D&D:Heroes, BG:DA2,Champions of Norrath: Opinions?

[Chain Lightning]

Hey there.

Just wanted to get opinions of the following games from those here at EN World. The three games I'm talking about are:

-Dungeons&Dragons Heroes
-Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance 2
-Everquest: Champions of Norrath

Which of these would you consider the best hack&slash for party game like fun?

I've played the first "Dark Alliance". On X-Box, this game is gorgeous. But only 3 pickable characters to choose from and only two can play co-op.

Just recently picked up "Champions of Norrath". Same makers of the Dark Alliance series. This is one rub though....its only available on Playstation. Which is a great platform and does have great graphics. Unfortunately, I think the X-Box graphic capabilities shine more on top/down view games like this. The camera seems to be too far above everything and details are fuzzy. On Dark Alliance running with X-Box....details of the terrain and characters are crisp and beautiful. With Champions of Norrath on Playstation, they aren't.

However, I'm willing to continue with it to see how good it gets. The upside however.....is that with Champions you can have 4 players at once.

If I'm looking for great hack & slash co-op play for my friends and I, which one is the best?

I haven't tried "Dark Alliance 2" or "D&D:Heroes". Is one of these two better than "Champions of Norrath" perhaps?

Look forward to reading some of your thoughts on these games.

 

[Zelgadas]

I haven't played Champions, myself. I playe the original BG: DA, and enjoyed it quite a lot, but I wouldn't really call it (or its sequel) a 'party game', since you can only have two players. Heroes is quite a lot of fun, supports up to four players, and gets more fun the more people you have playing. The graphics are a little rough, and the game's difficulty doesn't really seem to scale all that well with your characters' level of whup-ass, but it is quite a lot of fun, all the same. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good multiplayer dungeon hack.

 

[Velenne]

I agree with Zelgadas. Dark Alliance 2 is fun as single-player or co-op but only supports 2 players. The monsters are interesting but the leveling system, item creation system, and overall gameplay (while good) are less than inspiring. The story is great and the levels are different enough to keep the game fresh.

D&D Heroes, by contrast, was an excellent party game. I played the dwarf cleric all the way through with 3 other players and we had a blast! The two systems are very similar, so I have difficulty pin-pointing what it was that made Heroes so much better. Still, Heroes is a better game even if the story is mediocre by comparison.(I know, it's a Hack&Slash in the vein of Diablo- what do you expect?)

 

[robaustin]

I'm currently playing BG: DA2 and enjoying it. I played a demo of CON and it's basically the same engine and game - just a different world/plot. The one thing CON has over it is online play. That's nice if you want to do some hack and slash with some friends who don't live close by. I also hear CON is about twice as long as BG: DA2.

Great games both....

--*Rob

 

[Eridanis]

I'm in the midst of both HEROES and BGDA2 right now. Both are excellent games. I'm holding off on CHAMPIONS until I'm living someplace with a broadband connection; I haven't found a straight answer to the question "Can you play it offline as single player?" Any advice on that?

 

[robaustin]

I'm in the midst of both HEROES and BGDA2 right now. Both are excellent games. I'm holding off on CHAMPIONS until I'm living someplace with a broadband connection; I haven't found a straight answer to the question "Can you play it offline as single player?" Any advice on that?

From what I have heard you can play it that way just fine. That's how I intend to play it, being the rather solitary gamer I am. I had fun playing the demo....

--*Rob

 

[John Crichton]

I'm in the midst of both HEROES and BGDA2 right now. Both are excellent games. I'm holding off on CHAMPIONS until I'm living someplace with a broadband connection; I haven't found a straight answer to the question "Can you play it offline as single player?" Any advice on that?

I have a ~20th level character and have been playing only offline. Online play not needed. Fun hack-n-slash game.

 

[dpdx]

Heroes was great on xbox, but wicked short (and once you're done, you're done - no persistent world). Played it all the way through w/ dwarf cleric solo in about a week of couple hours/day sessions. Much longer game time with Morrowind.

 

[Chain Lightning]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I think I may have to rent D&D:Heroes and give it a chance. A friend said he picked up Dark Alliance 2, may have to borrow his copy and check it out as well.

Champions of Norrath is fun, but again...my only negative comment on it so far is the graphics. With the camera being so far above the characters and the Playstation 2 not being as crisp as the X-Box........the graphics are a tad fuzzy and unrefined in comarison to Dark Alliance. IMHO.