This game is such a difficult one to rate because it is simultaneously a disappointment to fans of the series and yet also a strong stand-alone title. It is a disappointment because it is such a major departure from the previous games. Dungeon Hunter 3 has been generally panned for eliminating almost all semblance of storyline and randomized drops in favor of a huge series of arena-styleThis game is such a difficult one to rate because it is simultaneously a disappointment to fans of the series and yet also a strong stand-alone title. It is a disappointment because it is such a major departure from the previous games. Dungeon Hunter 3 has been generally panned for eliminating almost all semblance of storyline and randomized drops in favor of a huge series of arena-style deathmatches pitting a hero against waves of enemies and a pay-as-you-go model of gear/skill advancement. It is unclear why Gameloft chose to even title this "Dungeon Hunter". A great deal of the backlash against this game is solely due to this decision. Fans of Dungeon Hunter 2 will be greatly disappointed if they're looking for more of the same. The raw combat gameplay is the same, but otherwise, this is a very different game. The in-game purchases are mostly optional--meaning most things in the game (with the exception of some fairies and late level skills) can be bought with in-game money earned by defeating arenas and challenges. However, the items are generally unlocked long before they could be afforded by the players who don't pay. This is because players are only allotted a certain number of keys to unlock treasure at the end of any arena--where the lion's share of your in-game money will come from. Keys replenish up to a quantity of five on their own over a relatively short period of time, but still, everything is encouraging you to drop some real money on in-game cash so you can buy the most powerful gear. And that doesn't feel good to gamers who enjoy working in-game towards getting the best gear. That said, this is a free-to-play game, so it's hard to complain about being unable to obtain all the gear immediately without paying. But it's more the way the whole transaction feels. You feel like you're being cheated because if you just dropped $10 (or, more likely, more), you could suddenly be an epic character without any real work on your side. And we all know how that's going to feel--it's going to feel like a huge waste of money after about five minutes of owning all the content in the game that was so hard five minutes ago.
All that said, I give this game a 7/10 because it is a very good take on this particular type of game. If you don't mind the pay-as-you-go model and you like the Dungeon Hunter style combat, this game is fantastic for you. In fact, this would be an 8 /10 or 9/10 game if it were simply a free-to-play game not called Dungeon Hunter that contained a greater quantity of purchasable gear and added in some randomized loot. As it stands, I have had a number of enjoyable hours in DH3 without paying a single dime. For that, I feel obligated to give it a decent rating. It's free. It's fun. But is it Dungeon Hunter? Not really. And that's what brings it down a couple pegs.… Expand
Dungeon Hunter 3Your Score0 out of 10User Score
