Previews

Hands on with Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics on PSP

Could be special

Hands on with Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics on PSP

Not unlike the parent of a socially irresponsible number of children, we'll happily proclaim to love our pre-released games equally here at Pocket Gamer. And while that's true, we'd be lying if we refused to admit that we expect some of them to develop further than others, come release time.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics is one such title, hence the reason we've been keeping a close eye on it. We reported its announcement in May last year before the game disappeared off the radar as a result of a delay. We were there when it then re-emerged, just over a year later, with gameplay trailers and new screenshots. And only two weeks ago, we interviewed the game's producer.

Now, we've had a play.

The main menu opens with six options. Quickstart is self-explanatory (and given the limited time we had with the UMD it's the one we opted for – but more on that later) and is followed by the character generation section. Here, you get to select and tweak the human, dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, Halfling and half-orc of your choice before venturing into quests.

Before you do that, we'd strongly suggest working through the tutorials, which detail the mechanics of action, melee and ranged combat, as well as magic. It's a detour from getting into the game, but a vital one given that most are likely to find the battle menu system interface, for instance, a little on the laborious and confusing side.

Once a little more au fait with the game's workings, the next two options – Campaign and Multiplayer – await, while, finally, the extras section reveals a useful glossary for D&D virgins, an art gallery and a music player.

The latter may seem superfluous but it's there with good reason because the moment you embark on an adventure you'll note Tactics features a hugely atmospheric soundtrack, which combined with graphics only too happy to show the care that's gone into them, conveys the scene admirably.

The game alternates between turn-based exploration and combat phases, while adhering to the D&D dynamics. From the time we had with the game, these appear to have transferred well to PSP, with our handful of missions requiring us to locate and kill monstrous fiends (and looting treasure chests on the way) being completed without nasty surprises. The combat menu interface is, as mentioned, a little fiddly but even a newcomer would soon be able to logically work out the basics.

They would, however, probably find other aspects considerably more bewildering. That's to be expected of anyone not familiar with the D&D rule-set (3.5 in this case, fact fans) but, equally, the level of detail during the post-mission party management menus and stats screens leave no doubt as to the game's convictions – having to deal with special and standard abilities, prepared spells, powers, carried items, skills, feats, and more is clear evidence this isn't dip-in-and-out territory (although it's worth noting that despite this necessary – and welcome – depth, missions appear structured with the nature of portable play in mind).

Other elements, such as the ability to trade items with a merchant, resurrect a fallen comrade or hire a character before the next adventure should at least present more familiar ground to even the lightest of RPG players.

The content, then, certainly seems in place. So, too, are the D&D mechanics – at least from our limited experience of the game – which is obviously a fundamental aspect. If we do have concerns, it's that the text-based narrative between your characters can feel a little flat, mainly as a result of the contrast created by the quality of the audio – you can't help thinking it almost demands a voice-over approach.

And on the subject of the soundtrack, while undeniably stirring, it's disappointing to discover it's not dynamic and as such fails to react adequately to the action onscreen. Completing a mission, for instance, yields no specific sonic reward.

Small touches, perhaps, and possibly of little consequence when placed against the potential, hugely engrossing nature of the game. After all, its ability to maintain long-term interest remains the critical element and it's obviously something we'll be able to determine in our forthcoming review.

Until then, we've seen nothing that changes our opinion that Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics could end up that little more special than its brethren when it's released in Europe on September 14th.

Joao Diniz Sanches
Joao Diniz Sanches
With three boys under the age of 10, former Edge editor Joao has given up his dream of making it to F1 and instead spends his time being shot at with Nerf darts. When in work mode, he looks after editorial projects associated with the Pocket Gamer and Steel Media brands.