Dungeon Lords is an action role-playing game developed by Heuristic Park, originally published by DreamCatcher Interactive and Typhoon Games, and released in 2005. However, many features were left out from the original release in an effort to meet the release date. In 2006, they re-released the game as Dungeon Lords Collector's Edition with more complete features.
| Dungeon Lords | |
|---|---|
 Original release box art | |
| Developer(s) | Heuristic Park |
| Publisher(s) | DreamCatcher Interactive, FX Interactive, Crimson Cow, 1C, Typhoon Games[1] |
| Designer(s) | D.W. Bradley |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
In 2012, after the demise of DreamCatcher Interactive and subsequent acquisition by Nordic Games, they announced the release of a completely "remastered" version of the game, titled Dungeon Lords MMXII.[2] Dungeon Lords MMXII was released in Europe on September 28, 2012, and in North America on October 5, 2012.
In 2015, a version of the game titled Dungeon Lords Steam Edition was released on Steam.
Gameplay
editDungeon Lords' gameplay features a combat system where weapon combos are controllable by mouse movements. It includes quests, personal missions, skills and special abilities for customizing the character hero from a small set of races and class specializations. Dungeon Lords can be played either single-player stand alone or in multi-player group sessions.[3] The combat was inspired by console fighting games.[4]
Plot
editThis article needs a plot summary. (August 2016) |
Development
editThe game went gold on April 29, 2005.[5]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 45/100[6] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | D−[7] |
| Computer Gaming World |  [8] |
| Game Informer | 4/10[9] |
| GameSpot | 6.8/10[10] |
| GameSpy |   [11] |
| GameZone | (Coll. Ed.) 7.7/10[12] 7.6/10[13] |
| IGN | 4.5/10[14] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 45%[15] |
| PC Zone | 56%[16] |
| X-Play | [17] |
Many gamers experienced extensive problems while playing the original release of the game, including quest items disappearing from inventories, NPCs getting stuck, key quests failing, doors that do not work, etc.[8]
The game received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] Many reviews criticized the game's initial release as a rushed project, released before it was truly finished. Some have gone so far as to say the game is still in the beta development stage. Steve Carter of Game Over wrote, "Dungeon Lords marks a new low for how incomplete a game can be and still get released."[18] Dan Adams of IGN wrote, "Dungeon Lords is a disaster. It's an unfinished, unpolished, and un-fun game that I thankfully never have to play again."[14] Greg Kasavin of GameSpot wrote that the game, though fun, is unbalanced and was missing key features at launch.[10]
Legacy
editAn Xbox version was planned, but was later cancelled.
Dungeon Lords: The Orb and the Oracle, the sequel to Dungeon Lords, was in development with expected release in Q4 2009. It has since been put on hold indefinitely due to market research results and game engine instability. Later the game was cancelled and replaced with Dungeon Lords MMXII.
References
edit- ^ "Heuristic Park Presents - Dungeon Lords". Heuristic Park. Archived from the original on 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Nordic Games joins forces with RPG mastermind D.W. Bradley and Heuristic Park". Nordic Games. April 13, 2012. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ Ocampo, Jason (May 14, 2004). "Dungeon Lords E3 2004 Impressions". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
- ^ Aihoshi, Richard (April 8, 2004). "Dungeon Lords Combat Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ "DreamCatcher's Dungeon Lords Goes Gold" (PDF). dreamcatchergames.com. April 29, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "Dungeon Lords for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
- ^ Lee, Garnett (June 30, 2005). "Dungeon Lords". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Cook, Denice (September 2005). "Dungeon Lords" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 254. p. 69. Archived from the original on November 5, 2005. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ Biessener, Adam (July 2005). "Dungeon Lords". Game Informer. No. 147. p. 125. Archived from the original on November 18, 2005. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ a b Kasavin, Greg (May 13, 2005). "Dungeon Lords Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ Abner, William (May 27, 2005). "GameSpy: Dungeon Lords". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Eberle, Matt (March 16, 2006). "Dungeon Lords Collector's Edition - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Eberle, Matt (May 8, 2005). "Dungeon Lords - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Adams, Dan (May 31, 2005). "Dungeon Lords". IGN. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
- ^ "Dungeon Lords". PC Gamer. August 2005. p. 66.
- ^ PC Zone staff (July 3, 2005). "Dungeon Lords review". PC Zone. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Stevens, Tim (June 17, 2005). "Dungeon Lords". X-Play. Archived from the original on July 11, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Carter, Steve (June 16, 2005). "Dungeon Lords". Game Over. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2017.