John Murphy @fiendish50

Dragon Dice (Windows)

Not the best pen and paper game converted to the PC, but it has some good points.

The Good
Dragon Dice was a great pen and paper game and most of the elements carried over into the computer game. You get a certain number of armies to fight with and many spells to cast. You also get to use dragons! And, in my opinion, the best component of this game was when you get to control the giant hand that rolls the dice.

The Bad
Dragon Dice was way too hard to learn. I had to go through the tutorial in the game three times just to get started. The interface sucks. You never really learn what all the symbols on the dice mean unless you have played the original game. The entire battle mode seems to be based on luck. Not a game I would recommend.

The Bottom Line
If you really liked the board game, then you might enjoy this for a while. Like I said, it does have the gigantic hand that picks up your army and uses them as dice. That's a high point. The only one I can really think of right now. But, if you find the game for a cheap price, you may want to check it out.

By John Murphy on April 7, 2002

Bloodstone: An Epic Dwarven Tale (DOS)

A classic RPG! Computer role players should definitely have this game in their collection!

The Good
Bloodstone had an overall great appeal. The graphics were so-so, but that's not what makes a good RPG. The storyline was the best. And I loved the sound effects when your characters shoot an arrow. Of course, for me, nostalgia played a big part. The character status screen and inventory screen reminds me of pen and paper RPGs.

The Bad
Well, Bloodstone did not have the best graphics, and some parts of the interface bothered me. Like when you are traveling outside on the map. You move one block and your hunger number goes down like 5 points. The designers should have at least lowered this to about 2 or 3.

The Bottom Line
A must have game. If you are a novice at RPGs and you want to learn a little bit of the history of them, then find this game and play it. It was one of the first ones I played and I still play it every once in a while.

By John Murphy on October 11, 2001