When EA announced it was releasing an updated version of Bullfrog's classic Dungeon Keeper for mobile devices, gamers' hearts around the world went on a nostalgic flight of fantasy at the possibilities... only to come crashing back to earth once the title was released. The finished article was found to be little more than a complex web of microtransactions poorly masked with a familiar coating. It was more than disappointing - it was an insult to the franchise's legacy.
Which is why I wasn't particularly intrigued when I heard about the development of Dungeons 2 - once bitten, twice shy after all. And besides, considering the original Dungeons wasn't overly well received, why should it be any better than EA's offering? Well, having seen the game in action, I can promptly confirm I was wrong on all counts. Dungeons 2 looks like it's the faithful spiritual successor to the Dungeon Keeper series we've been waiting 15 years for.
Part of the backlash against the original Dungeons centered on the fact it didn't live up to its name and simulate many of Dungeon Keeper's features. In response to this criticism, Realmforge Studios has gone above and beyond to recreate all the familiar gameplay of old, while adding a fair few levels on top of it. The base game is what you'd expect: you're a dungeon lord, tasked with excavating and transforming a dungeon, all the while amassing fortunes and followers. You do so by highlighting sections of the dungeon you want your 'snots' to excavate or build on, all the while keeping an eye out for gold veins running through the walls.
So far, so Dungeon Keeper. The similarities continue when it comes to recruiting your minions. Goblins, Orcs, Trolls and Naga all make an appearance and can be picked up or slapped by your giant disembodied hand at your leisure. Certain minions are needed in order to get certain buildings functional - only Goblins have the necessary nous to produce traps and doors in the Tinker's cave, for example, while the Crystal Chamber requires the Naga's arcane understanding if you want to accrue mana in order to cast spells. There are other rooms too, like the Sick Bay, where units get dragged by their ankles and resurrected after falling in battle, or the arena for training them which also enables you to upgrade them with specialisations.
This faithful and comprehensive love letter to the franchise continues with regular Hero invasions, which you and your minions will have to fend off through combat, traps, spells and whatever else you can use. You'll even regularly stumble into giant chasms where neutral mobs, like a Spider Queen lurk, which will continue to serve as an irritation until she's dealt with, sending her minions to frustrate your plans as long as she's left alive.
But this is where Dungeons 2 first makes clear the extent of its ambition to go above and beyond that which came before. Once you've mustered enough force and sufficiently tired of the Heroes' constant attempts to harass your subterranean playground, you can gather your troops and proceed through the hell gate found towards the level's end to the Overworld, where you'll take the fight straight to them.
Upon arriving above ground, you'll have a second to notice the huge change in scenery - from fiery depths to a gorgeous landscape, bristling with colour, foliage, rainbows and scampering bunnies - before you're attacked by the portal's guards. Taking them and their outpost out marks your first step into claiming the Overworld, as trees wither, butterflies fall from the sky and giant clefts burst open in the ground, with lava spewing forth to cover everything. Actions like this unlock a new resource unobtainable beneath ground. Called Evilness, it's what you'll be needing to upgrade your dungeon, strengthening its walls and floors and unlocking new actions for minions and yourself alike.
From then on, the onus is very much on juggling return trips to the Underworld in order to recruit and advance your troops with pushing forward into the Heroes' lands, capturing outpost after outpost until finally destroying them. While the maps won't be procedurally generated, they will be far from linear, with a wealth of secrets hidden around them. Diablo-esque mini-dungeons are set for inclusion, in which you'll find rival evils like The Skeleton Lord, who you can kill for masses of gold. Even above ground, optional mini-bosses provide tempting-but-risky distractions; taking out a Unicorn won't be easy, but the minions that survive the encounter will receive a massive stat boost thanks to unlocking the new title "The Unicorn-Slayer".
Other features include a four-player multiplayer mode, with a variety of gameplay types. You'll each have your own dungeon, but share a connected Overworld where you'll duke it out in deathmatches and king of the hill games, amongst other modes. You'll also have the option to invade your rivals' dungeons if you find their portals, but doing so comes with a risk: it's their domain, so they'll have full access to their spellbook and be able to move their minions with a click of their disembodied fingers. Try advancing beyond your means at your peril.
Recent attempts to revive the once-popular Dungeon Keeper series and its ilk have been ill-fated, but never before have I been so confident that things could be about to change. When it launches on PC, Mac, Linux and SteamOS in the first quarter of 2015, Dungeons 2 will do so without any microtransactions whatsoever. In doing so, it's made sure to avoid the huge pitfall that finished off the most recent attempt to revitalise this type of game and, if my time checking it out is anything to go by, it looks to have done the same on every other front too. 
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/08/25/dungeons-2-is-the-dungeon-keeper-remake-weve-been-waiting-for
