E3 06: Dungeon Runners Impressions

LOS ANGELES--Dungeon Runners isn't aiming to be just another fantasy-themed online role-playing game amid an ocean of other fantasy-themed online role-playing games available for the PC. Designed internally by NCsoft, Dungeon Runners is a single- and multiplayer RPG that, in some ways, sounds not unlike an update of the Diablo style of dungeon-crawling gameplay, but with a 3D graphics engine that both technically and aesthetically resembles the biggest MMO in the free world, World of Warcraft. Speaking of free, guess what? If you want to download and play the game, it won't cost you a dime, but if you want to access every piece of content the game has to offer, you'll have to pay some reportedly small fees. The game uses a content payment system that gives you access to specific, elite items and other currently unspecified content. Oh, and did we mention that it looks a fair bit like World of Warcraft?

Dungeon Runners will be built for both solo and multiplayer play. You'll be able to take your character to any available server and join up with like-minded players for battle. The game will include three specific character classes: warrior, warlock, and ranger. You'll be able to customize your character in a number of ways, although how deep that customization system is has yet to be announced. There will be plenty of collectible items, weapons, and clothing types, including plenty of elite items and even some randomized items with attributes that generate on the fly.

The action itself is pure action RPG all the way. It doesn't even include any form of dice-rolling in its combat. If you hit someone, you'll hit them, straight up. The game is built to be a more-accessible brand of MMORPG, with lots of built-in design conventions made to make the experience easier to play. Obelisks are set up in each town, and with them, you can save specific travel points to quickly access key areas. The game also includes short regeneration times, and no real death penalty to speak of. You're still warped to a graveyard whenever you die, but you're immediately alive the second you respawn.

Interestingly enough, the most Diablo-esque thing about Dungeon Runners is the fact that it will feature randomly generated instances. The instances will always maintain the same aesthetic feel and enemy types, but the placement of everything is never the same twice. Oddly enough, during our demo, one of the random instances actually generated a boss character in the opening room. Hey, the whole randomly generated dungeon thing worked well in Diablo, though perhaps not so much in more recent games.

Dungeon Runners seems like it could be an amusing addition to the MMORPG market when it comes out later this year, if only for its unique pricing structure and general inspirations. We'll be sure to bring you more on Dungeon Runners in the coming weeks.