Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground
Score: 80% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: XSEED Games Developer: Global A Entertainment Media: UMD/1 Players: 1 Genre: RPG/ Editor/ Action
Graphics & Sound: Dungeon crawlers are nothing new and, depending on how you look at it, have been around about as long as video games. Where Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground differs from a majority of other dungeon crawlers is that rather than simply roaming dungeons looking for enemies to slay and treasures to plunder, you are the mastermind behind the dungeon's layout and, through your decisions, what it contains. Like much of the game's action, the more impressive visuals take place below ground. Above ground consists of a map with a group of dots you can navigate between. Interaction with townspeople is limited to static images and menus. If Dungeon Maker's below ground visuals have one major flaw it is that they are flat. Very little jumps out at you other than the fact that you can alter their look by applying new textures. Plain stone walls can become wood-lined corridors and bare rooms can become lavish bedrooms, treasure troves or other specialized rooms. None are particularly impressive, at least visually, but the flexibility makes up for it - something that cannot be said for the characters inhabiting your world. Enemies and your character are very utilitarian. They do their job well at differentiating what things look like, though nothing about them is particularly impressive. You character shows some minor variance in his animations, mostly when it comes to different attack types. Most notable are heavy attacks that run slower than normal attacks and have a bit of weight to them - so rather than doing more damage, they actually look like powerful blows. Though the game has a very medieval feel visually, most of the background music feels more at home in a Mega Man X game. If you just want to listen to fast, up-tempo music you will probably like it; if you want something more inline with the time period, you'll hate it.
Gameplay: Playing as an architect who has recently moved into town, you set off to the task of building a monster-filled dungeon just outside the town. The townspeople are okay with this idea since it means improved business for local businesses. The local hardware store is ecstatic to have repeat business from your construction and the weapon and armor smiths welcome the opportunity to create and repair new tools for adventurers who decide to flock to your monster-filled Mecca once it is completed. If you are the type of player that looks for sweeping, epic stories in your RPG, you will be disappointed. The only "story" is the one that you create through your dungeon. Your ultimate goal is to attract a wandering demon, though that will take some time. Gameplay is broken up into days. Each day you are only allowed to visit your dungeon once. You can choose to venture through your dungeon and slay the monsters that have taken up residence. Depending on what monsters and rooms are present, you can unlock all sorts of new treasures or complete quests for the townspeople. Some may have items stolen by monsters (monsters, it seems, are not the best of neighbors); others may ask that you collect certain rare items that the monsters may bring with them. As you explore the dungeon, you can make improvements to it at any time provided you have the materials. Monsters are extremely particular about where they call home andd will only show up if your dungeon meets their particular needs. Some will want a complex system of hallways with lots of places to hide their treasures (or themselves). Others may prefer cold, stone hallways while others will prefer more "comfortable" areas to reside, requiring you to build areas with wood floors or running water. Bigger rooms will attract larger monsters and so forth. The trick is figuring out who wants what and how to provide it - something the townspeople (in particular, the town's wise beggar) will be more than happy to help you with.
Difficulty: The beautiful thing about Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground is that it hits you on two difficulty levels that end up dovetailing into each other nicely. The first is the difficulty of creating a dungeon that will attract a number of different enemies and their treasures. The more twists and turns, the more places they have to hide. Where you place certain rooms will also matter. Treasure rooms closer to the entrance will not attract the same high-level treasures as one deeper in the dungeon. The same goes for most enemies. The deeper your dungeon gets, the harder it is to attract them into the lower floors; after all, who wants to leave a penthouse for an outhouse. This leads to player-created difficulty; the better your dungeon, the more powerful (and plentiful) the enemies that inhabit it. As I found out early on, it is possible to make a dungeon so complex that even you have a hard time.
Game Mechanics: Construction is very easy and flexible. Rooms and hallways are purchased from the hardware store and serve as the building blocks for your design. You can buy normal rooms and hallways or, for a premium, also buy specialized treasure rooms or even bedrooms. Once you have rooms, you can place them using an Architecture Menu. Once a room is placed, you can replace it with another room or add objects to it. The hardest aspect is planning your layout that will get a monster's attention. The art of building a dungeon is slow at first, though it does pick up pace once you get a decent dungeon going. The biggest hurdle is cash flow since dungeon materials, especially specialized rooms, are pricey. A few townsfolk are charitable and will donate rooms, though it can only go so far. There may be a string of days where you do little more than navigate your dungeon for loot and money. It doesn't take too long to get going and once you get started, addiction comes quickly. Still, if patience isn't something you pride yourself on, you may find it hard to get into the game since takes a while to generate enough funds and attract "big ticket" monsters. Combat is the weak link in otherwise sturdy gameplay. The nearest enemy is always targeted, even if he is behind you. Also, even though it is targeted, your attacks can completely miss - not a good thing when you are swarmed by monsters. Enemy A.I. is basic, so it is possible to run away if you get into too much trouble. You can use both melee and basic attacks, though the system is little more than mindless button-mashing with little variety. You can delay your button presses to produce a more powerful attack, but it doesn't always hit and can leave you wide open. Most of the issues are something you can work around, but combat is a major component in dungeon hacks, so it may be offsetting to some. Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground is another in a long string of niche titles that few have even heard of and most should play. At the same time, it will only hold lasting appeal for a smaller audience. Though combat may not completely hold up and it does take a little patience to get going, Dungeon Maker is an overall solid game and worth a look, especially for any armchair developer who has uttered the phrase, "The design sucks, I could do so much better."
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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