- Version: 1.0.0
- Release Date: Dec 21, 2011
- Price Purchased: Free
- Seller: Gameloft S.A.
While it has a “3” in its name, Dungeon Hunter 3 has almost no relation to its predecessors. While the first and second Dungeon Hunter games had lengthy stories and loot-driven dungeon crawling, this iteration scraps everything that made those games click in exchange for a wave-based arena hack-’n-slash. It’s unfortunate, as the grinding nature of the new formula mixes with a freemium model that makes it incredibly tough to progress without spending money. This game isn’t worthy of the Dungeon Hunter name.
When you first start Dungeon Hunter 3, the game appears to offer quite a lot for free. Leveling is quick, you have sufficient gold to purchase the base set of armor, and smashing through enemies is easy and enjoyable. This continues until you blow through the 10 keys you are supplied with from the get-go, each of which allows you to unlock the spoils and experience you earn upon completing an arena match.
Where's the flyswatter?
The twist is that you likely won’t care, since fighting waves of enemies by smashing the attack button only stays entertaining for so long. Each of the game’s arenas follows the same formula: down wave after wave of weak baddies until you reach the severely overpowered boss, during which you’ll almost definitely need to use at least one health potion (purchased with gold that could be better spent on gear). One reason bosses are so difficult is that there’s no way to dodge enemy attacks. It’s a grind with little gain in the end.
I see your stats are as big as mine.
It is worth noting that there’s a ton of gear and skills available in the game for each of the four playable classes. Much of it is rendered moot due to the amount of time needed to unlock it, but we commend Gameloft for the effort. We can only imagine how great this surplus would be if it were implemented into a dungeon crawler setting.
Dungeon Hunter 3 is free, although your time would be much better spent on the previous two games in the series. This only goes to show that Gameloft’s current take on the freemium pay model goes against the very nature of the premium console experiences they strive to emulate.
via ; Slidetoplay
No comments:
Post a Comment