Dungeons II Preview

Realmforge’s Dungeons sequel has been the subject of a hands-on preview over at Destructoid, and the author seems reasonably interested in the additions that have been bolted onto the strategy/RPG formula of the original:

As the sequel to the original Dungeons, you’re tasked with expanding the scope and scale of your dungeon, while keeping your minions happy. As you send your lesser underlings to create rooms for resources, and digging for gold, you have to monitor their happiness levels or else they’ll revolt. By building breweries, you can keep them drunk and content, while paying for their services as well. As you build your base of operations, you’ll eventually be visited by humans from the surface, looking to see what all the commotion is about. From here, you’ll have to set traps and send out stronger minions to confront them and protect the Dungeon Lord.

But here is where things get a little different. Once you’ve built the necessary resources and have a sizable force, you can send your minions up to the surface to retake territory. Switching over from Dungeon Keeper gameplay to RTS style mechanics similar to WarCraft or Dawn of War, the pacing changes up considerably. From here, you can battle your foes and sack their villages, turning the whimsical and lush environment, to barren and scorched wastelands.

I was very impressed with how seamlessly Dungeons II transitions between the two different styles of gameplay. You can switch between the two on the fly with no loading whatsoever, which makes alternating between battles on the surface and making sure your minions in the dungeon are collecting resources very simple. Though be sure not to divide your forces so readily. If your send all your offensive minions outside, you can potentially leave yourself open to attack, as the lesser minions in the dungeon cannot defend themselves or the Dungeon Lord.