Dungeons & Dragons®: Tactics

E3 2006 First Look Preview

First of all – does this sound familiar for an RPG? Faithful adherence to the D&D 3.5 ruleset, robust character creation and customization, and approximately 40 hours of gameplay.

Of course it does, but what doesn’t sound all that familiar is that this particular title is slated for the PSP handheld console. D&D Tactics is the Atari-published title that is slated for release in the fourth quarter of this year and is a tactical turn-based game. But there is much more – like downloadable content, Ad Hoc multiplayer modes for co-op play and deathmatch, and the ability to  trade players with other players wirelessly.

The story line takes place in a new realm where players are caught up in the struggle between two very powerful dragons. The game features about 30 adventures, and some are mandatory and can affect alignment. Players’ alignment will affect the outcome of the game.

There is a lot of exploration that goes on and a lot of loot to find. Each character is moved individually, but the developers stated that the goal was “to make sure you do not have excessive movement without combat.” Up to six characters can be in one party.

With a wide ranged of environments and adventures, D&D Tactics will have its share of dungeon-type areas with a host of traps. The fog of war will be in place, and the game will also feature dynamic lighting for torches, spells and the like.

All the core races will be represented as well as two psionic races.

The game is solid graphically and should appeal to fans of turn-based tactical-strategy games.

As the developers said: “If you like turn-based tactics, this is the game you have been waiting for. It’s not going to replace pen and paper, but it’s like playing pen and paper.”

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