Dungeons and Dragons: Fourth Edition Review

The Fourth Edition of Dungeons and Dragons has sparked a form of controversy among fans of the RPG. Many believe that the system is far too simple and dilutes the game for new-comers. An almost equal amount of player say that the system is more enjoyable to play because it doesn't take too long to set-up a game, these people are new to the game.

Let me explain: Dungeons and Dragons is meant to be complicated, as one of the RPG's that truly defined the way table-top games are played, and possibly the only RPG that anyone not applying to the culture's way of life has heard of, this game is meant to set the benchmark for the next generation of table-top games. By dumbing down this RPG Wizard's have made one of the stupidest mistakes in the history of the company, in dumbing down a Dungeons and Dragons game they have effectively dumbed down every western table-top RPG for the next 5 or so years. However, we aren't here to talk about that, we're here to talk about Fourth Edition as a stand-alone product and as a stand-alone product Fourth Edition is... alright.

The game utilises a D20 system similar to that of previous Dungeons and Dragons games although to say that it's anywhere near as polished as it's predecessors would be a lie. The focus this time around has been put entirely on combat (proof of this can be found in the fact that every character in the game can now use a healing surge in order to keep fighting) and as a consequence of this everything else has suffered.

RPing (role-playing to the less informed among you) may as well no longer exist as each character created tends to end up with exactly the same set of statistics as every other character in the party it has become difficult for players to craft interesting or quirky personas for their characters. The creation of scenarios for player’s to approach has been diluted and turned into a more “place x amount of creatures at point y” type of creation. And when it comes down to it, the system is sub-standard, repetitive and ultimately pointless.

In conclusion, Fourth Edition would be fine, if it wasn't DnD as it stands this is by far the series' most pathetic offering to date and any-one wanting to play a real RPG would be far better off getting 3.5.

4/10