Dungeons & Dragons Tactics

At the end of the day, it's just a social pursuit like any other; drop in a bottle of whiskey alongside the 20-sided dice, and it's a fine recipe for an evening in. However, despite our compulsion to defend role-playing, we have to confess that there's something to the whole "nerd" allegation - something summed up almost perfectly by a quick glance at the most recent Dungeons and Dragons rule set.

"An awkward interface and visual problems take the shine off of this well-intentioned D&D role-playing game."

"The myriad of options that you can select during a mission are designated by the game's spinner wheel, which allows a player access to the various game commands with a simple press of the X button. While it may be somewhat daunting for a novice D&D player or someone who hasn't been exposed to the 3.5 ruleset, you don't have to fear being too swamped by the complexities of the game. Each menu provides a healthy amount of information that breaks down whatever you might be getting involved with, and the game comes with a large glossary of D&D terms to help get everyone up to speed. Tactics also features four different tutorial missions to get players a sense of what the 30-40 hour gameplay will be like, so you'll be ready to take on the hordes that the game throws at you quickly."

"What's impressive about D&D Tactics is the fact that the game manages to cram almost every aspect of the pen and paper franchise onto a small UMD, but that comes at a price. The menus, combat issues and other exclusions really hamper the experience. If you're a D&D fan or veteran, there is an interesting game to be found here, but you are definitely going to have to wade through some issues to find it."

"Regardless of the few knocks against it, D&D Tactics is a fun game that kept me picking up my PSP to play; sometimes even though I should have been doing something else."