Thursday 16 June 2011

Gaming Reviews


Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
Atari
Available Now - PC, PS3 & Xbox 360 (Version tested)
Review by Blake Harmer

Much like the Warhammer 40,000 licence, videogames set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe are a mixed bag, ranging from the awesome to the downright awful. Sadly, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale is on the shonkier end of the spectrum; which is the shame as the premise of an online co-op action RPG is a really good one.

There are numerous problems - graphical glitches, lacklustre sound effects and bugs - which are noticeable within moments of turning the game on. Even ignoring these faults, the rest of the game (even the parts that do work) is just plain lazy, as well. The combat is basic, the level design boring and the quests unimaginative and repetitive. In fact, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale doesn’t do anything that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance didn’t do ten years ago on the PS2 and original Xbox. And even then it's worse.

In Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale’s defence, the game does work better as an online co-op experience, and there is some fun to be had clobbering monsters among friends. That, and levelling up and finding new and more powerful weapons is always addictive in any RPG, flawed or not. However, with there being so many better online experiences out there, there is still very little here to recommend it for unless you are completely addicted to dungeon crawling.

The Emotionally Fourteen Games Rating
Graphics:
Sub-standard even when compared to other downloadable games on the PSN or XBOX Live. The graphical glitches and poor cutscenes are just laughable too.
Sound/Music: Average with limited music and poor sound effects. The annoying grunts you get instead of voice acting will begin to grate on you before too long as well.
Gameplay: A basic action RPG dungeon crawl that doesn’t bring anything new to the genre and doesn’t challenge the likes of dinosaurs like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or even Diablo.
Lasting Appeal: A fair length, and the appeal of playing through it with friends does add some longevity, but there is little replay value even if you do struggle to the end.
Summary: Numerous glitches and flaws aside, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale just isn’t as fun as it could have been, even when played with friends. Fans of action RPGs will be better off sticking with the likes of Dungeon Siege and Diablo, whilst fans of Dungeons & Dragons will have to wait for another game to capture the essence of their favourite RPG. That or just play Call of Cthulhu. It is a better game after all. 4/10

MEGA SHARK VS CROCOSAURUS GIVEAWAY

In the Atlantic Ocean, the unsuspecting battleship USS Gibson is viciously attacked and destroyed the beast. The sole survivor is Lt.Terry McCormick (Jaleel White), a man experimenting with a sonic shark-repelling device.


Meanwhile deep in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigel Putnam, an English hunter (Gary Stretch – Alexander) successfully captures a giant crocodile out to devour him whole. After loading the highly sedated crocodile on to a cargo ship, with its eggs intact, the ship is suddenly attacked by the vicious Mega Shark, waking the crocodile from its sleep and unleashing hell as the terrifying ancient beasts clash,

Together McCormick and Putnam joined by Special Agent Hutchinson (Sarah Lieving) must pool their resources to save the world from the gigantic beasts and their killer offspring.

Ships will be annihilated, helicopters will fall from the sky, bridges will crumble and cities will be wiped out in the action-packed sea-shocking sequel to Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus!

Thanks to our friends at Metrodome, we've got three copies of Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus to give away! For your chance of winning, send your name to emotionally14@hotmail.co.uk before midday on Thursday 23rd June, making sure to put "Crocosaurus" as the subject. The first three entries out of the electronic hat after the competition closes will receive a free copy!

Don't forget to put "Crocosaurus" in the subject line. Incorrectly labelled or blank entries will be discarded.

Entries limited to one per household. Offer open only to postal addresses in the UK and Ireland.

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