nothing in this world is 100% perfect, and in the gaming industry the best we can hope for these days from virtually >all< publishers is a quick patch after launch to fix the inherent issues.

If you want to pick a company to take your aggression out on, look at Blizzard. World of Warcraft nets them over $72.5 million dollars a month in gross profits from subscription fees alone, yet every maintenance day there are random server issues. Every patch day the login servers go down or malfunction. The servers themselves are unbalanced and lag-plagued, and some servers that are full are still the ones assigned to players when they ask the computer to suggest a specific realm type.

There are much bigger fish to fry and criticize, and Heuristic Park is still a baby company. I believe that with the proper resources they have the potential to become a powerhouse, but this will take time and patience.

/endsoapboxbanter

Take it easy.

-Cym

[Qualas]

Thanks Cym, you saved my time to rant on that weasel guy. I like to see a gamer who knows what hes talking about, however, I'm still going to rant about the idiotic post weasel has posted....-ahem-

Weasel, like Cym has said, Heuristic Park is still a garage game maker, and all games do have flaws, it just seems that they weren't as prepared to make the game then they thought, I see your disgusted by the review, and yes it seems like it wasn't actually played...HOWEVER, it really does not matter if you disagree about the review, and you espescially do not need to strain the remaining mental space people have of trying to descipher the crap that you have written, not many people can make much sense of what you have said.

It really does not matter about the old game nowadays, if you want to be one of those griping losers who still complain about wasting 40$ before reading a review or two, then please do it on the original dungeon lords forum, this is the collectors edition, where people can talk about how much they like the new version, and we can forget the original like a bad dream.

-Qualas

[WeaselSpleen]

I have not played the original version of Dungeon Lords, so I cannot confirm or deny any statement regarding it.

Let me make something clear. I finished Dungeon Lords, and I did enjoy some things about it. I had frustrating problems, but I didn't stop playing it, I stuck through all the bugs and dorky missing pieces and broken quests, and I found quite a lot to like about the game. There were some imaginative monsters, the combat was enjoyable, and I particularly liked the unusual magic system, or at least I would have, if significant portions of it weren't simply non-functional. The problem was, the game just wasn't finished. It was an early beta release. Period. The patches fixed some but not all of the problems.




I can understand you being disgruntled after doing some research and seeing reports of what state the original DL was in when it launched, but D.W. Bradley has done some brilliant work in his time, and it wasn't all down to him.

Of course not, and I never said it was. The problem with DL wasn't that it was technically bad, or ugly, or even a bad performer. The problem was that it simply
Was.
Not.
Finished.

I don't mean rough edges. I don't mean a few loose ends. I mean basic functionality was completely missing, gaping plot holes, places that were obviously INTENDED to do something that just didn't do anything at all, and most frustrating of all, NO WAY TO KNOW whether the problem you were experiencing at any given time was because you just weren't doing the right thing, or because there was something fundamentally broken.

The original game before patching was pretty much unplayable. We're talking EARLY beta, maybe alpha testing level. The patches knocked out some of the most eggregious bugs, and added what would have been considered mandatory features in most other games but that's about all. Honestly, how hard would it have been to throw some fires in the fireplaces at the inn in one of those patches?

Even after patching, there were too many things that either didn't work as advertised, or didn't work at all.

The irony is that the bozos who actually caused this fiasco by forcing the product to market months before it was finished will probably never be called to account. Blame will go to the developers, not to the bean counting bar stewards who actually caused the problem.

But what tics me off most is having all the frustration and irritation of the huge problems with the initial game pawned off by this cheap pimp of a game reviewer as "small problems." God only knows what he would consider MAJOR problems with a game, maybe if it set fire to your computer or something.


There are a lot of factors to consider and the fact that they came out with a Collector's Edition and have patched the game multiple times means that at least Heuristic Park is making an effort.

Let me point out that the target of my ire in that post was NOT Dreamcatcher or Heuristic Park, but Matt Eberle, the GameZone reviewer who wrote some completely ridiculous comments about the quality of the original game in his review of the Collector's Edition.

I have no idea what happened at HP, but I seriously doubt anyone there got a lot of sleep during this debacle. There's no doubt that a tremendous amount of effort was put into the game. It's too bad the results were so disastrous.


Cut them some slack.
I did. More than once. The last straw for me was finding that I would have to pay full retail price to re-purchase the exact same game just in order to get the same content that was falsely advertised as being in the original game. Sheer idiocy. Dreamcatcher wouldn't be losing anything by giving the updated content away to original purchasers, because frankly, most people who bought the game are unlikely to buy the collector's edition, and the negative publicity that's being generated by this action is certainly going to more than offset whatever sales those might be.


Most "collector's editions" I've seen contain some sort of bonus materials beyond the original game content, such as cloth maps, posters, cards, extra literature, "Making of" stories, and so forth. Look at the collectors editions of the HOMM series, the Baldur's Gate series, Dungeon Keeper Collector's Edition included the original game PLUS the Deeper Dungeons expansion pack. Quake 4 Collector's Edition actually includes Quake 2 and 3, plus expansion packs, AND behind-the-scenes materials. If DL CE had even a little something to make it worthwhile, like throwing in a copy of one of Dreamcatcher's older titles, I wouldn't consider it such a monumental rip-off of the countless people who paid good money to do extensive beta testing.

What comes with DL CE? Exactly what the original product was described as being, nothing more. The "extra" quests aren't a bonus, they're the minimum acceptable level of content that should have been there in the first place. That's the problem.


If you want to pick a company to take your aggression out on, look at Blizzard. World of Warcraft nets them over $72.5 million dollars a month...

First, if you re-read my comments, you'll notice that my real ire was directed not at the developers, but at the reviewer who basically told bald-faced lies about the original Dungeon Lords game, probably because Dreamcatcher is a big advertiser or something.

Second, it doesn't make any sense to try to compare a game like DL to what is, really, a subscription gaming service, not a single game.

And finally, I simply don't care about WoW, so I would have no reason to complain about it. Frankly, I don't care for MMPORGs in general; pay a monthly fee so I can enjoy a slower, less reliable experience AND put up with with obnoxious cheating punks? No thanks. Some folks think it's great, and that's fine for them.

I prefer single-player and small multiplayer games with a lot of play time, and by play time I don't mean mindlessly slogging through a sea of wolves and spiders every time I go from point A to B, like in DL.



I believe that with the proper resources they have the potential to become a powerhouse, but this will take time and patience.
I agree there's a lot of potential in DL. It's just a shame that the publishers betrayed the customers' trust so badly. That's a warning sign: things are not as they should be with this publisher. It tells me they can't be trusted. If they stopped thinking about recouping their losses in the short term, and started thinking about their long-term reputation, they'd see what a huge problem this is for them.

I just googled "Dungeon Lords Collector's Edition. Here are some quotes from the highest ranking results of that search...

"...anyone that purchased the first edition is essentially screwed out of the final patch unless they purchase the CE." - videogametalk.com

"the initial release of Dungeon Lords was a joke. It was released in what can only be described as an early beta version... Now they have released the "Collector's Edition". A better name for this edition of the game would be the "Complete Edition", as that's what it really is."
- Amazon.com

"Dreamcatcher and Bradley seriously lack any shade of integrity to release this "Collector's Edition" as a only-in-retail-box condition."
- Amazon.com

"Even in an industry where games are frequently rushed out the door to meet some arbitrary deadline, Dungeon Lords hit a new low."
- Gamebanshee.com

How can Dreamcatcher NOT see what a PR disaster this move is? All I can figure is they're smokin' crack or something.

[Qualas]

Wow Weasel does not give up, anyways, for your information, that reviewer was not paid to review dungeon lords, didn't even have to play it, the reviewer was paid to play and review the collector's edition, so there is a good chance that this guy never played the original and assumed that the game did fairly well.


And dreamcatcher is not entirely bad, neither is Heuristic Park, OR D.W Bradley, they are not on crack, crack is for losers, sure they let out a sucky unfinished game, but look on the up side, at least it didn't suck as bad as Catwoman: The Game

[WeaselSpleen]

Thanks Cym, you saved my time to rant on that weasel guy.

Rant away, but don't be surprised when I bite you right back.


I like to see a gamer who knows what hes talking about, however, I'm still going to rant about the idiotic post weasel has posted....-ahem-

Idiotic? Nothing idiotic about my post. Unless you didn't bother to READ my post. Oh, wait a minute, let me guess. You DIDN'T read it. You, being a fanboy, saw something that looked like criticism, and practically ruptured yourself with that knee-jerk reaction.


Weasel, like Cym has said, Heuristic Park is still a garage game maker, and all games do have flaws...

Blah blah blah, just as I thought. You didn't read past the first six words. If you HAD read my post, you would notice I was ragging on THE REVIEWER not the PUBLISHER. Go back and really read it this time. I WAS DISSING THE REVIEWER. Helloooooooo down there....


HOWEVER, it really does not matter if you disagree about the review,

Yeah, it really does not matter to you what anyone thinks, because you're a fanboy. Whatever...


and you espescially do not need to strain the remaining mental space people have of trying to descipher the crap that you have written
I don't write "crap." Never have, never will. Not my fault you were educated in public school.


not many people can make much sense of what you have said.

I suggest the Lemony Snickett books as a way to improve both vocabulary and comprehension. They're quite good, actually.


if you want to be one of those griping losers who still complain about wasting 40$ before reading a review or two
Blah blah blah, blame the victim. You should become a defense attorney for rapists.

then please do it on the original dungeon lords forum, this is the collectors edition, where people can talk about how much they like the new version,
All aboard the cluetrain, get your tickets here...
It's the SAME game.
The "Collector's Edition" is just the original product as described on the original box and documentation. Features promoted in the CE as "new" are features that were described as being part of the original product.
Gimme a D! Gimme a U! Gimme an H! What's that spell!

and we can forget the original like a bad dream.
So let me get this straight. You admit the original game was a "bad dream."
But you think I'm a loser because I criticize the reviewer who said the original game was very good and had no major problems. OK, fine. I'm a loser. You can sleep good at night knowing you're one of the "winners."

[Sanctus]

Can I just say thank you all for some entertaining dialog. Weasel, I was almost starting to sympathize with you until you made that crack about public schools. I went to public schools all of my life and I managed to both max my SATs and understand your amusing complaints. I say amusing not to make light of any suffering you experienced, only to describe my enjoyment in laughing while reading your posts. I feel your pain with the original version and I think you should sit down and write a slightly less insulting letter to the publishers of the game. In every case where I have felt as strongly as you obviously do about a game, I have written the publishers\developers and I have always obtained good results. Now, as for me and Dungeon Lords, I am happy with the collectors edition. I read some early reviews of the original version and avoided buying it. So, I have only played the Collectors Edition and I am quite pleased with it. Sorry you had such a bad experience, better luck next time. I still think that you could likely garner a free copy of CE from the publishers if you wrote them a letter. Good luck!

Daniel

[vlad]

This is my opinion of 1.4. It's good, real good. But there's a few issues I found
when I finally tried it out.
No.1, the camera smoothing was reduced to 50, which made it next to impossible to turn quickly while facing enemies. I was able to remedy this by changing the smoothing to 100.
No.2, monster difficulty and random encounters seem to be stuck on medium. Every time I tried to change them they would change, but when playing it was like the game was on medium. I quit and checked it out on the main menu
without exiting the game. It showed medium on difficulty and encounters. Usually, once changed when the game is running, the easy and less stay there. But now they don't. This causes huge waves of encounters that can be next to impossible to defeat in the beginning and even with all the potions in the world.
No.3, you now have to identify if you want to know what almost anything is. Though, you can pay gold to a vendor for identification and this can lead to being poor and frustrated even with a ton of gold.
The last problem is that it has become even easier to die. This does not bode well for the weary gamer as Dungeon Lords comes so ever close to being a Fable ripoff without as good a gameplay.
Basically, marry Diablo and Fable and what you get is Dungeon Lords in a nutshell.

[Gorn]

Welcome back WeaselSpleen, what is this your 3rd... or is the 4th return with a new name to bash Dungeon Lords. You really need to get a life and move on instead of creating new handles to come here and embarrass yourself YET AGAIN.

For you folks that missed his former troll ridden names, let me fill you in... this poor excuse for a human returns about every other month to rip & tear at Anyone who might have enjoyed this game, and if you write a favorable reveiw... oh god, he will explode in a flurry of hatred. Often his rants contain "but I did play the game and liked it", but then spends hours here attacking anyone else who enjoyed it and calling them "fanboys", as if the only way you could defend this game is by being a fanboy.

So as Mr. T says, pity the fool... but don't bother trying to argue with him, he'll only come back with a new handle and the same old tired attacks.

[Gorn]

"Dungeon Lords comes so ever close to being a Fable ripoff without as good a gameplay. Basically, marry Diablo and Fable and what you get is Dungeon Lords in a nutshell."

What?!

Fable was 1st person and a completely linear game that lead you by the nose and did not allow any exploration off the beaten path. The game play was okay, but a complete disapointment to those who waited for what the author said would be "The Best RPG of All Time"... far from it, it was a console swing feast that ended after 3-4 sittings, a good rental for the weekend.

Diablo was a top-down point & click with no combat skills, no exploration (other than the dungeon) had no overland play and ONE dungeon. Lots of fun, but still a mindless game with no story that required no thought to play. Again, a game that can be beaten in one weekend.
(let me say this, Diablo was great game in it's day... but it's old and tired now)

So, tell me, how is Dungeon Lords in ANYway like these two games? The closest comparison would be "Wizards & Warriors", which was a DW Bradley game that was in many respects identical to Dungeon Lords.
D.L. is 3rd person, not top-down or 1st person, you can explore for weeks, there are many different dungeons filled with traps and puzzles, there is underwater exploration, and a rich story filled with twists and interesting turns.

And... there are many who would take offense to your comparison since both Diablo & Fable were huge hits that sold millions of copies... Very unlike Dungeon Lords, which sold very few copies and was greeted with instant scorn.

So, your "nut shell" turns out to be the one between your legs, not Fable & Diablo & Dungeon Lords. :)

[GeorgeKeith]

Well, I must enjoy the game tremendously because I'm presently playing CE, and this is my 25th trip through the game (all versions included) and 5 of those are in CE. :D

[Shock]

It could be better if they added more to it and CPRed the online multiplayer.


http://mccrappy.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/defibrillator.jpg

[vlad]

"Dungeon Lords comes so ever close to being a Fable ripoff without as good a gameplay. Basically, marry Diablo and Fable and what you get is Dungeon Lords in a nutshell."

What?!

Fable was 1st person and a completely linear game that lead you by the nose and did not allow any exploration off the beaten path. The game play was okay, but a complete disapointment to those who waited for what the author said would be "The Best RPG of All Time"... far from it, it was a console swing feast that ended after 3-4 sittings, a good rental for the weekend.

Diablo was a top-down point & click with no combat skills, no exploration (other than the dungeon) had no overland play and ONE dungeon. Lots of fun, but still a mindless game with no story that required no thought to play. Again, a game that can be beaten in one weekend.
(let me say this, Diablo was great game in it's day... but it's old and tired now)

So, tell me, how is Dungeon Lords in ANYway like these two games? The closest comparison would be "Wizards & Warriors", which was a DW Bradley game that was in many respects identical to Dungeon Lords.
D.L. is 3rd person, not top-down or 1st person, you can explore for weeks, there are many different dungeons filled with traps and puzzles, there is underwater exploration, and a rich story filled with twists and interesting turns.

And... there are many who would take offense to your comparison since both Diablo & Fable were huge hits that sold millions of copies... Very unlike Dungeon Lords, which sold very few copies and was greeted with instant scorn.

So, your "nut shell" turns out to be the one between your legs, not Fable & Diablo & Dungeon Lords. :)

Okay, first of all in Fable, you had the same elements of alchemy just being used in different ways. I don't hate Dungeon Lords. I was just saying that you
can find some of the same symbols in Fable. Also, fable does have a third person view. You just have to work the camera controls to see it. Try it on pc
and you'll see this. In Diablo 2, you have to click to hit but that's how it is in the pc version of Fable and Fable the lost chapters.The only real difference is the hack and slash in Fable but yet is similar to the point & click in diablo 2 when on the pc. That's all I'm saying.Diablo 2 also had the story just not in 3D. I should have said that to begin with.