Dungeons & Dragons Tactics (PSP) Review
Posted by David Redkey on 10.02.2007
If you dare, come in and see what Kuju Entertainment has designed for your enjoyment (insert evil laugh here).
How long has Dungeon and Dragons been around?
How many years?
How many iterations?
The game originally was designed by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by a company called Tactical Studies Rules, Inc.
Since the date of its creation, there has been three editions released. The third edition was revised in 2000. Now it is referred to as Revised 3rd Edition. There is a lot of history in the creation of the fame grail of nerdom.
Dungeon and Dragon Tactics was released on August 14th, 2007 for the PSP entertainment system. Because I happen to be considered a nerd (maybe it is because I like to use my brains), I decided to share with you my thoughts and opinions on this lovely UMD.
Graphics
The graphics are pretty nice for the PSP. Let me rephrase that. The graphics are awesome for a 1st generation PSP game.
The characters are pretty detailed but the major gripe in this game is the inability to adjust the camera or pan it out. I’ve played my fair share of SRPGs and that is glaring omission that should have been rectified by the development team.
How am I supposed to study the battlefield?
Should I send one of my warriors to their possible death? That is the only way for me to see what the enemies are doing. That is something that shouldn’t have been left out and it was. That severely hampers the graphics in my opinion.
Another thing is the how the graphics tend to be pixilated. I guess that is the reason why the camera is pulled out so far. You don’t want to look at these models up close.
Gameplay
Dungeons & Dragons Tactics follows the third edition revised rule set (AKA Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition). Kuju Entertainment designed the game with the rule set in mind. Everything is decided by the rule set.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t show the dice rolls. It is like any other SRPG where you hope the outcome is in your favor and then watch to see if that is the case. It is quite bothersome to watch your character swing at a monster and miss. The player will have no idea why because it doesn’t adequately explain how dice rolls decide whether an action is successful or not.
Well, that may bothersome people wanting to see the dice actually being rolled. To combat this, you can create your player from scratch to do battle with the evil in the world. There are pre-set characters but the true attractiveness of a Western Role Playing Game (WRPG) is to create yourself and go out in the fantasy world and do battle.
Unfortunately, this is all about combat and has very little to do with the other things that Dungeon & Dragons offers. This game is nothing more than a combat simulator that has the flair of the real game. That severely hurts the overall product because people don’t play Dungeons & Dragons merely for the combat. There is no fun in that. The true reason is to pretend you are in a world were magic and fantasy are reality. It is a form of escapism.
There is multiplayer components with the game as well. You can play via ad-hoc with another person that buys the game. You can play a variety of ways and may even have a little fun. For every good thing this game does, it does something to remind you that it isn’t the best thing ever. You can’t use your created players via ad-hoc. You can only use pre-existing characters that were created by the design team.
You keep hoping that the game will get better and much like Richard Jeni talked about bad movies (Jaws IV: The Revenge comes to mind) slapping you in the face the whole time. The game is telling you that it’s horrible and you stick around hoping it will get better. Unfortunately, the game costs more than a movie and you’ll be kicking yourself thinking it was worth the price of admission.
On a side note, this reminds me of the joke I was referring to. The design was so stupid that even without a brain, you won’t believe that it was released. You can be a spinal cord, with a bucket of popcorn, resting on the couch playing the game. You would say to yourself: “I’m not a brain or anything…but this is a stupid game.”
That joked passed through my mind the whole time I was playing it. Dungeons & Dragons Tactics made that joke my mantra. It has forever burned it into my mind. Thinking about it, that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. It evens it out a bit.
Sound
The soundtrack is the best thing going for this game. It really puts you into the fantasy world. That is an admirable job by the sound team for picking the music. On the other hand, everything else is lacking because the voice work leaves a lot to be desired. The sound effects are anything but inspiring.
The sound effects seem recycled from other (note: better) games. That may provide an air of acceptance. But after the first ten minutes, it becomes annoying. I would actually play the game on mute just to keep hair on my head.
Lasting Appeal
If you can overlook some of the glaring omissions, you may find that you like this game overall. It doesn’t re-invent the way strategy role playing games are played, but it is amusing for the few hours that you plug into this game. The fun alone may be enough for some people to finish the game; unfortunately, that may not be the case for everyone.
Fun Factor
The same thing applies to this game. If you are having enough fun to finish it, it will be fun enough for you to keep playing it. The level of fun that a person receives from this game is totally dependant on the type of gamer they are.
If the person is easily frustrated, they will not have much fun with this game. If the individual can overlook some problems with the design choices, they will have plenty of fun and will finish the game. The choice to only allow pre-existing characters in multiplayer modes is a omission that seriously hurts the overall fun of this game.
The 411
This game does some things very right; in contrast, this game also does many things very wrong. Kuju Entertainment could have spent more time refining the game for its eventual release. Unfortunately, possible troubles in making the game might have forced this game out too soon.
Graphics
6.0
This isn't a PSP game from lauched?
Gameplay
5.5
A beautiful bastardization of the world created by Dungeons & Dragons.
Sound
7.0
The best thing about the game overall. It allows you to cope with the pain.
Lasting Appeal
6.5
Depending on the type of players, you may never finish this game.
Fun Factor
6.0
The same thing goes for this. Instead of finishing the game, you could say
