What D&D games have you played?

[GreasyDogMeat]

I'm currently in the process of playing through Eye of the Beholder. I got to thinking about the various D&D games I've played over the years... the good and the bad. What have you played and enjoyed or hated? Note that I'm including ANY D&D licensed game... not just ones that would be classified as a RPG. There are some RTS, beat 'em ups, 1vs1 fighters and even a dragon flight simulator on the list.

 

The Best, Cream o' the Crop

-Shadow Over Mystara: While it is pretty much D&D in name only, it is one of the best of the side scrolling beat 'em up genre that Capcom was popular with in the 90s.

-Planescape: Torment: Probably the best writing in a game... ever!

-Baldur's Gate I + Expansions & Baldur's Gate II

-Icewind Dale + Expansions & Icewind Dale II

-Neverwinter Nights + Expansions & Premiums: OC was lackluster, but expansions and user made modules more than made up for it.

-Neverwinter Nights 2 + Expansions

-Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday: Yeah it isn't D&D exactly, but it uses the same rules, with slight variations for a sci-fi setting.

-Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II

 

Not one of my absolute favorites, but still Excellent

-Warriors of the Eternal Sun: Especially good for it's time and platform (sega gen).

-Tower of Doom: The original Capcom beat 'em up. Shadow of Mystara was much better, but this was still a very fun game.

-Dragonshard: Enjoyable RTS game.

-Pool of Radiance: Along with Hilsfar, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades & Pool of Darkness this forms an epic series.

-Pools of Darkness

 

Ok games. I'm in no rush to replay them, but I had a decent time with them.

-Cloudy Mountain: Ancient game on the Intellivision. Simple but addictive game.

-Order of the Griffon

-Curse of the Azure Bonds: Along with Secret of the Silver Blades, didn't enjoy quite as much as Pool of Radiance/Darkness.

-Secret of the Silver Blades

-Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

-FR: Demon Stone

 

Ugh games. Struggled through these. I might give them a second chance... some day. In NO hurry to though.

-Temple of Elemental Evil

-Hillsfar: A collection of minigames that will boost your character between Pool of Radiance & Curse of the Azure Bonds. Only reason to go through it is for the bonus xp & hp.

-Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor: Ruined by having to fight the same group of enemies over and over and...

 

The horrible. These tried my patience to the limit.

-Treasure of Tarmin: Intellivision 'sequel' to Cloudy Mountain. Its actually more true to D&D... but it also has much less pick up and play fun as CM.

-Heroes of the Lance: Along with Dragons of Flame & Shadow Sorcerer part of a Dragonlance trilogy based on novels. Pretty horrible games.

-Dragons of Flame

-Shadow Sorcerer: This one is especially awful, as the whole premise involves guiding a group of survivors to safety. Only the survivors do more to fight you than the monsters... and you lose if too many die. I frankly found a bit of enjoyment getting them slaughtered even if it meant I had to restart the game over and over.

 

D&D games I have NOT played. I may play these in the future. Or not...

-War of the Lance

-Dragon Strike

-Krynn Trilogy (Champions, Death Knights & Dark Queen)

-Eye of the Beholder Trilogy: Currently playing the original.

-Gateway to the Savage Frontier

-Treasures of the Savage Frontier

-Neverwinter Nights (the 90s original)

-Neverwinter Nights Mobile

-Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed: Played the original... looking forward to this one.

-Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace

-Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands

-Dark Sun: Shattered Lands

-Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager

-Dungeon Hack

-Fantasy Empires

-Stronghold

-Unlimited Adventures

-Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse

-Menzoberranzan

-Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft

-Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession

-Ravenloft: Stone Prophet

-Slayer

-Deathkeep

-Blood & Magic

-Heroes

-Stormreach

-Birthright: Gorgon's Alliance

-Descent to Undermountain: Never able to get this one running. Glitchy pile a...

-Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

-Baldur's Gate Mobile

-Tactics

Edited January 7, 2010 by GreasyDogMeat

[Zoma]

Shadow of Mystara is very good. I'm even playing it on ROM at the present since they don't have such games anymore in the Arcade. There's also some C&C in the game which is unusual for a beat-up scrolling action.

 

Kind of wish they'll make similar games with Co-op today.

[Kaftan Barlast]

ToEE was the best gameplaywise, overall I think I enjoyed BG2+ToB the most.

 

 

 

The worst D&D based game is... well, there's no shprtage of candidates there. Almost like selecting a single turd from a huge dungpile.

[RPGmasterBoo]

"-Planescape: Torment: Probably the best writing in a game... ever!

-Baldur's Gate I + Expansions & Baldur's Gate II"

> stand head and shoulders above the competition.

 

The worst is Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Dannor, and to think I stuck through to the end... I must be a glutton for punishment.

[GreasyDogMeat]

The only reason I didn't put PoR: Ruins of Myth Drannor in my hated list is because at least it wasn't 'tear your hair out' frustrating. I don't think I've ever hated game characters more than I hated the damn villagers in Shadow Sorcerer. Every in game day they have a meeting and bitch about your leadership. They want to go back, or they are hungry or they refuse to move or they think you should go this way or that way. Look... people, I'm the one with the sword and spells! Just shut up and follow me!

[Raithe]

Planescape Tormnet does ride up there as one of the best...

 

Temple of Elemental Evil was one of the worst, I just couldn't get into it..which is rare for me.

 

Hm, there was an interesting one they did based on their Birthright campaign setting.. interesting but flawed but worth a try.

 

The Al-Quadim one was nice if you enjoyed the pseudo arabic style setting but nothing too major.

[HoonDing]

-Planescape: Torment: Probably the best writing in a role-playing game... ever!

Fixed.

[Nepenthe]

Have played:

 

Pool of Radiance - Curse of the Azure Bonds - Secret of the Silver Blades - Pools of Darkness (for some reason, I've always really liked Secret of the Silver Blades the most. It could be Vala the Amazonian, the story, the well of knowledge or something else. Still, barring some... roughness in Pool of Radiance, a brilliant 4-game story arc. Rocks. TSR also did Crpg tie-ins pretty well, even if Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools of Darkness never got any kind of 'module' release. Curse rocked, and the novels were IMHO some of the best of that era in TSR stuff.)

 

Dark Queen of Krynn. The first two installments of the Gold Box Krynn trilogy were never ported to the Mac side. I got these a couple of years ago, but I'm having some issues gaming on the PC that has kept me away from these. Will try to do one day.

 

BG1+ToTSC+BG2+ToB. Best 'classic' Fantasy CRPG story arc ever made. Manages to pull some pretty cool stuff out of the by then stagnant Forgotten Realms setting (and in a way that Wizards never could do with their property, instead flushing the whole thing down the toilet. Gains supplementary award for worst cross-over products in the history of mankind, both the novels and the utter and miserable failure of capitalising on its success on the P&P side. BG1 feels painfully rough after the second installment. Same situation as above for the past few years - tried playing on TV, but font size is too small).

 

IWD - just once, without the expansion. I've had the expansion for ages, so I should probably take a stab at this one at some point as well. Can't remember much. :/

 

KOTOR I & II, if you include d20 under D&D. Played these again last Autumn, before I had any kind of restoration mod for II. Had them on the xbox before, tried them on the laptop for the first time. Hate not having surround any more, these games are the ones that I most seem to identify with lasers blasting over my head. Actually bought a dolby digital live peripheral for my laptop to get that thing going - still need to get a new amp and speakers... But, these games are good fun, and II will get a playthrough with some kind of restoration mod in the nearish future.

 

Have not, will try to:

 

Torment. I've owned this game since 2003, just before I went into the army. After my discharge, I haven't been able to get it work on any of the computers I've owned (crashes on boot). I guess I should really try to troubleshoot it one day. I know I really should play it. Let's just say that the events have conspired against it.

 

IWD II. Started playing when I got it, lost everything in a windows crash, haven't cared enough to go back. 'One day...'.

 

Also have the other Gold Box Forgotten Realms story arc, the Savage Frontier one, around here somewhere. Also on the list of things to try out...

 

My current major problem is back trouble/mental block coming from office work that basically prevents me from enjoying gaming in front of a computer. I'm primarily limited to consoles, or the stuff I can get my laptop to play reasonably well on a 40" 1080p tv (basically the Kotor's so far).

[Monte Carlo]

Well Bg2 / ToB is obviously the one I've played most and enjoyed, I also rate NWN2 / MotB / SoZ.

 

Warriors of the Eternal Sun was touched with the Wand of Awesomeness, IIRC it was the first D&D computer game I'd ever played.

 

ToEE wins the Most-Promise-But-Fatally-Flawed award.

 

Dragon Shard, that RTS thingie set on Eberron wins suckiest game for me personally.

[mkreku]

Pool of Radiance was the game that got me hooked on RPG's back in the days.. on my Commodore 64. So that's naturally a huge favourite.

 

Other than that I've played most of the Gold Box games, all of the Krynn games, a few of the IE games (liked Icewind Dale, was too late to the party with Baldur's Gate, could never get into Planescape) and the Neverwinter Nights series.

 

I haven't actually enjoyed D&D since the early days though. It's become so convoluted and pseudo-gamey that it's actually more about rules than story.

 

Oh, I also played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on my PS2 but that was only because of the co-op.

[Bos_hybrid]

Too many.

[Enoch]

I haven't actually enjoyed D&D since the early days though. It's become so convoluted and pseudo-gamey that it's actually more about rules than story.

Me too.

 

I enjoyed many of the Gold Box games when I was younger (PoR, CotAB, the Krynn games, the Savage Frontier games, and maybe a couple others-- they kind of blend together in my mind), and the first BG drew on that nostalgia for a decent hunk of its appeal. But somewhere around the release of IWD and BG2, my mindset regarding the rules system shifted from "accepting" to "critical," and I started figuring out the degree to which it sucked. 3E improved certain aspects of it (mostly the dual/multi class rules and bizarre saving throw system), but still left scads of problems that bugged me more and more with each iteration I played in a CRPG.

 

 

Edit: And, yes, Planescape was my favorite.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Enoch

[Volourn]

Too many to count....

 

 

"Warriors of the Eternal Sun was touched with the Wand of Awesomeness, IIRC it was the first D&D computer game I'd ever played. "

 

Absolutely awesome game. A near forgotten gem. Not exactly role-playing or writing masterpiece but hella fun nontheless.

 

 

BEST: NWN series total package hands down

 

THE REST OF THE BEST: BG1, BG2, MOTB, HOTU

 

GOOD: NWN2 OC, a few of the GB games, PST, IWD, WOTES, NWN1 OC

 

AVERAGE: some of the GB games, SOU, KOTORS (kinda if you count them though they are ezxtremely dumbed down)

 

SUBAR (had potential): TOEE

 

WORST OF THE WORST: SOZ, POR2, DTU, EOTB

[Killian Kalthorne]

Temple of Elemental Evil was the worse one I have played.

[RPGmasterBoo]

Why does everyone hate TOEE so much?The combat was fun and quite challenging... Dont see it being much worse than the IWD games.

[Volourn]

"The combat was fun and quite challenging... "

 

The combat SYSTEM was awesome. The combat itself was boring, easy (I'm talking KOTOR series/BL level of easy), and useless. The sad thing is, TOEE's combat was supposedly its 'strength'. L0LZ

[Hurlshort]

I enjoyed ToEE somewhat, but it's hard to defend the completely un-engaging story and characters.

 

The Spelljammer game was a lot of fun for me back in the day. I would call that and the Dark Sun gold box games my favorite of the old timers.

[Kelverin]

I need some more games with the D&D ruleset. These are what I have played and there ranking.

 

The best

PS:T, BG2, and IWD - for first depending what mood I am in.

 

Planescape: Torment

Baldur's Gate II

Icewind Dale + Expansions

 

Very good

Neverwinter Nights 2 + Expansions including SoZ, an underrated game.

Baldur's Gate I + Expansions

 

Good

Icewind Dale II

Pool of Radiance

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, action RPG with some great music, voice work is also well done. not a fan of all the button smashing

Temple of Elemental Evil - Good game only after it was fixed by Circle of Eight, otherwise a bug filled mess beyond contempt.

 

Less than average

Neverwinter Nights + Expansions

Demon Stone

 

Terrible

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

[Starwars]

If anyone is mainly interested in good D&D combat, then I'd like to recommend the fairly recent indie release Knights of the Chalice: http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/

 

Not pretty to look at, but probably my game of the year for 2009. Lots of fun.

[Lorfean]

The Best

- Baldur's Gate + Tales of the Sword Coast : This game introduced me to D&D and the Forgotten Realms setting, so strong nostalgia probably plays a big factor in my enjoyment of it these days. But enjoy it I do, despite the average story and big empty areas that don't have anything to do with the plot.

- Baldur's Gate II + Throne of Bhaal : Absolute favorite RPG of all time.

- Icewind Dale + Heart of Winter & Trials of the Luremaster : Second favorite RPG. Tight story, great art direction, great gameplay, awesome bestiary, challenging encounters, and lots of old school dungeon crawling. What's not to love?!

- Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark : Just a very well designed epic level campaign with a good story and many interesting characters. To me, it felt like a return to form for BioWare. Easily the best of their NWN modules, retail or otherwise.

- Neverwinter Nights 2 : Mask of the Betrayer: This expansion "saved" NWN2 for me, which was (initially, upon release) a MAJOR disappointment. Love it.

 

The Good

- Planescape: Torment : Great story, great characters, and arguably the best writing in a video game to date. I just never took to the setting quite as much as I did to other fantasy settings (D&D or otherwise).

- Icewind Dale II : Too obviously plagued by its short development cycle... I would've loved to include this one in the above category, but it just doesn't cut it. Feels too incoherent.

- Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir : I loved the IWD-like feel of this expansion, and adored the overland map feature, but it lacked the awesome dungeons of the IWD games.

 

The Inbetween

- Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide : Can't decide whether to place this under "Good" or "Average"... So, yea. Kinda enjoyed it. Finished it several times. But there's something about it that just annoys me, and I can't put my finger on it (and no, it's not Deekin).

 

The Average

- Neverwinter Nights : Just a cringe-worthy campaign... Suffered too much from BW having to split their focus between implementing a new D&D rules system, developing a new engine, a robust multiplayer component, a toolset, a DM client, and creating this campaign.

- Neverwinter Nights Premium Modules : Meh.

- Neverwinter Nights 2 : Again, a boring campaign and hardly any interesting characters to be found. The gameplay was a mess as well, but has vastly improved with patches and the two expansions.

- The Temple of Elemental Evil : Best implementation of the D&D rules system in a video game. Ever. And gorgeous graphics, too. Sadly, that's about all there's to it.

- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series : Had a lot of fun playing these co-op, but they're hardly RPG's imo.

 

The Horrible

- Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor : Nuff said.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Lorfean

[Niten_Ryu]

Baldur's Gate 2 and Planescape Torment are easily the best. Gold box games, original Baldur's Gate, MotB, IWD and Eye of the Beholder are ok. Rest are rather bad and NWN original campaign, Hillsfair and PoR-RoMD are horrible... actually there's several games from the mid 90's that I've blocked outta my memory so I bet those were even worse.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Niten_Ryu

[CoM_Solaufein]

All the Infinity Engine games. Both Baldur's Gates being the best.

NWN/NWN2

PoR2 some what. Couldn't get very far with all of that crashing.

[RPGmasterBoo]

PoR2 some what. Couldn't get very far with all of that crashing.

 

Praise whatever gods you worship.

[Nihilus5078]

What the hell is a D&D.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Nihilus5078

[Purkake]

It's like Star Wars, but instead of lightsabers you have swords and instead of the force you have magicks.