Dungeons & Dragons Online Reviews
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Burdened with monthly subscription fees, games such as D&D Online are naturally held to a higher standard when it comes to the breadth and sheer volume of their content. On those fronts, this game might not necessarily have what it takes to keep you glued over the long haul, especially when a similar game like Guild Wars offers at least as much if not more content, without asking you for your credit card number in exchange. Here, you don't have tons of leveling up to look forward to, and there isn't some elaborate competitive player-versus-player element to keep you busy once you max out your character. But there's more than enough good content to keep the typical D&D fan intrigued and entertained for around those first 30 days you get free with the purchase of the retail box. Beyond that, it's going to depend on how quickly you've consumed the content and what types of friends you've got in the game. Having cut their teeth on the Asheron's Call series, D&D Online's experienced developers intend to continue supplementing their game with add-on "modules" that introduce new quests, rewards, and challenges. This dedicated focus on the questing and adventure portions of the game ultimately makes sense and should help keep the quality of D&D Online's content a cut above the traditional online RPG. But in exchange, D&D Online doesn't deliver the broad scope and wide variety of features you could find in other similar games.
1Up gave it a 7.0/10:
Since leveling up is so rare, Turbine has added "ranks" to the game system. This is essentially a tier system with four tiers per level. Achieve a new rank and you earn an action point to spend on an enhancement -- not a new power or spell or feat or attack or anything like that, but an enhancement that will make you do something you already do a little bit better. It's not a bad solution for the level-cap problem. Still, you may find yourself grumbling if you finally hit rank 4 and there's no enhancement you want. Why not just add one anyway? Because you can only have four at any one time -- after that you have to drop an enhancement to add a new one. You could forgo adding an enhancement, but the action point you earned is burned when you level, and that just feels punitive.
Still, there are players online -- hardcore pen-and-paper guys -- having a ball with this. For them, it's a dream come true. And while it's no recurring nightmare, it's hard to recommend this game in a world where World of WarCraft provides a better, more well-rounded experience.
And UGO gave it an overall score of "B":
I love Dungeons & Dragons. I play Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures every week, and I have all the original guidebooks. That being said, the Eberron realm, where all the recent D&D stuff is set, isn't nearly as fun as the Dragonlance worlds or the Forgotten Realms. The Warforged are very cool, but Eberron's missing that special something that makes me want to go there. The graphics are excellent, but there isn't much style. I hate to compare it to the Warcraft universe, but I must. Warcraft has had a distinct look that dates all the way back to Orcs vs. Humans. Granted, that Blizzard look is just a derivative of Dungeons & Dragons, but it's an awesome style that is distinct, easily recognizable and fun. Stormreach looks nice, but it's nothing we haven't seen before in hundreds of lesser fantasy games.
Turbine has already announced that their first module, The Dragon's Vault, will debut in April. That's the coolest. This is D&D, and the regular and frequent release of new expansions will help keep the players feeling like they are getting their subscription money's worth. These modules, coupled with the gameplay and it being a social game does in fact capture the spirit of traditional D&D. Let's hope that as the game evolves, it will develop its own voice and this virtual world will be teaming with life for years to come.
