The best game I have ever played. Even modern gamers would find this game amazing
Genre: Fantasy RTS/FPS/God game
Replay value: Well, i would still play it now if it worked on vista, if that helps.
BACKSTORY
It seems to me that many games made before the year 2000 were not made with the idea of telling a story in mind. Dungeon keeper is one of those games (Other examples would be Doom and Quake...). All you are told is that you are evil, and they are dispicably good, and must therfore die!
STORY
As an evil dungeon keeper, you are one among many. You must aspire to greater heights than your rivals and gain the allegiance of hellish demons that will help you conquer the world. Throughout the 20 levels of the campaign, you will have decimated heroes and other keepers, and eventually, the mighty avatar - the guardian of all that is good.
GAMEPLAY
You really don't need to look very hard to find something amazing about this game. Whether it be the vast array of minions, spells and traps or the slightly humorous edge that the game carries with it. Basically, you start each level with a limited ammount of gold and a few imps, the games basic unit and workforce. As you progress, you must command your imps to mine for gold, build rooms and facilities which in turn attract mightier dungeon creatures like dragons and the "rotund - at - best" bile demons. Each new level provides new possibilities for you as a player. It won't be to long before you are introduced to the ability to convert enemies by torturing them into submission, or the ability to intervene in the battle personally by hailing thunderbolts down at the field of battle or possessing a minion and taking to the fray yourself. Honestly, this game will have you gripped right up until the last blow is struck; the last hero dies and the last bile demon fart has been farted.
GRAPHICS
Like all games released in the 1990's, modern gamers arent likely to look at this game with a degree of awe. If i remember rightly, it had the unfortunate quality of being released a month or so before the event of 3D rendering, which means that, whilst in 1st person mode, you will not be able to rotate around objects to look at them from a different angle, and stuff like that. For its time though, it must be said that this game was still very cutting edge. It was the second game i ever got for the PC and to me it looked brilliant.
SOUND
In the same way that the noises made by the minions in the game "Overlord" can draw a smile on the most stoic of faces, the minions and creatures in dungeon keeper arent lacking in the "Funny noises" department. There is also a malevolent narrator that guides you through the game that sounds aptly dark in his deleverence of lines. If you are lucky enough to get this games music to actually work (It worked for me for about five minutes, then went off and never came on again), then you can enjoy the game with the sinister undertone it provides as well.
LIFESPAN
First playthrough should take about 20 hours. 35 if you have deeper dungeons as well. However, as i said before, i would still play this game if i had it. Overall i must have given this game more than 1000 hours of my life, and do i feel cheated of that time? No, of course not. I'd gladly give it another 1000 if i could.
OVERALL
10/10. If you have a computer that can run it. Get it. its as simple as that.