Surprise! Here I am!
but the forced multiclassing adept/fighter/paladin/samurai/crusader/war witch combinations are ludicrous and paper-thin. Sure, you can create some bizarre multi thief/samurai bastardisation but it makes absolutely no sense
Dude. DL is not about making sense. If you want multi-classing that hews to some objective sense of RPG "sense", play a D&D game. DL is about fun. That's all.
and there's no depth in any of the classes.
Au contraire. The classes you choose make a big difference in how your character plays and what they can achieve. Don't underestimate the value of the learning bonuses and new skill access. You can build very different characters around what the classes give you access to and what they make easier to learn.
don't know why, but I liked the artwork...
+1 to that, my friend. Two of the greatly under appreciated aspects of this game, IMHO, are the art design and the monster design. And I think Mike does the game a disservice to keep characterizing the AI behavior as all the same. Not so. Most of the monsters have unique behaviors, which I always found enjoyable. Sure, you can oversimplify and say they all mob you, but I think that's a bit lazy. There really is a significant difference in how the slimes attack you versus how the goblins attack you versus how a giant spider gang attacks you versus how the homicidal and toothy mushrooms attack you, versus how the zombies attack you versus how the Demigoth bandit gangs attack you, etc. One of the subtle joys of this game is the nuances of the tactical combat.
A couple of niggles with Mike's re-review:
- I do believe that the CE does NOT let you advance a class regardless of requirements met. I think that's just a "feature" of the non-CE version.
- While Mike is correct that the game is combat-heavy and if you don't like the way it handles combat early on, you won't like the game, I disagree that it's all the same. IMO, the game is good at presenting you with changing tactical combat challenges as things progress. The monster design, environments and skill choices are a great combination for tactical combat variety. I won't claim that every encounter is unique, but there is plenty of ways to skin the cat. It's not all the same.
- Using a skill will also decrease the cost for the next level. It's not just Intelligence based. So the dumb brute that constantly beats things on the head as a way to solve problems will find it easier to advance the "beating things on the head" skill than a mage that does little or none of the same. Granted, Intelligence has a greater effect and Mike's point on this is well taken, it still doesn't paint the whole picture accurately. Btw, race also impacts some skill and attribute advancement costs.
- Mike makes it sound like if you get a powerful enough comp, the stutter problem goes away. Sadly, this is not true. The game will always stutter at what seems to be the new zone loading point.
- While the spawning in dungeons is annoying, as Mike rightfully points out, if you crank the rate down to it's lowest level, it's not so bad out in the wilds where you expect an encounter every now and then.
- Mike neglects to mention Bash as an alternative to spending skill points to open locks and chests. Again, if you're playing the brute strength type, you can just smash the sh*t open.
- If you like aRPGs and you can get the Collector's Editions at a bargain price, you'd be foolish not to do so.
- I strongly disagree that a successful franchise can not be built on the foundation of DL. Of course we're
not talking the code base, but the ideas. There are several solid ones here (deep tactical combat, advance points, class system, monster design, art design, dungeon design, free multi-player dungeon romping...) that are begging to be advanced in the context of higher quality controls and more than a shoestring team and budget.