Dragon's Lair 3D: Not what I've been waiting for
Pros:
Great opener, nostalgic feel, professional soundtrack,
Cons:
frustrating gameplay, unfinished look, terrible monster AI
The Bottom Line:
Consider this game if you're a fan of the original, otherwise avoid it.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The Hope:
I'm a huge fan of the characters and animation of the original 1983 Dragon's Lair, but dislike the gameplay immensely. The new Dragon's Lair 3D sounded like a dream come true for me - Dirk is back, I thought, and this time I can control his bumbling adventures completely.
The Reality:
The game falls significantly short of this. Gone is the character of Dirk, the expressions on his face, etc. Though I want to be immersed in the Dragon's Lair, it's too frustrating to stay for long.
The Graphics:
Instead of utilizing any of the innovative technology present in existing games, the makers of DL3D simply slapped scanned textures from the old game onto very simple polygon shapes. This was an acceptable technique back in the days of the original Tomb Raider, but I think we're used to seeing more complex graphics today. I'm very much interested to see a game like this come out where the makers spend as much time making a 'real' cartoon world as the makers of ultra-violent first-person shooter games spend making a 'real' world.
The cartoon-rendering of the characters is really not acceptable. Look at the Dirk-turns-into-a-skeleton scene, and you'll see what I mean. No variable line-weight, poor modeling, and not enough integration with the background.
The Sound:
I love the new soundtrack by Christopher Stone. It's very professional and sets the mood well. My concern is that it may be a bit heavy and serious. DL should be anything but serious. Additionally, after listening to Daphne squeak and whine her way through the game, I sincerely lost interest in saving her.
The Gameplay
This is the reason I wanted to write this review. I'm fine with the Tomb Raider style of gameplay, but this game switches between free and fixed camera between levels. It also switches controls (keys make you move in different directions than you're used to). The effect of this is that it brought me completely out of the game environment. (and made me cuss.) Don't do this, gamemakers. Keep the control of the character consistent throughtout the whole game.
The game also relies on moving-platforms timed-jumps and precarious-ledges to give a 'challenge.' I love puzzles, but this game doesn't engage your mind, it elicits foul language.
Additionally, the artificial intelligence of the monsters needs more work. The monsters run around in circles and get caught on architecture a lot. Again, it may be competitive with six or seven year old games, but not today's games.
In Conclusion
Buy this game only if you're a diehard Dragon's Lair fan, (it comes with some neat interviews with Don Bluth, Christopher Stone, Dan Molina, and others.)
