14 DAY TRIAL // Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale seemed like a superb idea on paper: a video game that uses the well-known role-playing system from The Wizards of the Coast, comes via download only on both consoles and the PC and pioneers a episodic model which could lead to more like it if it's successful.
Unfortunately, the game fails to deliver on its promise and it's very unlikely that the development team at Bedlam Games that created it has another chance to work on the same series.
The biggest disappointment is the limited choice in characters, classes and abilities offered when the game begins and the fact that the experience, especially early on is very much the same regardless of the choices the player makes.
Even later on the character development is limited and there's no real personality to any of the choices and limited attachment to the events of the game, a feeling not helped by the almost non-existent story.
The combat is also pretty simplistic, with two types of attacks and a limited number of abilities that do not manage to lift the battles out of the click fest space.
However, there's no tactics involved at all in the approaching battles and the enemies do little more than driving straight for the player and whacking away while waiting to be killed.
The presentation of Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale is also lacking, with grunts taking the place of actual voices for the characters and ugly and repetitive environments.
My experience was also not helped by the fact that the PC port is poorly done, does not allow for scrolling and looks on par with the old Neverwinter Nights series.
I would have liked to see a smoother, quicker experience with some innovative combat mechanics to revive the use of the Forgotten Realms universe in the video game space.
Here's a quick look at Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale in action: