Dungeon Keeper 2

aka: DK2
Moby ID: 533

Description official descriptions

Dungeon Keeper 2 is a "god game" which introduces the series to an entirely 3D engine (as opposed to the original's engine with 3D environments and 2D unit sprites). As before, the player is tasked with the construction, expansion and maintenance of dungeons, as well as attracting, managing, and utilizing various evil creatures to fight the forces of good. Several creatures, spells, traps, and rooms are new to the series, while others received a visual redesign at most, and some were even replaced. The series' trademark unit, the Horned Reaper, is now only called through a special support power and only one can be found on the map at a given moment. Spells are now cast using mana (an auto-generating resource proportional to the size of the dungeon) instead of gold, and can be upgraded once there are no new spells to research. Dropping creatures now stuns them (unless thrown into the new Combat Pit room).

The game's campaign has the player enter the land of good and conquer it region by region while staying in the underworld. Enemies either stay in fixed, protected areas, or execute sneak attacks from inopportune directions. The boss of each level holds a portal gem which is used to access the overworld (off-screen) and claim the region. The game also features skirmish and multiplayer modes, as well as a sandbox mode titled "My Pet Dungeon", where enemies only attack if the player wishes them to.

As of patch 1.61, the player can attract elite creatures, which are statistically more powerful than their standard counterparts and have a slightly different appearance, if rooms are built in specific layouts. Patch 1.7 also added another new unit, the Maiden of the Nest.

Spellings

  • ผู้พิทักษ์แดนอสูร 2 - Thai spelling
  • ダンジョンキーパー 2 - Japanese spelling
  • 地下城守护者 2 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 地城守護者2 - Traditional Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

164 People (160 developers, 4 thanks) · View all

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 37 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 99 ratings with 11 reviews)

YOU are the Dungeon...

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.

Windows · by Dr.Bedlam (55) · 2002

Just boring

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.

Windows · by Heikki Sairanen (75) · 2000

A great game in its own right, though I like the first one better.

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.

Windows · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 1999

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
DK3 Indra was here (20756) Aug 20, 2010

Trivia

Dungeon Keeper 3 trailer

A game trailer for Dungeon Keeper 3 is available for viewing from the Main Menu-->Extras page. An official Dungeon Keeper 3 has never been released.

Gags

  • Dungeon Keeper 2 can keep tabs on the system time. Play too late into the night, and the advisor will tell the player (out of the blue and with no warning): "Your nocturnal presence has prompted the following secret hint: GO TO BED!"
  • If the player doesn't do anything for a while, the game will say: "The very rock yawns in expectation of your next, fascinating move."
  • If a dungeon attracts almost exclusively Dark Mistresses, the advisor will say: "You have an excess of Mistresses... There's a word for Keepers like you..."

German version

In the German version the blood around corpses was removed and the torture animations were changed so that the torturing itself can't be seen. This is normally

Horny

Unlike in the original Dungeon Keeper, the Horned Reaper in this game, Horny, cannot be summoned in every level where the player has the right ingredients. In Dungeon Keeper 2, Horny is a unique character who must be specially summoned, and cannot appear more than once at a time.

References

Whenever the player selects a spell, an eerie voice says the spell's name in Latin. The Latin name for the Create Gold spell read by the advisor is Expressus Americanus. This is an obvious joke referring to the American Express credit cards.

Secrets

Build a casino and set the bar at "generous". When one of the monsters wins the jackpot, the advisor loudly announces: "Jackpot winner!" and Disco Inferno begins playing throughout the dungeon. In addition, all monsters inside the casino will begin disco-dancing, each with their own style and moves. This little moment of evil frivolity lasts a couple of minutes.

Playstation version

At the end of the 1998 reveal trailer (Horny's Interview, [https://youtu.be/ZVVa84gacqY mirror available here]), Dungeon Keeper 2 was announced to be "Soon available for PC, Playstation and TV. The PlayStation version was eventually cancelled, and so was the TV version (whatever it was intended to be).

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • March 2000 (Issue #188) – Best Voice Acting of the Year (for The Keeper)

Information also contributed by Bhatara Dewa Indra I, DreamWeaver, Jake Beasley, Jason Musgrave and Kasey Chang.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tony Van.

Additional contributors: Yeah No, Michael Dionne, analoguedragon, Paulus18950, SGruber, Barbarian_bros, Patrick Bregger, Plok, Abhisit Chanmana.

Game added December 5, 1999. Last modified March 7, 2024.