Dungeon Defenders is fun for anyone who enjoys a good action/rpg and tower defense game. It has some flaws, particularly in presentation, but overall this is a fun game to play both by yourself and with friends.
Dungeon Defenders four classes compliment each other well without crossing over a whole lot. From the melee-centric combat and defenses of the squire and the more traditional tower defense style of the apprentice to the quick and agile trap-based combat of the huntress and the support style of the monk, you can really find a class that fits you best. Personally it’s the apprentice for me. I also love all the loot to sort through and invest in
Gear can be ‘invested’ in to level it up and improve it’s various stat boosts. Each item has a level limit and when you hit that you get to name it to add a personal touch. My apprentice Budcaster likes a three-shot wand that he fires up-close and personal like a shotgun, hitting targets with all three projectiles. Possible bonuses include knockback, poison, elemental damage, and more. Finding your favorite combination is very much a trial and error process.
Playing with others requires coordination and teamwork. Combat by itself is no big deal but placing your defenses and splitting up dropped mana means communication. I think that split-screen is the way to go, on the couch with your friends, but that’s my choice for everything multiplayer.
Visually the game looks pretty and colorful, but only on high-quality graphics. If you lower your settings down to even medium, you lose all textures on the game’s logo on the main menu and the targeting arc for your defenses disappears. This shows me that even with all of the delays, this game might not have been truly finished when it was pushed out the door. The sound is unremarkable but it doesn’t get in the way, which is a compliment by itself.
Do yourself a favor and don’t try and play this with a mouse and keyboard. I’m a huge WASD advocate but this isn’t a game that plays well without a controller. Unfortunately, it seems to play nice with only one controller, and that’s the Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Any PC gamer who plays sports games or other controller-supported games on their computer probably already has one (or two), but this is something to keep in mind.
Keep in mind that if you’re going to play solo the game will almost require you to significantly out-level the map you’re playing because of the space you need to cover. The maps can be large with multiple entrances that are spread out and can be hard for one player to cover by themselves. All of the maps seem designed for 2-4 players.
I’m pleased overall with Dungeon Defenders. It’s a fun diversion and despite the single-player difficulty issues, I think this is something that allot of players would enjoy.
Alphasim out.
[starreviewmulti id=2 tpl=31]