Dungeon Keeper 2 Review by daemon37(aka David Lewis)
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDkX_sEhYq4/R7awkgGRi-I/AAAAAAAAABg/I19TdZaj0Lc/s400/keeper.jpg']
Dungeon Keeper 2 is a real-time strategy (RTS) game with a dark fantasy setting and a sense of humor. It was developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was released over a decade ago is now considered abandonware. The full-version can be found using a simple Google search.
This review is a preamble to my upcoming review of Dungeons http://www.dungeons-game.com/ the spiritual sequel to Dungeon Keeper.
Style:
This game is dark, but funny. The style is very similar to the Overlord series. The heroes are all portrayed as either bumbling idiots or pretentious posers, while the monsters are all shown in a very sympathetic light, especially the imps. The funny is delivered mostly by the in-game announcer (i.e. "One of your imps does a great impression of you, he can even do the ears.") and the non sequitur cutscenes delivered after beating a level. Here's an example:
Character designs are all exaggerated, yet believable. This gives the game a cartoonish, or B-movie feel. The best example of this is the Horned Reaper (aka Horny). He's the most powerful creature in the game, a central figure in the plot and the mascot for the series. I'm not sure, but he was probably inspired by The Lord of Darkness from the movie Legend. Another one of my favorite monsters is the mistress (shown above). Check out this awesome cosplay of Horny and the mistress: http://downloads.khinsider.com/wallpaper/1024x768/964-dungeon-keeper-010-veqbs.jpg
PHOTO: Horned Reaper cutscene screenshot
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://www.firingsquad.com/games/dk2preview/images/Horny1.jpg']
Gameplay:
You are a Dungeon Keeper, so you need to build a dungeon. This is the main part of the game, and thankfully, it's a lot of fun. You do this by having your imps mine gold, dig out rooms, and lay down tiles. Once you've filled a room with tiles you can spend money to turn it into a Treasury, Lair, Library, Torture Chamber, or one of many other room-types. You'll need certain rooms attract monsters to your employ, and others to keep them happy. You can build rooms of any size or shape, but squares are always the most efficient. Dungeon building hardly ever stops during a game, but once you have a few monsters in your dungeon you can move onto the other part of the game, combat.
The combat in this game is a little disappointing. You don't have direct control over your monsters, aside from literally picking them up, and dropping them where you want. You can also cast a spell which attracts your monsters to any place you want, fighting enemies on the way. Finally, you can posses one of your monsters, turning the game into a FPS, which is a pretty cool way to explore your dungeon or take out an annoying hero or two. But this all seems like a poor attempt to avoid the ability to issue direct commands to your units, like you can in most other strategy games (i.e. Starcraft).
PHOTO: The dungeon heart
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://www.firingsquad.com/games/dungeonkeeper2/images/1.jpg']
To make up for the disappointing combat, the game has a magic system. A wide selection of spells can be cast, such as Lightning Bolt, Create Gold, Heal Monster, Sight of Evil, and much more. These spells can be used to help your monsters in combat, improve your dungeon or scout out enemy territory. However, you'll need to attract some warlocks and have them research most of these before you can use them.
Finally, you can also fill your dungeon with barriers and traps. By building a forge and attracting trolls to it, you'll gain the ability to build all sorts of traps such as automated sentry guns, giant boulders (ie Indiana Jones), poison gas, and more. Unfortunately, most of these traps are very weak, especially against high-level opponents. You can also build barricades and doors, but by the time they are done being built you usually don't need them anymore.
The gameplay was very unique for it's time, but since 1999, similar games have been released. Most predominantly, Evil Genius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Genius_%28video_game%29 . Evil Genius is basically just a 1970s, James Bond reskin of Dungeon Keeper. If you liked Evil Genius, then you'll like this game.
Story:
The story is inconsequential. At the start of every level you're told why you're doing what you're doing, but it always boils down to "Kill the heroes" or "defeat your rival". If you do care however, the story follows the Horned Reaper and his hunt for Portal Gems. After he finds them all, he is able to terrorize the humans above ground. Why he needs these gems, and why he wants to journey above ground is never explained. Just forget about the story and go build your dungeon.
Conclusion:
Dungeon Keeper 2 is a unique and entertaining game which I recommend to people who like strategy games, but want to try something new. Also, if you like dark fantasy settings and somewhat dark comedy then this is the game for you. This game can steal many hours from you, and with the Dungeon Keeper 2 Level Editor, you can make your own levels when you finish all the pre-made ones. If you like the idea of being the evil lord of a medieval fantasy dungeon, then download this game today. It's FREE!
Rating: 3 / 4
1= Terrible; No one would like this game
2= Poor; Some people may enjoy this game
3= Good; Most people would like this game
4= Incredible; Almost everyone who plays this game will love it
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDkX_sEhYq4/R7awkgGRi-I/AAAAAAAAABg/I19TdZaj0Lc/s400/keeper.jpg']
Dungeon Keeper 2 is a real-time strategy (RTS) game with a dark fantasy setting and a sense of humor. It was developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was released over a decade ago is now considered abandonware. The full-version can be found using a simple Google search.
This review is a preamble to my upcoming review of Dungeons http://www.dungeons-game.com/ the spiritual sequel to Dungeon Keeper.
Style:
This game is dark, but funny. The style is very similar to the Overlord series. The heroes are all portrayed as either bumbling idiots or pretentious posers, while the monsters are all shown in a very sympathetic light, especially the imps. The funny is delivered mostly by the in-game announcer (i.e. "One of your imps does a great impression of you, he can even do the ears.") and the non sequitur cutscenes delivered after beating a level. Here's an example:
Character designs are all exaggerated, yet believable. This gives the game a cartoonish, or B-movie feel. The best example of this is the Horned Reaper (aka Horny). He's the most powerful creature in the game, a central figure in the plot and the mascot for the series. I'm not sure, but he was probably inspired by The Lord of Darkness from the movie Legend. Another one of my favorite monsters is the mistress (shown above). Check out this awesome cosplay of Horny and the mistress: http://downloads.khinsider.com/wallpaper/1024x768/964-dungeon-keeper-010-veqbs.jpg
PHOTO: Horned Reaper cutscene screenshot
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://www.firingsquad.com/games/dk2preview/images/Horny1.jpg']
Gameplay:
You are a Dungeon Keeper, so you need to build a dungeon. This is the main part of the game, and thankfully, it's a lot of fun. You do this by having your imps mine gold, dig out rooms, and lay down tiles. Once you've filled a room with tiles you can spend money to turn it into a Treasury, Lair, Library, Torture Chamber, or one of many other room-types. You'll need certain rooms attract monsters to your employ, and others to keep them happy. You can build rooms of any size or shape, but squares are always the most efficient. Dungeon building hardly ever stops during a game, but once you have a few monsters in your dungeon you can move onto the other part of the game, combat.
The combat in this game is a little disappointing. You don't have direct control over your monsters, aside from literally picking them up, and dropping them where you want. You can also cast a spell which attracts your monsters to any place you want, fighting enemies on the way. Finally, you can posses one of your monsters, turning the game into a FPS, which is a pretty cool way to explore your dungeon or take out an annoying hero or two. But this all seems like a poor attempt to avoid the ability to issue direct commands to your units, like you can in most other strategy games (i.e. Starcraft).
PHOTO: The dungeon heart
[img_inline caption="" align='center' src='http://www.firingsquad.com/games/dungeonkeeper2/images/1.jpg']
To make up for the disappointing combat, the game has a magic system. A wide selection of spells can be cast, such as Lightning Bolt, Create Gold, Heal Monster, Sight of Evil, and much more. These spells can be used to help your monsters in combat, improve your dungeon or scout out enemy territory. However, you'll need to attract some warlocks and have them research most of these before you can use them.
Finally, you can also fill your dungeon with barriers and traps. By building a forge and attracting trolls to it, you'll gain the ability to build all sorts of traps such as automated sentry guns, giant boulders (ie Indiana Jones), poison gas, and more. Unfortunately, most of these traps are very weak, especially against high-level opponents. You can also build barricades and doors, but by the time they are done being built you usually don't need them anymore.
The gameplay was very unique for it's time, but since 1999, similar games have been released. Most predominantly, Evil Genius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Genius_%28video_game%29 . Evil Genius is basically just a 1970s, James Bond reskin of Dungeon Keeper. If you liked Evil Genius, then you'll like this game.
Story:
The story is inconsequential. At the start of every level you're told why you're doing what you're doing, but it always boils down to "Kill the heroes" or "defeat your rival". If you do care however, the story follows the Horned Reaper and his hunt for Portal Gems. After he finds them all, he is able to terrorize the humans above ground. Why he needs these gems, and why he wants to journey above ground is never explained. Just forget about the story and go build your dungeon.
Conclusion:
Dungeon Keeper 2 is a unique and entertaining game which I recommend to people who like strategy games, but want to try something new. Also, if you like dark fantasy settings and somewhat dark comedy then this is the game for you. This game can steal many hours from you, and with the Dungeon Keeper 2 Level Editor, you can make your own levels when you finish all the pre-made ones. If you like the idea of being the evil lord of a medieval fantasy dungeon, then download this game today. It's FREE!
Rating: 3 / 4
1= Terrible; No one would like this game
2= Poor; Some people may enjoy this game
3= Good; Most people would like this game
4= Incredible; Almost everyone who plays this game will love it
