Of course you do. This is when you go and get the new Game DVD for Dungeons and Dragons called Scourge of Worlds! With you in control of the story, how this adventure ends is up to you? Pop it into your DVD player, and the story begins.
What is this? I can see it in your face. There's a lot of you out there that have that confused look. Scourge of Worlds is a new idea put out by Wizards. It's a movie, but unlike other movies, it can change (or more precisely, YOU can change) the storyline. At critical points in the movie, choices pop up for you to choose, such as, will you try to save the world, or will you forget that and join the evil that will destroy all life in existence? The choice is yours to make, and in choosing, you determine the course of the movie.
The movie itself has an excellent score. The music is not any normal put together side shot, but is integral to the movie, bringing out emotions and building the atmosphere of it's scenes. The music is comparable to any big production.
The movie itself is done in CGI, much like the Final Fantasy games of the recent past. Despite the computer animation, the characters have believable acting. The voice actors did a good job, and the characters in the movie get you involved with the plot.
I was pleasantly surprised to find characters that I knew. Many characters that appear in the Players Handbook, as well as those introduced in the introductory Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition set, are in the movie. They follow the typical classes they are labeled with, and come from GreyHawk. I was more pleased with that fact. We finally have an adventure that occurs in GreyHawk that is in some sort of media format. It won't be the last, but it's nice to see the first.
Of course there are some disappointments. The story is good, but to much like a video game. Once again, imagine a Final Fantasy game, but with all the cutscenes, and no playing of the actual game. In addition, the characters are all generalized. The Fighter just wants to solve everything with fighting. The druids are so strongly into nature that they have their hids hidden in an area where the sun doesn't shine. Finally, and most annoying, just like many bad fantasy movies, the rogue is there for humor (of course, luckily, the rogue also has other important plot factors which sets this DVD apart). The rogue can get one into trouble, and just like another rogue in another Dungeons and Dragons media . . . is dang annoying at times. I find that a big disappointment.
I would say it is a good way to spend a gaming night when no one shows up. It's not exactly as good as the real thing, but it is interesting, well made, and innovative. You should feel delighted at seeing the characters from the Rulebooks come to life, as well as being able to see GreyHawk come to life before your eyes.
Be sure to give it a try soon, and if you're lucky, you can try the samples being given out in certain select magazines!
The "losing" endings leave you feeling unfulfilled, like your DM just put your bunch of level 5 characters in front of the Tarrasque. Visually stunning, yes, but they leave you feeling like you just wasted 45 minutes just to end up dead. You would think that the "winning" endings would leave you feeling like you accomplished something, but instead they give you the feeling like it's supposed to continue on further. Viewers are left wondering what the group is going to do with the Aryx Ortheian, giving you an empty feeling. Maybe this could be repaired if there were future DVD's continuing the adventure, but as I have yet to hear of a continuation, I'm left feeling cheated.
The plot seems overly generic to most gamers, who are likely to be the ones who are going to be buying the DVD. I do realize they are based on the archtypes from the book, but it's no excuse to give the fighter "Basic Fighter Background #1," or the rogue the "Standard Annoying Comic Relief" duty. The plot does give Lidda a role in seeing the 'angel,' but by the end of the second fight, you can already read the whole plot before you. I will give that the funny parts, such as the barbarians at the bar, were quite enjoyable, but it didn't seem to make up for the lacking story line.
There were a few positives that should be noted. The music was excellently picked, and the graphics were amazing. Spells were shown perfectly as any gamer might expect, and all were recognizable, for the most part. Character interaction and emotions were shown excellently, and were well connected to the feeling in the voices. Also, the voices were well matched to the characters, and they were mostly what I had heard in my head as I was reading some of the books.
If you want some impressive eye candy and something to keep you busy for about an hour or so, go ahead and get this. But if your looking for a real storyline, you might look elsewhere.
It's not just for a night when nobody shows up. Our plan is to use it on a night EVERYBODY shows up.
Head over to the house of the guy with the biggest screen, fire it up, and leave each action to a "group vote". We're not talking paper and pencil here...whatever choice gets the most applause is adopted by the guy with the remote.
Honestly (and I can only say this as speculation, we haven't had a chance to do it yet), I think an experience like this would be just that much more fun if it were shared.
Anyway, other than that, it was great.
There is of course the fourth ending which resolves the story without killing Barathion. This ending is the most satisfying of the lot, but is a bit harder to get to.
The two options available to you at the end of the story depend on the choices made on the path you took.
-Qual
Regdar: "Hoo yea! Hot enough for you girls?"
Lidda (under her breath): "Dick."
Regdar: "Yeah, keep talking tough girl, I'll wear your ass as a hat."
Great stuff.
Let Barathion Go
Regdar's Idea
Wake Up Regdar
Go On Alone
Go After Orcs
Mialee's Plan
Cast Spell
Continue Alone
Go After Barathion
Tell Barathion The Truth
The key is to encounter Ariadne and dispel her illusion. Then, when you get to Barathion at the end, you can tell him the truth about her.
Originally posted by RickSummon
So, how do you get to the fourth ending where Barathion doesn't die?
Info can be found in this thread.
-Qual