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Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Atari
Genre(s): Role-Playing Game
Players: 4
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Release Date: September 17, 2003
Summary
Journey through a world filled with magic and monsters, treasures and traps, good and evil a world unto itself where heroes are made not born. Take on perilous quests through never-before-seen planes of existence and carve a path to righteousness. Conquer dungeons, search for gemstones, fight monsters, improve your skills and more as one of four distinct Hero characters: Fighter,Wizard, Cleric or Thief. Immediately immerse yourself in solo games or play cooperatively with up to 4 players. Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes gives you a chance to taste victory as only a true Hero can. [Atari]
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central IGN Insider Guide
Also On The Web: Games Domain Preview Official Website TechTV Preview
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...
GamePro
Offers a smooth ramp of power, fast-but-strategic combat, and a real variety of gameplay. Alone, it’s cool. With friends, it's a blast.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine
A splendid dungeon crawler that's one of the best co-op experiences on Xbox. [Nov 2003, p.108]
Game Chronicles
This is one of the best new multiplayer games and its exclusive to the Xbox, so you even get some system bragging rights to go along with your hack and slash adventures.
Read Full Review >AtomicGamer
Atari has mixed old-school dungeon hack games with modern gameplay to make D&D Heroes a pretty decent success.
Read Full Review >Deeko
While the graphics seems to be a baby step back, the camera, which can zoom in and out, makes up for it. The gameplay is incredible, the musical score is impressive and the controls are fantastic.
Read Full Review >RPG Fan
Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes may get flack from the hardcore D&D crowd for simply being a "Diablo" clone set in the D&D universe, but it's still hard to deny the simple joy in teaming up with three friends to kick the crap out a Beholder.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
Both a souped-up "Gauntlet" and a stripped-down "Dark Alliance"; it's not as pretty as it should be, but the gameplay is rock-solid, and the multiplayer mode is can't-miss entertainment.
Read Full Review >Next Level Gaming
Heroes covers a totally different set of rules and a different story. And a strong multiplayer setup which allows players to jump in and out at will make this a game not only should you have, but one your friends should pick up too.
Read Full Review >IGN
We all loved "Gauntlet" in the arcade and D&D Heroes captures the adventure-filled essence of that classic but with a very clever new control system that can be enhanced and refined in all sorts of interesting ways.
Read Full Review >Gamers' Temple
The roleplaying elements have been stripped-down and the play can feel repetitive at times, but all things considered Dungeons & Dragons Heroes is an enjoyable dungeon romp.
Read Full Review >Gamer's Pulse
A true delight, offering fast-paced hack and slash action gaming in the comfort of my living room. With a in-depth storyline, multiple quests, a hefty assortment of weapons and awesome graphics, Heroes is a solid title for those gamers who just love a good adventure.
Read Full Review >GameZone
In terms of gameplay, there is little that is new or different here. While basically seamless, the overall gameplay is a rehash of other titles.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
The quintessential arcade-style RPG. Anyone can play it anytime. Some may say this game has training wheels but I like to think they're hooked up to a wheelie bar on a Harley.
GamingTrend
A decently done hack-and-slash, harkening back to the days of "Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance" on the consoles. This Xbox exclusive title doesn't hold up very well against its two-year-old cousin however, sporting spotty graphics and an inconstant frame rate.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
I enjoyed my time with this title, but for most, the lack of variety and options will disappoint. [Nov 2003, p.163]
TeamXbox
While the single-player game is also enjoyable this game was designed to be played with others. It’s easy to pick up and difficult to put down. The fast-paced, frenzied gameplay will have you and your friends addicted for hours.
Read Full Review >netjak
There's something immensely satisfying about plowing through hordes of monsters with a group of friends, and Heroes does that exceptionally well, despite its other flaws.
Read Full Review >Into Liquid Sky
The single player experience is good for a short while, but the repetitiveness of it all may tire on some gamers.
Read Full Review >Armchair Empire
It's a fun title that gives the genre some notable tweaks, and it's certainly recommendable to anyone with an itch for a fast and furious dungeon crawl.
Read Full Review >XGP Gaming
I enjoyed this game, because it's one of the few games that you can take a few buddies and play through. It doesn't require much thought and in fact much skill. Anyone can seemingly pick up and play this game for some good fun.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
May get flack from the hardcore D&D crowd for simply being a "Diablo" clone set in the D&D universe, but it's still hard to deny the simple joy in teaming up with three friends to kick the crap out a Beholder.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Unfortunately, the game's lackluster visuals and simple and easy gameplay prevent this experience from being anything remarkable, especially in the wake of the much better, much older games that inspired it.
Read Full Review >GMR Magazine
The slower pacing and repetitive gameplay wear thin after a few hours if you're all by your lonesome. [Nov 2003, p.78]
Yahoo! Games
A decent, facile translation of the D&D experience, but only for those who weren't already obsessed and experienced with the original. It's paradoxically ill-suited to the hardcore audience.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
Play solo, and you'll find scant motivation to hew through hundreds of drooling monsters. Forming a party, on the other hand, changes everything. [Nov 2003, p.189]
eToychest
This is not the "Baldur's Gate" killer people were hoping for, and I fear that once "Dark Alliance II" hits retail, our four Heroes will become but a distant memory for another 150 years.
Read Full Review >Maxim Online
With Heroes, D&D has severed its dorky roots in favor of fast-paced, arcade-style hackin’ ’n’ slashin’.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
It won't frustrate you too much, but likewise it won't inspire you either. It's a straight up hackandslash that anyone with friends to play it with will probably enjoy, falling somewhere between Gauntlet's button-mashing traditions and Dark Alliance's intelligence and fun.
Read Full Review >GameNow
Slower-paced than "Dark Alliance," and it feels a lot more soulless and generic. [Nov 2003, p.54]
Play Magazine
There are just too many design flaws within the monotony of the dungeon-crawling template. [Oct 2003, p.73]
Xbox Nation Magazine
It isn't polished, it's only marginally engaging, and most of the time, it feels more like some kind of unnatural amalgamation of "Gauntlet" and "Diablo" than anything else. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.87]
G4 TV
The game doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good enough for an action game whose major draw is its audiovisual presentation.
Read Full Review >games(TM)
A tendency to lose track of your player amongst hordes of slathering foes and a constantly changing camera spoils any potential fun ... leaving the whole package somewhat less than we were hoping for. [Dec 2003, p.124]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Cameron K. gave it a10:
4 player co op that's really fun.
SupaFly Snooka gave it an8:
If you're into co-op action RPGs such as Dark Alliance, X-Men Legends and Gauntlet Legends than this game is for you. I played this with 2 friends and it is a lot of fun and can actually get challenging at times unlike Gauntlet Seven Sorrows. Maybe not as fun by yourself, but at least worth the rental with some friends. I don't know what games(TM) is talking about, the camera never ever moves unless you tell it to, and is the same system found in any other game like this. Maybe they had a broken controller or sucked at the game.
Juan Antonio M. gave it a9:
Buen juego. Me recuerda al Diablo I para PC. Adictivo y facil de jugar. Quizas esta falto de escenas para meterte mas en la historia, pero en general el juego es bastante bueno. Esperemos que la saga no se quede aqui y podamos disfrutar de muchos D&D.
Mark W. gave it a5:
This was the first game that my girlfriend played. She was really getting into her character. I was kind of borred, but was having fun watching her have fun. When you die you have so many seconds to rejoin the game---she got panicky and accidently cloned my character and saved it over hers. Later on that night she was crying in her sleep saying, "Im sorry". I wasn't mad at her I was mad at a very ignorant game design. I wish I had never bought this game. We play Baldur's Gate now and it's OK.
Ben D. gave it an 8:
Dungeons & Dragons Heroes (D&DH) is a fun game that wont disappoint fans of the Action/RPG genre. People that like Action/RPGs (i.e. hack-n-slash with leveling up attributes) will surely compare D&DH to Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance. Each of these games has different strengths from each other. The first thing I noticed after playing D&DH for the first time is my initial impression of the graphics were slightly not as good as Baldurs Gate. But on the other hand, I found that I was having a lot more fun, quicker in the campaign with D&DH than I had with Baldurs Gate. Baldurs Gates fighting is pretty rudimentary. D&DH has some of the same simple features to its fighting, but it also has finishing moves and special abilities that you can map for quick access to your controller buttons. The introduction of finishing moves added another level of interactivity to the fighting/combat that I greatly appreciated. Personally, I am a fan of more Action than RPG in my Action/RPG, so that fit nicely for me. In addition, there are some very creative potions that can be thrown in D&DH such as the stinging insect potion. It is a lot of fun to watch your enemies walk into the cloud of insects. D&DH had interesting and challenging enemies to fight. D&DH didnt seem to have as many customizable features as Baldurs Gate, but seems to have favored to keep that simple to keep the action going. One feature that I enjoyed in D&DH, is that each character has an Ancestral weapon that can be upgraded over time. The easiest way I can describe the Ancestral weapon is to think of the weapon as their natural default weapon. This Ancestral weapon is a weapon that cannot be sold of dropped and again can be improved as the campaign progresses. There is definitely a sense of accomplishment, as your Ancestral weapon gets stronger and stronger. Unfortunately slain enemies dont lie around forever in D&DH as they did in Baldurs Gate, but that is overshadowed by the enjoyable combat. Overall I enjoyed both Baldurs Gate and D&DH, but found that D&DH took the overall gameplay and thus the fun to the next level. I am glad D&DH took the standard Baldurs Gate set to the hack-n-slash genre and improved upon it in some areas. Although there are opportunities to improve Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, if you are a fan of Action and Action/RPGs, I recommend playing this game.
Baron S. gave it an 8:
Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes is smashing fun for two or more players. If you've played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, you'll know exactly what to expect. As everyone else seems to have referred to, there isn't a huge amount of difference between the two. Is this a bad thing? Well, that depends if you played Baldur's Gate and are now looking for more of the same. Me? I was and am not disappointed at all. I heartily recommend this game to all Gauntlet and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance loving nerds. It's not a particularly 'clever' game but surely not all games have to be.
M. Anthony gave it a 10:
Easy, fun and not to complex, but enough complexity to be interesting as well as addictive. I like it alot. Reminds me of neverwinter nights somehow.... Awesome enjoy!
