Optycal Illusion
Blysster rate 4
Dungeon Keeper II is one of the
first truly EVIL games I have ever played. I was hooked within minutes. Never
had I seen such a blatantly evil game, it was full of violence and cruel
tricks, traps and torture chambers…. It was made for me!
INSTALL/SETUP: Though it takes a little
while to install, you are given a nice slide show to look at while you wait.
They give you looks at some of the concept art behind the design and you
can always take this time to browse the manual. Modest specs needed
for this game, most computers should be able to handle this one no problem.
GETTING STARTED: You are an evil Dungeon
Keeper, a disembodied hand floating around your underworld. You control
every aspect of your dungeons creation and the lives of all your minions.
Your goal is to build an “empire” of evil rooms and possess lots of goodies,
attract minions from the portals and then destroy your enemies, the goody-two-shoes
humans who would like to see you dead! All the while you must defend and
protect your Dungeon Heart, for if is destroyed, so are you.
You start with several little imps who live off your mana. They will
do your bidding without question. You can abuse them and make them go faster
by slapping them a few times. These little buggers are so damn ugly they’re
cute! They will dig tunnels and carry bodies, collect gold and alert your
minions to any danger. They have limited fighting skills so don’t depend
in them to keep your dungeon safe!
You can play Single-player or go head to head with friends and strangers
in multi-player games. Complete instructions are included with the game.
There are many skirmish maps as well as the main story line to follow,
and lots of options for graphics, sounds and other effects in the game.
My Dungeon Heart.
LEARNING CURVE and GAME PLAY: With the
“My Pet Dungeon” option on the first screen you are given the opportunity
to learn about the game in a non-threatening way. You will learn tips
and tricks from an evil voice chatting in your ear. The advisor will alert
you to attacks and unhappy creatures and other things that need your immediate
attention. He helps you understand the mechanics of the game as well as
spouting some smart-ass comments to keep you chuckling. He has told me
on several occasions that my “dungeon floor is lumpy” and to “order your
minions to jump up and down”. Listen to this guy, because he’ll tell you
how to use your traps and your rooms…. And keep you from failing. Don’t
get me wrong though, he is not above trash talking you either. He’ll tell
you straight up if you suck.
A good 15 minutes of playing with the pet dungeons will get you well
on your way. You can begin playing the main quests right away if you like,
they are simple enough to start with and you’ll get the help from the advisor
all the way to the very last scene. The game manual is also extremely helpful,
unlike many books I have received with games. This one actually goes into
enough detail about controls and options you aren’t left lost and alone
down there.
*ROOMS AND CREATURES: Certain rooms attract certain
creatures; each creature needs a specific amount of room to sleep and particular
places to hang out and work. Some minions do not like manual labor and will
balk if you try and force it. Take time to learn all your creatures’ skills
and dislikes so you can keep them happy.
For example the library is needed in order to attract a Warlock. This
guy will study and research new spells for you to use. Another room is the
torture chamber, you’ll attract a Mistress or two and they will gladly torture
your prisoners for information or fun, if there is no prisoner to torture
they’ll throw themselves in the electric chair! One amusing thing to do
is possess one of your creatures to get first person view and walk close
to the mistresses while they torture each other, GREAT view!
I possessed a warlock and walked in on this mistress
torturing a prisoner. First person view can give you some GREAT insight into
the lives and minds of your minions.
Everyone can use some other rooms; the training room will help to increase
your creatures’ levels, the hatchery will feed your creatures and the
lair gives them a place to rest. On a side note, it’s REALLY fun to slap
the chickens; they explode into a ball of blood and feathers! Some rooms
are for your defeated foes; the prison will hold your fallen enemies until
they die and turn into skeletons or you can keep them barely alive and
watch them fight over a chicken that you throw in. The graveyard is useful
for storing your dead enemy’s body. Get enough bodies in the graveyard and
you’ll be rewarded with a powerful vampire! Many other rooms and lots of
goodies to discover await you later in the game.
You can earn the privilege to summon “Horny”, a very powerful demon
who will powerhouse through anything and everything in his path, even YOUR
minions! Use him wisely.
I have labeled the library, hatchery, lair and portal
in this shot. And thats my hand! In the right corner is the Horny Talisman
for summoning the great demon.
*MONEY: Nobody works for free! It’s YOUR job
to make sure your imps dig up enough gold to supply your minions with cold
hard cash. A counter will slowly tick down to each payday, if you don’t
have enough gold in your treasury or near your Dungeon Heart your creatures
will become angry and leave your dungeon! There is a spell you can research
which will create gold for emergencies. You can also strip your creatures
of their salaries by building a casino. They like to go there to relax, but
you can control if the games payout or never let them win. When someone wins
a jackpot in the casino they all dance to “Disco Inferno”. There is another
way to never have to pay them a salary, but I’ll leave that up to YOU to
figure out!
Advanced training in the pit, workshop in the upper
left where the traps are made and a guard post in the upper right. My hand
is poised to heal my creatures while they fight and train.
*WAR: What fun is it to be evil and create a
huge and powerful army if you can’t USE them? The whole point of the game
is to engage in combat, and win. Train your minions and research powerful
spells, make your plan and set out on the attack! Sometimes it’s best to
sit back and wait for the enemy to be at your door, other times you’ll want
to barge in before they can amass a huge army and still other times you’ll
want to sneak in the back door and take them out quietly one by one. Use
your best judgment and try to outsmart the humans! Great things await the
keeper who can win the game and emerge into the upper world.
My creatures advancing for the final blow on the enemy
Dungeon Heart. It's all over except the crying!
GRAPHICS:This game is several years old
but it is still great to look at. With the many options for lowering or
raising the graphics to fit your computer’s needs, you won’t be disappointed
in it’s performance. Things like water transparency and shadow detail immerse
you into the world more, but I don’t use the fancy stuff, I’m all about
performance. You can get close up and see your creatures’ faces and get
in on the action. I don’t like how “Blocky” they look, but for the time
the game was made it is still pretty impressive. There is blood and gore
and lots of it, the spells and the traps all have graphics. One drawback
is the lag that comes with ALL of your minions fighting in one area. It’s
not bad enough to ruin the game, but on slower machines it can be a real
drag.
SOUND and MUSIC: The voice of the
Advisor is subtly evil and always welcome company. It is smooth and easy
to listen to, never have I heard it get choppy or out of sync. The sound
effects are nice, screams and painful gasps along with evil cackles and laughing
from the skeletons. The mistresses moan and groan with pleasure as the torture
one another and sound wicked and cruel as they turn the enemy into French
fries. You can hear the sounds of the torture chamber electric chair and
wheel of pain, the dungeon heart beats loudly when you hover near and you
can hear the quiet tinkling sound of the imps and their picks busily digging
gold. The music is subtle and well placed never invasive.
FINAL THOUGHTS:One of the very best games
of its time. Great graphics, funny commentary by the advisor and lots of
chaos to fool around with will keep even the most avid gamer busy for a
long time. This one has endless replay value, especially if you play multiplayer!
Cut-scenes after each level entertain even the most easily bored players,
funny and exciting to keep you ready for action.
RECOMMENDED: Dungeon Keeper II is
a definite buy for those who enjoy god-sims and like to take the side of
evil. By now it should be pretty cheap in stores and well worth the small
dent in your wallet.
