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Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach

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7.2 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 33 critic reviews
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Based on 37 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Atari / Wizards of the Coast

Developer: Turbine Entertainment

Genre(s): Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Players: Thousands

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: February 28, 2006

Summary

Dungeons & Dragons Online provides players with the definitive online Dungeons & Dragons experience, complete with dramatic dungeon crawling, terrifying monster combat, challenging puzzles and character advancement. Dungeons & Dragons Online is centered on robust character advancement and challenging dungeon combat. Players choose and develop a character based on some of the iconic races associated with D&D, including Humans, Elves and Halflings, as well as classes such as Fighters, Clerics, Rogues and Wizards - after which they can socialize, find quests, group together and equip themselves for future battles. Dungeons & Dragons Online lets players travel alone or in parties as they explore the seemingly endless dungeon complexes found beneath the world. Through the dungeons, players engage in physical and magical combat with hideous foes straight from the pages of the Monster Manual rulebook. Battle is challenging, fast-paced, and easy to control with a wealth of unique weapon effects and character movements, as well as specific monster behaviors designed to keep combat both tactical and action packed. [Turbine]

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What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Da Gameboyz

It is a great game, matching in spirit the pen and paper version.

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GamerFeed

It hits on almost every front. Present are the adventure elements of high fantasy, the mysterious magical elements of the war-torn world of Eberron, and the deep-rooted numerical elements.

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Worth Playing

If you're looking for the kind of style a more traditional MMo offers, you'll not find it here. I, however, love D&D Online: Stormreach, and I have no qualms whatsoever recommending it to anyone who loves an entertaining action-RPG experience.

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Pelit (Finland)

It has been a while since the MMORPG genre saw an innovative game. Turbine's latest feels very much like the tabletop RPG in digital form. Although the combat system is a bit strange and the forced grouping is definitely not for everyone, the game is overall good, solid fun. [May 2006]

PC Zone UK

A curious but elegant levelling system. [May 2006, p.88]

Cheat Code Central

It's certainly worth the price for the first month and if you find a team of friends that you really like, this could be your new social life.

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PC Gamer UK

For those involved in fighting, and those attempting to avoid it, the game's particular brand of 'real-time' combat is eventually effective. [Apr 2006, p.84]

PC Format

An atmospheric online version of D&D. Best with friends - but what isn't? [Apr 2006, p.86]

Game Informer

Everyone has their own criteria for what makes a game as huge and complicated as an MMORPG fun, and D&D Online will be just what a certain number of folks want out of their $15 per month. [May 2006, p.108]

Eurogamer

Sure, there are flaws and the lack of any soloing capability, the occasional difficulty in finding groups, as well as the apparent slowness of levelling get irritating, but they're nothing in the face of what it does properly.

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Quandary

I had some fun in Stormreach despite sometimes waiting around to find adventuring companions. The dungeons make up for this with the various challenges and secret ways to ferret out.

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eToychest

If you have a group of friends to play it with, give DDO a try. It'll certainly fill a few weeks with fun, but don't expect lasting playing power. Redundancy, the bane of all MMOs, is here aplenty.

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Digital Entertainment News

DDO is definitely good for a week or two, but after that it doesn’t really offer anything new or rewarding.

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My Gamer

Stormreach is the classic "Why bother?" game. Yeah, it is done well, but with better choices out there, why bother playing this?

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Game Chronicles

It has some solid graphics, an enjoyable instanced mission system, and handy integrated voice, but ultimately falls short due to lack of content.

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Gamers' Temple

Like its pen and paper namesake, Dungeons & Dragons Online is best enjoyed with a group of good friends.

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GameSpot

This online role-playing game lives up to its namesake as far as the quality of its action-packed quests is concerned, but it doesn't have all the features you'd probably want.

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Play Magazine

Dungeons and Dragons Online will provide a nice vacation from the epic raid game and a great alternative for players that prefer regular grouping in their online RPG's. [Apr 2006, p.77]

IGN

I think DDO's single-player content is more compelling and its dungeons more accessible and numerous than in "World of Warcraft" or "EverQuest II." Its visuals are technologically superior to WoW's without suffering from EQII's unsettling mannequins and relatively bland environments. But DDO doesn't hold a candle to either in terms of breadth or replayability.

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PC Gamer

An established D&D group may love transitioning from paper to monitor for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach; casual players, however, will be left holding the dice bag. [Jun 2006, p.86]

Computer Games Magazine

There's enough good in D&D Online to make it worth recommending, but whether there's enough meat to inspire monthly donations beyond the 30 days that currently come with the box is questionable. [Jun 2006, p.80]

GameZone

Linear mission structures and forced grouping – with no crafting, housing, PvP or end-game – make DDO: Stormreach a short experience.

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AceGamez

Despite realistic graphics and sound, DDO simply falls short of expectations when it comes to providing accessible gameplay for solo or group play, meaning that you have to sink a large portion of your time into the game to get the most out of it.

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Games Radar (in-house)

If you're not too old to play pretend and mean it, Stormreach proves fun for the whole family. Just be aware that if you don't bring your whole family, you won't have much fun.

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Sydney Morning Herald

If you're happy to pay the fees and have no trouble socialising online, a fun alternative existence beckons.

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Gamer 2.0

Its group dungeon crawls are very good, but a total lack of features, slow pace, and low risk-to-reward ratio is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Turbine did an excellent job of bringing the core tabletop experience to an MMO, but this focus costs dearly by making the game neither broad, nor deep.

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GameShark

A title worthy of the franchise and second only "World of Warcraft" in quality and fun in and MMORPG.

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1UP

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.

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GameSpy

I think we all kept focusing on the negatives because so much in D&D Online works so well, that it could have been absolutely great.

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G4 TV

Stormreach very skillfully brings the classic game to the internet and captures the feel of the offline experience. However, it all feels a little constricted, and while it’s problems are much more limited than those seen in other MMO’s, it’s still not quite a perfect gameplay experience.

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Gamers Europe

Though it's not that hard to get entangled in an addiction to experience gain (and, at the level 10 "endgame", start participating in endless strings of loot runs), the quest supply is embarrassingly finite, the world is far from immersive, and as soon as the addiction is broken, Stormreach becomes instantly forgettable.

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Gaming Age

If you're not hung up on PvP and crafting, and prefer to engage in quests over exploration, there's a good chance this game will definitely appeal to you.

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Game Revolution

For a title that costs more than "World of Warcraft," Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach is unbelievably light on stuff to do. It does feature some decent dungeons that can be fun to run through with a group, but with no pvp, no economy, no trade skills and nothing useful you can do by yourself, this is a dungeon to crawl away from.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 37 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Greg gave it a9:
excellent game, if your looking for an action roleplaying game, many varied adventures in dungeons, forests, caverns, temples, pirate ships, crypts, etc. Like regular D&D, when you start out you have to be resourceful to survive, and you will no doubt need to find fellow adventureres to survive, however after you develop a bit, you'll be able to go off on your own if you like. I have never had a problem finding a group, whether it was going off with one other adventurer, or a whole party of 6. This is an action roleplaying game with very well designed quests, terrifying monsters, and deadly traps. The action is fast, and you will have to be resourceful if you want to survive. From the originators of the genre, they know how to make a game, and it hits the mark. This is not to be confused with other games claiming to be roleplaying games, i.e. you won't be "going out the front gate to kill small animals to lvl up". From the onset you will swept up in amazing storylines from the originators of the genre. highly recommended.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
very good gameplay, problem lies in the low amount of players and because of this difficulties in fast groupfinding - best you have friends to join and itll be great - try out the trial to see!

Jason F. gave it a5:
Too far from pnp, too far from balanced, not ready for release.

Ralph W. gave it a5:
The mmo everyone was waiting for with baited breath. Then they managed to butcher it. The choice of world wasn't bad, but is vaguely uncomfortable for alot of long time d&d players, the spell system mechanics are absolutely hideous, and the game has no real end-game. Everything is instanced and more or a less it feels like you're playing slightly less fun guildwars with a monthly fee. Don't bother with this one until at least the first or second expansion.

Alex J. gave it an8:
If your not tight on a budget its worth getting.

Toadmoss gave it a9:
Great game with room to grow.

Erik M. gave it a6:
Huge disappointment. Could have been much better. :( Not easy to screw up such a goldmine, but Turbine managed it.

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Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach

Game Info

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What The Critics Said

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