ROFL!

There's a rule in sales. "Never advertise a negative." And "It's like Dungeon Master. Bad GUI and all." seems to fit that bill. It is comical they are claiming it's 'intentional' but the only part that is confusing is it's more like Arx Fatale rather than Dungeon Master as far as the runes go-but even that game let you key up three spells to fire off. In fact the rune selection is very very much like the spell system in Ultima Underworld. Of course Dungeon Master enjoyed an underwhelming score of 6.3 even on gamespot.

Originally Posted By ghostryder (16 APR 2012 5:45am)

ROFL!

 

There's a rule in sales. "Never advertise a negative." And "It's like Dungeon Master. Bad GUI and all." seems to fit that bill. It is comical they are claiming it's 'intentional' but the only part that is confusing is it's more like Arx Fatale rather than Dungeon Master as far as the runes go-but even that game let you key up three spells to fire off. In fact the rune selection is very very much like the spell system in Ultima Underworld. Of course Dungeon Master enjoyed an underwhelming score of 6.3 even on gamespot.

Well I really enjoyed dungeon master when it came out and would have givn it a higher mark. I am struggling a bit with some of the puzzles in this one and I must admit and it does take away from the overall enjoyment of the game. I do not remember this many puzzles being in the original.

Originally Posted By ghostryder (16 APR 2012 5:45am)

Of course Dungeon Master enjoyed an underwhelming score of 6.3 even on gamespot.

Dungeon Master rated 6.3 on gamespot  ? Do you have the link ?

Do not confuse with Dungeon Master 2, wich was rather poor.

I don't have a problem with the rune-based magic system, but I think a better choice would have been for the spell choice to be 'remembered' between casting. You shouldn't have to select the same spell over and over. Just make the user select the runes when changing to a new spell.

Combat as a whole was very underwheling and just became an exercise in strafing / dodging and spamming attacks.

I personally thought the puzzles were enjoyable for the most part but a greater variety would have been appreciated. Two of the final puzzles absolutely sucked.

exactly robc04. The rune system is fine. The problem is having to go through the whole process every time you cast. Once learned it should be a right click cast just like the rest of the fighting setup.

As for keeping to the original. I DO NOT buy that in the least. The original had Paladins, priests and ninjas. Here we have fighter, mage and thief. If your really interested in a true loyal remake of Dungeon Master that would be Dungeon Master Java-

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/game/3334279/dungeon-master-java-review/

Why they decided to keep even the bad things is beyond me. For example, that move-pause-move movement. Why?? The original was made this way because it was limited by PCs of that time, but now you get things like Dx10 graphics AND cell-by-cell movement with pauses. 

It's like making a 2D racing game that supports 3D stereo and triple-head monitors...

So far, I'm enjoying myself for the most part, and it reminds me of playing Dungeon Master on Super Nintendo as a kid.  I'm at the end of level 3 so the puzzle-heaviness is just starting to hit, I haven't minded it yet but it does get in the way of exploration, which so far is more fun.

Combat, however, would be passable and average if turn based, but IMO is absolutely horrific in real time twitch mode, and frenetic in the wrong ways (fighting the interface, especially with magic.)  I have no idea why they put real time combat in a game with obviously turn based mechanics (and clumsy controls for "twitchy" play), but I've been screaming about this since needless real time combat also sucked most of the fun out of Baldur's Gate for me.  I mainly hate the combat here and find it annoying and frustrating, thankfully it so far hasn't been the main point of the game.  For the record, yes, I remember Dungeon Master being real time as well, at least I think I do, and I also hated this sort of thing much less when I was 10-11 years old and playing that one.

Again, so as not to leave this with a negative vibe, I'm really enjoying the game for the most part, at least through level 3.

I'll just have to look forward to someone  making a less puzzle-oriented dungeon sometime. 

Doesn't this thing have a dungeon creator of sorts??

Originally Posted By Nefaro (18 APR 2012 7:42am)

I'll just have to look forward to someone  making a less puzzle-oriented dungeon sometime. 

 

Doesn't this thing have a dungeon creator of sorts??

They are woking on the editor and will release it in the future.

I'm trying to like the game but so far it just has not grabbed me.  It did inspire me to go back and play some Torchlight.  Apparently I lost all progress with that one due to replacing my hard drive so I'm starting over.  Finding it more fun than Grimrock, but to each his own.

Originally Posted By Lee Elmendorf (18 APR 2012 12:11pm)

I'm trying to like the game but so far it just has not grabbed me.  It did inspire me to go back and play some Torchlight.  Apparently I lost all progress with that one due to replacing my hard drive so I'm starting over.  Finding it more fun than Grimrock, but to each his own.

 

It's funny, I really didn't like Torchlight. I did enjoy Diablo though. Here is a user review for Torchlight I wrote on Gamespot over a year ago.

Documentation
The game is pretty easy to jump in and play, but the manual does a good job at explaining how to do things within the game where necessary. It could be a little more in depth as far as explaining some of the mechanics of how things work, but since the game is simple it isn't too much of an issue.

Character Creation
The character creation is very light compared to more in depth RPGs. There are only 3 classes, along with 4 character stats. There are also 3 skill trees where you can customize you characters skills. I played a Destroyer, which is your basic fighter class. I played my game on Hard. The difficulty level is selected when you create your character and can't be changed.

Getting Started
Play is based out of the town of Torchlight. This is where you get quests and sell items. There are basically 3 types of quests; story quests, kill monster X, find item x. The story is very weak and is there just to move you from dungeon level to dungeon level. It was so think that I didn't really care about it at all.

Graphics
The dungeons looked nice, but the characters were too cartoony for my tastes. That isn't to say they weren't well done, just not my style. I was able to play with the details turned up.

Gameplay
Like most shiny new games, my initial impresions were good. It was fun to explore the dungeons, find new items, and encounter new monsters to fight. You do find a lot of items, in my opinion too many items. After my character got established (about midway through the game) I rarely found an item I wanted to use. There are just so many items it becomes a chore to look at each one to see if you want it. Luckily you have a pet that you can send back to town to sell your items so you don't have to slog back to town. There are also town portal scrolls so you can go to town and return pretty quickly. So if you want to you can pick up everything and sell what you don't need for some money. One nice feature is that you can spend your money to enchant your items. This almost always bestows a bonus to your item, but it also has a chance to do nothing (and waste your money), or strip all the bonus off your item. My items were disenchanted once all game, so it didn't happen often, but it did happen on my best item so it was a little disappointing.

It didn't take too long for the game to get boring to me for several reasons. The first it was too easy. During my fights I was able to just rush in and click without needing to think. There wasn't any challenge after my first 5 hours or so until the very end. That is another 25 + hours of mindless clicking. There are so many health and mana potions I never had to ration what I used. Maybe it is better on Very Hard, but I am not interested in doing another play through. 

The second reason for bordom was the lack of meaningful choices. You can accept or deny quests, but since you are here to play I don't why you would, other than you just want to get through the game. There aren't any repercussions . Since the game was so easy, I didn't have to think very much about what items I equipped. The most meaningful choice you have to make is whether you try and enchant your items since there is a risk of removing all bonuses.

The End Game
I finally got my wish for some difficulties during the end game. The final fight was very tough. The problem was it just wasn't fun for me. It was just some mindless avoidence while trying to do some damage. Maybe it was because I had already endured so much bordem. 

Overall score (1 to 10): 5
If you are after a very light game that doesn't require much thinking, there is some enjoyment to be had. Since I got the game on sale I don't regret the purchase too much, but I wish my compulsion to finish games didn't drive me to keep playing until completion. I don't remember Diablo being so mindless, but maybe it was. Looking at the scores from other players and reviewers you can see that my mediocre score is in the minority, so there are a lot of people enjoying the game.

I've enjoyed Torchlight some, but they skimped on some features. 

The armor sets don't look to have a lot of variety, so your character looks similar in the same 'class'.  The skill trees are similar to each other, between the classes.  There's a bit too much repetition going on, and you can see that's why it was considered a budget title - there wasn't enough content variation.

Still, it's a well made hack & slash.  Would be a lot better with more stuff™.   I'm looking forward to the new post-apoc/steampunkish one from some of the guys who did Titan Quest.  Looks like it will have semi-random maps this time, which was a complaint with TQ.

**

After stopping my Grimrock adventure, on level 2, I reloaded both Drakensang games.  While not quite the exact same type of RPG, it still gives me a bit of close-up 3D feeling to the characters.

Not to go totally OT, but Nefaro you might want to try out the demo for Din's Curse sometime, it might be up your alley if you can tolerate the graphics (definitely doesn't look like Torchlight or Titan Quest).  It's a fun Diablo-ish dungeon crawler IMO.

Originally Posted By Nefaro (18 APR 2012 3:45pm)

I've enjoyed Torchlight some, but they skimped on some features. 

 

The armor sets don't look to have a lot of variety, so your character looks similar in the same 'class'.  The skill trees are similar to each other, between the classes.  There's a bit too much repetition going on, and you can see that's why it was considered a budget title - there wasn't enough content variation.

 

Still, it's a well made hack & slash.  Would be a lot better with more stuff™.   I'm looking forward to the new post-apoc/steampunkish one from some of the guys who did Titan Quest.  Looks like it will have semi-random maps this time, which was a complaint with TQ.

 

**

 

After stopping my Grimrock adventure, on level 2, I reloaded both Drakensang games.  While not quite the exact same type of RPG, it still gives me a bit of close-up 3D feeling to the characters.

The Drakensang titles were pretty fun. I didn't try the last add on Ph... Secret or something like that. Did you?

Originally Posted By Caffeinator (18 APR 2012 4:50pm)

Not to go totally OT, but Nefaro you might want to try out the demo for Din's Curse sometime, it might be up your alley if you can tolerate the graphics (definitely doesn't look like Torchlight or Titan Quest).  It's a fun Diablo-ish dungeon crawler IMO.

I own Din's Curse and it's expansion. 

I love the game, but it also has some similar repetitiveness.  More variety in classes and skills, though, so it's definitely heavier on the variety part than Torchlight.   I also like the extra gameplay settings that let me adjust the "ruleset" to be used so I can adjust the gameplay to my tastes some.  Looking forward to their upcoming space trader type game.

Originally Posted By robc04 (18 APR 2012 5:04pm)

 

 

The Drakensang titles were pretty fun. I didn't try the last add on Ph... Secret or something like that. Did you?

No I never got it.   I've never finished the other ones because I got stuck in some place that was a good deal higher level than my party was at the time.  Couldn't get out.  Couldn't .. get... ouuuu....