The Final Word game review

Dungeon Explorer II -- Hudson Soft

Once dead, always dead... not so in Dungeon Explorer II for the Turbo Duo CD! After defeating Natas in the original Dungeon Explorer, peace in the land seemed inevitable. But the legions of evil had other ideas. Up to five players may simultaneously quest as warriors, hunters, magicians, elves, or other mythical creatures in this multi-player role playing adventure.

Ferrari Man
A perfect party game, Dungeon Explorer II is the leading five-player game. By this same token however, the multi-player ability is the only real pull in this game for me. The graphics are clean, the sound great, and play control excellent--but the story is tired. There was no gripping excitement for me. This is most likely because I have played just a little to much of the first installment of Dungeon Explorer. I loved the intermissions, but the game seemed to be no different from the original.

????
This game is an awesome sequel to the original Dungeon Explorer. The graphics and animation were very fluid and detailed. The music was upbeat and the voices were excellent. The control of the characters was very good. This game will last a very long time, especially with four other friends. A must have for all Duo owners.

R.I.P.
This game was a blast, and it's even better with multiple players! We played a five-player game and spent more time trying to kill each other than anything else. Perfect as a sequel, excellent intermissions (did he call Natas senile?!?), great all around. If you liked the first game you'll love this one.

Salamander
Dungeon Explorer II is one of the best multi-player games I've seen. While this title is essentially the same as the first, the intermissions have been vastly improved and the title as a whole is very solid. I liked the variety in characters, as well as the ability to switch characters during a game. The only thing I really did not like was the fact that if one player died defeating a boss and did not receive the experience power-up, they were kind of out of luck for the rest of the game. In the original Dungeon Explorer, players could return to a previous boss and defeat him again to get "caught up". Characters of a higher level would not receive the experience power-up for defeating the boss again, but it helped keep the game a little more fair. (Commonly, a less skilled player will use up the five continues allotted to the group, and the more skilled player may get screwed at the boss when he finally dies and there are no more continues. Hint, hint--R.I.P.) Overall, a very good game.

>>>>> 82.0/100 <<<<<		Ferrari Man	????	R.I.P.	Salamander
Graphics		3.5	5.0	4.0	3.5
Sound		3.5	5.0	4.0	4.0
Gameplay/Control		4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Longevity/Playability		4.0	4.5	4.5	4.0
Overall		4.0	4.5	4.0	4.0
Total		19.0	23.0	20.5	19.5

Originally appeared Vol 2, Iss 4 (11-12/93)