s all EndLagNow.org reviews should start, we’ll talk about lag first. (then we’ll get into the game). So, this game lags worse than almost any MMO since Ultima Online at the Brittainia bank. It lags really bad whenever you go into a tavern. Unfortunately, going to taverns is central to the gameplay (more on that later).

In addition to that lag, the game has been designed specifically so that DDO doesn’t have to worry so much about lag... Specifically, you can’t even fight something unless you walk into an instanced dungeon. That’s 6 players max! And maybe 12 players if you do a raid party dungeon. But the reality is that the developer of this game is obviously focusing on some spectacular graphics, some cool use (and some abuse) of the D&D Rulesets, and dealing with lag by ignoring it!

Final comment on lag, even in a 6-person instanced dungeon, players *still* get hit with lag. I mean the kind that cripples you at the *wrong* moment. I think this is probably due to loading the graphics of creatures who ‘appear’ when you open a door (don’t know why they do that though), or maybe it’s because of packet-loss I sometimes have on my wireless Lan: either way its laggy!

Lag aside, D&D online is a great game! The game is actually pretty fun and fast-paced once you get into a dungeon. The other people on there are almost without exception *fun* to play with. Some folks even role-play a bit (but not too much!). So, it is fun. Killing a new kind of monster, while rare, is fun. Experiencing a new kind of dungeon or encounter, solving dungeon puzzles, etc. are all fun. Matchmaking, guilding, meeting other players are all easy and cool. In short, the game is fun.

There are a number of things about the game that grate on me like a monkey with a crusted turd on it’s butt. One, why the heck do I have to wait in a tavern to heal up and restore my mana points? I understand making it a limited resource in the dungeon (adds to the fun), but when I come out of the dungeon let me go to the next one! Sillyness! Another funky thing that irritates me: Why do I have to play the same exact quests over and over to go up in level? I mean, it’s silly. They could *at least* randomize the layout of the dungeons and the creature spawn a *little*! It’s exactly the same every time. So, they have these ‘hard’ and ‘elite’ levels, which is actually okay, but it’s still the same exact layout. A final thing: the story-telling in the game is worthless. I’ve read players' bios that were better than almost anything that was read in an adventure. And why do I have to read it?? Would it really cost that much to have someone read aloud the quests, or a little flavor in the incredibly static dead world of Stormreach? One cool thing is when the ‘Dungeon Master’ speaks to you while you are in a dungeon... but it only happens once in a short while! And that is the only thing you’ll ever hear, unless you’ve got teamspeak on. Needless to say, the audio part of this game isn’t very good. Neither are the servers. They’ve gone down 3 times when I was trying to play!!! Crazy, and ruins my weekend, you know?

All things measured, this game is fun, with the exception of taverns, where lag makes you barely able to walk! And you’re forced to keep going back to a tavern after every quest. But I’ll keep playing for now... it’s too fun to blast creatures with my burning hands!