Descent: Journeys in the Dark

[painkiller]

As an introduction, this is taken from the Fantasy Flight Games site:

"Across the land, courageous heroes delve into shadowed dungeons, journey to lost cities, and explore forgotten ruins. In the darkest corners of the world, these heroes confront deadly and terrifying monsters, including Skeletons, Hell Hounds, Giants, Demons, and Dragons. For those few who survive, the rewards are many. Victorious heroes return from the treacherous dungeons with ancient magics, bags of gold, and powerful weapons and artifacts.

In Descent: Journeys in the Dark, you play one of these daring adventurers. Armed with mighty weapons and powerful abilities, you venture into the dungeon to battle monsters, escape deadly traps, discover lost treasures, and ultimately, confront and defeat the evil masters that dwell in the hidden places. Can you survive the dark?

Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a game of dungeon-crawling adventure for 2 to 5 players, playable in 2 to 4 hours."

I have been playing Descent for about 2 months now and this is my mini-review of the game.

The BOX

Yep, this game is contained in a huge and heavy box! Makes you think first off that the price ($60-80 in the States or 5,000+ at Neutral Grounds) may, in fact, be worth it. Too bad you'll find out later on that the box won't be useful anymore for storing the game after opening it up.

The Minis, Markers, Tiles and Cards

Except for the fact that the minis aren't painted (which may be a good thing for those who want to add a personal touch to your man-toys by painting them yourselves), there really isn't much to complain about as the components appear sturdy enough and quite detailed.  Cards are gorgeous to look at and looks fit for lots of playtime.  Board tiles also appear sturdy but owing to their jigsaw puzzle nature (you have to assemble the map by interlocking pieces together) you might want to exercise some caution in assembling and disassembling the map.  You might also consider acquiring a tackle box or something to organize the components as the box it came in would practically be useless for storage once you've opened it.

The Rulebook Layout and the Questbook

While the rulebook is an easy read and gives you adequate grasp of most of the concepts, it does suffer in that some rules do become overlooked or misunderstood especially when the specific concept in question is discussed sparingly and in installments over different pages of the book.  Not to worry though because some Descent fanatics have already made a revised rulebook arranging the concepts in a more logical way.  Also the makers of the game are quick to update the official FAQ whenever a pertinent issue regarding the rules surfaces. The questbook, on the other hand, is ok the way it is.  Aside from the Questbook, fans also submit user-made scenarios/quests to the official site which one can download and print.

The Gameplay

Easily the most important aspect of any game, whether virtual or otherwise.  And in this case, it definitely works!  One player assumes the role of the Overlord (OL), a Dungeon Master - type character which controls the actions of the monsters as well as lays out the scenario for the other players who take on the role of the heroes.  While there really is no "leveling up" in this game, players do get stronger either by acquiring more powerful items or by acquiring training tokens to add to their rolls.  Yep, it's may look like it relies much on the way your dice rolls, but actually, strategy, via playing the right cards or making the right move at the right time, could very well spell victory or defeat.  Some people feel the game is too favorable to the OL, some to the heroes.  For me, it actually is pretty balanced with 2-3 heroes against an OL (i haven't played a 4 hero game yet).  It just depends on the strategy and a little bit of luck on the dice.  Game times may be very long for beginners but as you play more, the time lessens to an average of 2-4 hours depending on the quest.

Final Words

My final rating? For me, this game is superb (just remember to have at least 2 friends to play with regularly).  On what grounds?

1. Durability - except for the board tiles which may be the first to wear out eventually (you can make replacements anyway), the game is fit for lots of playtime
2. Replayability - Quests can be repeated with different outcomes.  Abundant user-made scenarios/quests available online
3. Customizability - The game can be made to adapt to the way people play.  Having trouble or issues with a certain rule for your group? House rule it then!  There is absolutely nothing to prevent you from playing this game the way you want it (well, your Mom/wife/girlfriend might disagree with me on this, hehe)
4. Completeness - no booster packs to buy, everything you need is in the box (or was in it anyway)
5. Expandability - an expansion is already in the works and is due for release in June 2006!
6. Fun - don't you just love being challenged and reaping the rewards for it?

Hell, don't take my word for it.  Go find out for yourself. If you don't mind shelling off a little more than usual and love dungeon crawls and trash talking (forgot to mention this one before), you won't be disappointed with this game!

[Brel]

Wow nice review dude!    Hey man you should have instead placed this in Articles->Games.  Reviews and Game Info should be placed there pare so it'll appear in the Home page Games box for recently added reviews.  What do you think?

[Brel]

Hey never mind what I said.  You just gave me good idea.  I'll just place a link going here from those records in the Articles->Games page to further organize our content.  So additional reviews and game discussions may be done here in the forum.  

[biomekanika]

Nice review.. got me interested about the game. Wish you could post images of the game components though...

[Brel]

Descent is a great game I've heard.  Lotsa magnificent components/figures included.  Painkiller hope you can provide more pics.  

[painkiller]

added some pics of the game to the gallery. check them out

will add better pics later when I get my digicam fixed.

[Brel]

Alright!!!    Hey man I would just like to add this as well in our Games Database.  No more reviews required there, just include the text description in the back of the box, components included, number of players and min age, your score for it, etc.  Pls. see my sample nlang there (Articles->Games Database).  I would do this if I have the box but ala pa kasi akong game na to eh.  Did you paint your figures ba?

[painkiller]

Already did that before I was able to read this

Yep, painted most of them. Was a bit hard to do but fun and rewarding. It's nice to see detail in the minis your playing.

[Brel]

I have no idea what paints and materials would I need in order to also paint my figures for Runebound.  Can u give me some pointers mate?

Already did that before I was able to read this

Yep, painted most of them. Was a bit hard to do but fun and rewarding. It's nice to see detail in the minis your playing.

[painkiller]

I initially bought a Warhammer paint set from Neutral Grounds for around 1,000+ which included 9 basic colors.  You can also buy these paints for 200-300+ each.  However, if you want a cheaper alternative, I discovered an acrylic based paint which does the job well.  The brand is semco and can be bought at National Bookstore. It comes in this slightly tall plastic bottles which actually prevents wastage.

Ideally, for painting minis, it is best to use a primer.  However, I couldn't find one in the limited free time that I had so I skipped that step.  The actual paint coat adheres nicely anyway to the minis.  To preserve the coat, you could also use a sealant after the primary coat has dried.  I think there is a semco sealant also.

You should really paint your minis.  While it has no effect on gameplay, it really adds the fun component to the game as it is visually pleasing.

[Archon]

For those who have played both games, which do you prefer?

[Brel]

I haven't played any of these games yet but Descent looks very promising to me.

[eveningdrive]

My teacher suweldo just came in. Though I'm reserving it since a friend and I ordered Heroscape Stuff from Housemouse two days ago, I guess I can save P7400 (5200 + 2200 for the expansion) and grab this before Christmas.

[painkiller]

There are actually 2 expansions out now for Descent.  These are the Well of Darkness (WoD) and Altar of Despair (AoD).  These 2 expansions add more monsters for the Overlord (OL) to spawn and control, more OL cards to add suffering to heroes, new traps (generally more hurt for players  ).  These expansions also add new heroes and items.

Another expansion in the works which might come out, hopefully,  before Christmas is the Road to Legend (RtL) expansion.  The most anticipated feature of this expansion are the new campaign rules.  Other features are (taken from the Descent website):

    * New terrors to explore and new adventures to be had! Swinging ropes, nourishing fountains, outdoor maps, sheltering trees, and more!
    * Deadly new powers and plots for the Overlord, including terrible new Lieutenants!
    * Exciting storylines - save the world, or fall to darkness.
    * New silver and gold power dice for heroes and monsters of incredible power.
    * Fight the Overlord in person with new Avatar rules!

Be forewarned, however, that though Descent can be played as a 2-player game, you really need to have at least 3 players or more for better fun and be prepared for game sessions that last a lot longer than usual board games.  That being said, if you have the time and the friends to play with, go ahead and make your Descent into adventure!  Happy gaming!

[eveningdrive]

Thanks for the heads-up and the review painkiller!