Dungeons & Dragons : Dragonshard

Reviewed by Everett Fitzgerald
January 25, 2006

Developer: Liquid Entertainment Publisher: ATARI Website: Click Here Platform(s): PC Number of Players: Co-op and head-to-head multiplayer modes ESRB Rating: M for Mature Review Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Dragonshard attempts to redefine the formula of the fast-becoming stale genre of RTS. Dragonshard blends the Dungeons & Dragons license and Eberron landscape with dungeon crawling and role-playing. This is all done simultaneously within the conventions of a real-time strategy game. The real time strategy genre has a formula of success that not many have strayed from since the days of Warcraft. Dragonshard literally went below the surface (The Underworld) to get inspiration for a brand new play style. This approach not only takes its cue from the actual lore of the diverse Eberron universe, but it invents new frenetic game play that will challenge even the best RTS players. Usually the battles take place only on land as you amass a massive army to do your bidding. In Dragonshard, not only do you command masses of minions that ravage the landscape, you also do double time duty as a straight dungeon investigating party in search of gold and treasures. If it doesn't seem like I know where I'm going, that's the beauty and curse of this game.

Screen Cap from D&D : Dragonshard. Click on image to enlarge.

First of all, Dragonshard has awesome graphics, of course depending on the hardware one brings to the table. I will say that the character models sometimes get a little bit “wonky”, as I often saw my dwarves with pie faces. Beyond that, swaying grass, gorgeous monster recreations, lighting, and rich colorful graphics drew me into a new fantasy realm not seen before. The Order of the Flame, Lizardfolk, and the evil Umbragen all make me feel at home, yet different, and are rendered beautifully. This was a license that was not wasted. The actual game play itself varies between the two types of campaigns. The single player game felt lacking, not polished, and had some bugs that distracted from the overall enjoyment of the game. There were some AI issues that I felt if they had a little more time, they could be fixed. Hopefully these AI problems can be resolved in a patch (note: a patch was needed quickly just to get online play functioning). Multiplayer was a blast, albeit another buggy proposition. Once I was able to connect to someone, the madness ensued. I really didn't feel like I had enough hands to accomplish what I was doing. An intelligent human opponent also added to the fun. Say “toyboat” 20 times fast and you get the feel for the game. One minute I'm scouring for gold, when a party of rogues ambushes me. I defeat them, and oh look a big bad boss. Wait, shards are raining from the sky and I need more clerics. Ack! My champion just died. My town needs an upgrade. Oh no! My party in the underworld has encountered a beholder. Catch my drift? This is where the game shines, and if they can improve on this portion of the game in a sequel, the developers will have a hit.

Dragonshard has considerable of replay value with the multiplayer modes. The single player mode left me frustrated sometimes with bad AI and bugs forcing me to have to restart entire missions. The pace was not as frantic and leaves room for improvement. They do have a solid base to work on, and possibly with some substantive patching, the single player mode could become more enjoyable. The world and setting are used perfectly, as I fought familiar monsters and was introduced to new ones that actually make sense in the D&D setting. The innovative game play I think will make some fans stick around and cause other studios to implement some of their ideas. Dragonshard has elements that will draw in both the real-time-strategy fan, as well as the role-playing-game fan.

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