Dungeon Storm
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| Dungeon Storm

It can't be easy living in one of these medieval fantasy worlds. Not only do you have to contend with all manner of unpleasant diseases and bloodthirsty beasts, but you have to go to great lengths to put food on the table for your loved ones.

Becoming an obnoxious merchant or joining an evil imperial army are two viable options, but if you want to make a really fast buck then there's nothing better than finding a nice dank dungeon and exploring its depths for some long-forgotten coinage.

Dungeon Storm sees you assuming the role of one such brave soul as he courageously descends into a cursed pit, hoping to be lucky enough to subsequently emerge in one piece and be showered with fame, admiration and (most importantly) lots of lovely money.

Along the way you encounter all manner of unsavory beasts, including bats, orcs, wizards and reanimated corpses. These denizens of the underworld can thankfully be dispatched via a few well-timed swipes of your trusty 'Dread Sword of Shining Justice' (we might have made that name up).

Before this review gets too bogged down in fantasy mumbo-jumbo, it's worth noting that Dungeon Storm doesn't contain reams of dull statistics and there's not a hit multiplier in sight – this is all about arcade action, where nimble reflexes and unrelenting aggression are your two greatest allies in the face of terrifying evil.

As you descend ever further into the bowls of the fetid dungeon, you encounter locked doors that can only be passed through when the correct key has been collected. Thankfully, the key in question is usually (and conveniently) located in a room nearby. Whoever designed this medieval maze obviously wasn't that clued up on security.

The only other items you come across are numerous potions, which replenish your health. These are a blessing – thanks to the rather unwieldy control method, it's highly likely that you'll take more than a few knocks as you make progress through the game.

Your character can move forwards and backwards by pushing up and down on the phone's D-pad, which is fairly straightforward – the real headaches start when you try to turn. Pushing left or right rotates your muscle-bound barbarian on the spot, but it's too easy to misjudge the movement and spin around too swiftly. In the heat of battle this can become incredibly tiresome, as you have to be facing your enemy head-on for your sword swipes to have any discernible effect.

When it comes to tackling obstacles such as spike traps and pits, the controls move from being slightly irritating to downright infuriating, especially when falling down a hole results in instant death and you have to play again from the very beginning. Performing a jump is easily done – a simple button press makes your character hop a respectable distance – but the twitchy controls and often confusing viewpoint make it a struggle to line up your leap accurately.

It's a shame the controls do so much to undermine the rest of the game because, visually, Dungeon Storm is well above average. The 3D dungeon rotates smoothly and enemy sprites are bold and colourful. The animation is rather stunted, with some of the characters looking like they're carrying the burden of last night's curry in their medieval undergarments, but on the whole the presentation is of a high standard.

Aside from a few spot effects, however, the same can't be said of the sound. Considering the epic nature of the quest involved you'd think that the developers would have seen fit to compose a suitably grand musical score to accompany it, but alas it is not to be.

Dungeon Storm had the potential to be an excellent and addictive little game, with plenty of challenge and hours of gameplay. Unfortunately, the annoying control method saps away much of the entertainment value it might have possessed. If you're willing to persevere, then you'll be well on your way to gaining countless riches and undying fame and fortune – just brace yourself for a struggle of truly epic proportions.

Dungeon Storm

Attractive hack-'n-slash action undermined by dodgy controls. One for battle-hardened adventures only
Score
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.