Dungeon Keeper 2

The Good
Oh no! Another 3D game! I hate 3D games! Uh...hey wait a minute...this one's actually playable...hmm and no bugs either. Wow, if they managed to make a 3D game without bugs...then boy it's worth a try!

For some stupid reason, I thought Dungeon Keeper had to do with Dungeons and Dragons...which is why I bought it in the first place. Although I should've known from all the hints and clues starting from those 2 idiots on the cover art...ah...some mistakes turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

This is the first kind 3D RTS I've played. Some idiot on another review said this is a C&C clone? Either he's never played C&C or didn't pay close attention, or I'm the one who's blind. Either way, unlike C&C, in this game you actually welcome any additional difficulty or additional enemies that come knocking on your door - Bring it on!

A lot of RTS games are quite irritating when if comes to difficulty. To them (C&C, AOE, etc.), difficulty has to do with the enemies starting with additional resources, but less on actually difficult AI. In Dungeon Keeper 2, you don't have to worry about sudden sneak attacks early on the game that suddenly flattens your empire.

This game is all about tactics and strategy in the pure sense. In this game, your more of a "governor" than a military chief. Like other RTS, its a combination of building prowess and military might. Most RTS's focus on military might where buildings are just a means to an end. In Dungeon Keeper 2, its the other way around. Military might is mediocre compared to the importance of buildings. Your survival practically depends on your analytical mind of arcitectual engineering. You have to plan and place rooms as if your were a city planner. You have to maintain a balance of the various different rooms (buildings) you build that will eventually support your hellish armies. You can create various traps and defenses to defend your domain from enemy attack, while commanding your own troops to do what they were payed to do. The good thing about attacking in this game, you don't have to watch your troops 100% of the time. For some strange reason, I'm not complaining that I don't have full control over my troops...this coming from a military control freak. They must've done something good.

Another thing is that in relation to the story line (which isn't bad but needs work), I've discovered that there are bonus units you can have. Like priests and Dark Angels. Unfortunately for my IQ level, I failed to get them, but the game continues. So I had it a little difficult compared to those who followed the plot.

Last but not least, the game has a positive...er evil sense of humor. I really love that torture chamber. The cut scenes are so funny! My favorite is the monster using chickens as a double stick.

The Bad
Well, once in a while, I would wish for smoother graphics as those goblins and imps look kinda weird sometimes. But that would mean an introduction to whole hell of bugs, so I'm happy regardless.

I think the tutorial or certain special abilities need further explanation. It took me forever to find out you could actually convert enemies without killing them in the torture chamber. No one told me you had to heal them! Why would anyone want to heal a prisoner while he's being tortured? Little things like that would be nice to know.

The FPS (Possessed Mode) is kinda awful, playable but if you don't have to, don't use it. That's probably what the developers had in mind in the first place...wouldn't want to change the game more exiting as a FPS than an RTS.

The Bottom Line
You know, having horns may not be a bad idea...

The Good
The multiple aspects of play, as you have to mix resource planning (manage both gold and mana), construction (all the different places), creature management, and even some occasionally first-person shooting. Playing EVIL is also a lot of fun, as you play the "good guy" in just too many games. Laying out traps and defenses is also a lot of fun. The multiple ways to gain a larger army are really cool.

The Bad
The hands-off aspect of the game can sometimes be very frustrating, until you get the "Call to Arms" spell, which calls EVERY one of your creatures to rally at the flag, even if it's in enemy territory. Then you realize this calls EVERY creature, leaving you NO defense at all... You also can't control what creatures to get, at least not directly. It also requires a lot of personal micro-management for optimum efficiency, when you really just want to play.

The Bottom Line
Dungeon Keeper 2 IS a very unique real-time game. In some way, it's like an RTS game, as you build structures and get units. On the other hand, a limit on the number of creatures you can get per "portal" means you may have to "recruit" other units via other means, such as torture/conversion. Rushing is not really an option when you can train your creatures to higher experience levels. You also only build the structures, and hopefully attract the creatures you want, as different creatures like different structures. Building a good defensible dungeon is important as trap laying becomes very important when most of your creatures are off fighting.

Resource management is crucial, as gold is a limited resource, while mana regenerates over time. As you must pay your creatures, you do not have unlmited time to build up a huge army (nor can you, as portals are limited). Mana can be used up in many different ways, from creating imps and throwing thunderbolts to call your creatures to battle and recon the surrounding terrain.

However, the game is much more than just an RTS with a 3D engine. You can actually possess one of your creatures, thus gaining all of its abilities, including special talents and even some creature spells. Possess a warlock, and you can cast fireballs. Possess a dark elf, and you can use the "sniper" bow. This is the only "true" way to "lead" an army, and is actually a LOT of fun. You CAN win without doing this, but it's a lot easier to win by doing so.

The game also rewards micromanagement. Cast heal spells during the battle can turn the tide. Move the imps from one area to another will "reschedule" their priority. Slap a creature and it'll get a temporary increase in speed/morale (at the expense of a little health). Converting enemy units are not easy as they often die in your torture chamber if you don't keep an eye on their health.

You can play DK2 like a regular RTS, but you'll be sorely disappointed. Better enjoy it for what it is: a true multi-genre cross-over product that is worth getting to see what kind of creativity game designers have when they go for the games.

The Good
There is simply nothing out there like this game. Well, that's not true -- Black & White and Startopia come close -- but DK and DK2 were first. It's a RTS, it's Sim Dungeon, and more! And the evil narrator who advises you as the game goes on is wonderful, dryly funny when you're doing well to downright threatening when your game is going poorly...

The Bad
It's got a sharp learning curve, and demands careful perusal of the manual. Even then, you can have fun in the "My Pet Dungeon" mode, that lets you tunnel around and learn as you do.

The Bottom Line
The game is basically a real-time-strategy game, viewed isometrically, with some interesting twists thrown in by the ability of you, the Dungeon Keeper, to add traps to the tunnels you dig. You must recruit creatures through Portals you capture, and mine gold to pay them, and build rooms to house, feed, and entertain them while you get them to achieve your nefarious goals.

The Good
Dungeon Keeper 2 is all about being the bad guy-- instead of being a hero on a quest to kill the evil Hoozabugub, be the evil Hoozabugub and torture, slay, and corrupt those pesky heroes that keep invading your domain!

The game begins with controlling your Imps, little magical fiends, to build and dig tunnels. When you find magical portals, troops will start arriving, like Goblins and Warlocks. Build them places to sleep, train, practice their magic, etc, and they'll get happier; more and more powerful minions will come to do your bidding, and your domain grows...

This game is brimming with humor and style. Every creature has a unique resting palce it makes for itself-- it's hilarious seeing the Mistresses lock themselves up in an Iron Maiden for the first time. (That's not all, those girls will torture themselves and each other when they have nothing else to do). You can torture hapless heroes, control an army of Bile Demons, and lead attacks on heroic citadels. When you build a casino and one of your creatures wins the jackpot, everyone in the casino will start dancing along to a tune that comes out of nowhere-- each creature has a unique dance animation. Any game that makes goblins disco gets points from me! On top of it all, you can slap your minions when they misbehave, and the results are just hilarious. You never run out of slap points either-- you're the boss here!

An interesting feature is taking possession of your troops. When you do this, you can control them from a first person perspective. This feels like a first person action game in itself (albiet a sub-par one, as the graphics were designed for viewing from a distance). Other fun spells add interesting touches to the game, all with funny results.

The Bad
While the game had loads of potential, it really didn't utilize it all the way. The campagins feel rather bland and the mutliplayer map selection is incredibly limited. This, unfortunatly, stifles the replay value and quite sadly stops it from becoming a classic in my book.

The AI is also incredibly, nightmarishly hard. While this may be viewed as a good thing, I have yet to win a single deathmatch against the computer (the default campaigns are mostly scripted, you're not fighting other dungeon keepers, so this dosen't come into play). Ouch!

The Bottom Line
Dungeon Keeper II, while falling short of being a classic, is still a wonderful game that'll keep you playing for a good few weeks. Keep it on your hard drive, and return to it every now and then for a fun play and a good laugh.

The Good
I haven't played the original, so I can't make a comparison, but I can say that I am not, as a rule, a fan of RTS games. This one made me forget that. Every once in a while a game comes along that addicts me, usurping all my attention for several days or weeks. This is one such game.

The graphics, the sounds, the music, the cut-scenes - all deserve high praise.

I love the theme, though I was a little disappointed to be so often fighting fellow evil "Keepers" instead of good guys from above. I understood the game was to be about play evil vs. good, but more often it was evil vs. evil.

The campaign was great, with each mission growing progressively harder. Some levels took me several attempts to beat, building on what I had learned the previous time, and bringing me back more eager than ever each time anew. The campaign doesn't overwhelm you, though, since each new level introduces a new monster, room-type, trap, etc. Your knowledge base grows as you play.

The first-person aspect was well handled, I must admit, and sometimes quite important to victory. But contrary to all the other praise, it was my least favourite aspect of the game, and something I avoided as often as possible. I hated the inability to command the rest of my troops, monitor my torture victims and cast spells when I was in 1st person mode.

The Bad
I already mentioned the evil vs. evil aspect in the above section.

While the My Pet Dungeon concept really appealed to me, you have to build your own challenges in (I made up a random table using dice to determine when heroes would appear). Also, in the My Pet Dungeon mode, if you torture and convert an enemy, that enemy type is no longer available to come rampaging through your dungeon. Somebody messed up an "if-then" clause in the C code there.

I hated that mana was limited to 200,000. With the size of my dungeons, my mana was usually at that level, and it became almost pointless capturing enemy mana vaults or converting their tiles to yours (though I guess it does limit their mana).

The campaign was huge, but I wish it was even huger.

The Bottom Line
A wonderful and unique concept very well executed.

The Good
I liked many things about the game, but I LOVED the ability to take control of one of your units and view the world you created through the first person perspective. This feature should be implemented into many many more RTS games in my opinion. I also liked the humor in this game and the over all fun I had playing the campaigns. For the first time ever, I wanted to beat the campaigns, regardless of how hard they were. The reason for this is because each time you beat a level in the campaign, a very comical video becomes available to you(there is a video for each level).There are also several patches that add to the game's flavor on the DKII web-page.

The Bad
Like many RTS games, micromanagement can sometimes be a pain. Although there is considerably less micromanagement in DKII than in other games in its genre, it's still enough to make you frustrated at times.

The Bottom Line
I strongly recommend this game. This game is usually available for around 10-20$ and it is worth the money. This game is probably one of the most beautiful RTS's I have played.

The Good
Dungeon Keeper 2 inverts the typical game setting, allowing the player to harness the forces of darkness and defeat the good. You do this in several ways including providing lairs to attract monsters, planting traps, and tunneling into the Hero Domains.

The story revolves around collecting crystals held by the Heroes, which would be better off in your taloned hands. Each level begins with your selecting another province on a map to attack. An omniscient voice tells about the current situation and what obstacles you may face and then you can begin building your dungeon.

Using imps, magically created creatures, you carve your dungeon out of the rock and then designate certain areas to be a room. Rooms include lairs, torture chambers, and combat pits. The rooms you have determine which creatures enter your dungeon. As you acquire creatures you have to ensure that they have a place to sleep, food to eat and money. They can also be motivated with a slap.

Most levels have the general objective of slaying all the hero creatures; some are more specific- requiring you to capture certain areas. A few are timed which provides a good challenge.

The game’s graphics are dated, but still very serviceable. The predominant dungeon view is an overhead shot, fully 3D and rotatable. You can also possess creatures and explore your dungeon first hand. While this is nifty and you can see how different creatures perceive the world, this isn’t that useful. There are certain actions that can only be handled in the First Person Perspective, but nothing vital. In the Possessed mode, you can also fight, but DK2 works poorly as an FPS.

The omniscient voice I referred to earlier provides hints and warning messages and provides some comic relief. The voice has a hollow, ominous echo that works well. Each room has unique sounds, the traps sound great, combat effects are fully realized. The AI is largely good, but I noticed that the enemy AI in the FPS mode was not as good as the overhead view.

The Bad
For me the biggest weakness in DK2 is its incompatibility with Windows XP. Some people have been able to run it, but since I’ve upgraded I haven’t been lucky.

I found some of the earlier levels to be too easy and starting from scratch every time was a little old. I also wish I had more control over the creatures in my dungeon.

The Bottom Line
It's a demented Sims or Majesty for the dark hearted.

The Good
The Missions are extremely well varied...No more wipe off every single enemy on the map every level anymore...now there are infiltrations, blockades, assaults you name it...

The first person mode has been very much improved in this game...the controls are good. From the fly's multi-faceted eyes, to the slit in the helmet in a black knight, DKIII never lets off any detail. You can have groups!!!, although grouping is kinda tedious...

The new units are more balanced than the old ones...no more flooding your opponents w/ hell hounds and demon spawns...There is also much more unit variety...and each of them are required to maintain the dungeon (w/ the exception of the goblin...)...and the bile demon is back!!!

The cutscenes are hilarious...

Chicken slapping!!!...call the animal rights foundation if you want...but chicken slapping is an essential part to good DK gaming...

Dark mistress...mmmm...Scantily dressed women w/ whips...mmmm...slurp...

The Bad
The multiplayer aspect of the game leaves much to be desired...but its the single player game + my pet dungeon should last you quite a long time...

Maybe the dark mistress should wear even less...hehehe :-)

The Bottom Line
DKII stands out as one of the best RTS every made...much better than the sea of C&C clones out there...remember, its good to be evil...

The Good
There's no clear reason why I prefer the first Dungeon Keeper - I just do. The second installment in the series is indeed a wonderful game - witty sense of humour, great 3D/sound engine, excellent scenarios - everything you'd expect from a game of this caliber.

The Bad
Problem is, it doesn't retain the charm of the first game, nor is the introduction sequence equally immersive. The first game is one of the games I like most, and while this game is by far technically superior, it simply lacks the qualities and innovasion which made the first game what it was.

The Bottom Line
A wonderful game most people find extremely solid and likable.

The Good
Excellent graphics, animations, sound, acting. Gameplay is fun for awhile, but gets repetitive. The ability to "possess" any of your creatures and run around in their bodies FPS-style is by far the best aspect of the game.

The Bad
Doesn't seem true at all to the original premise, which was for DK to be sort of an anti-D&D game. It was supposed to be dungeon-crawling from the point of view of the dungeon, but it comes off more like C&C, or any other your-army-against-mine RTS game. For me, it's totally lacking in the kind of atmosphere usually associated with Tolkienesque dungeon-crawling. Instead, you've got the devil (in the main character, Horny) and various lesser manifestations of evil inhabiting a hell-like world of fire and brimstone--almost a "builder" version of Diablo. It just doesn't jibe with my expectations of what the game should be.

The Bottom Line
A cross between Diablo and C&C. If you've always wanted to pit an army of nether-dwellers against an army of goody-goodies (though the actual differences between them are less than dramatic in practice), here's your chance.

The Good
Idea is very good and people who liked DK1 will love this. Graphics are good and some jokes are funny!

The Bad
It's just a C&C clone. Every misison is the same build everything from scratch!

The Bottom Line
Be the lord of the dungeon.