Trashdome - Castle Ravenloft VS Descent: JitD

Descent sucks.

D&D 4e sucks.

Schweig! wrote:

Descent sucks.

D&D 4e sucks.

Your mother sucks.

Ravenloft is fun (and is better than Fury of Dracula, as we all know), but I've had plenty of great Descent: Road to Legend experiences with the family.

Vote: Descent

(at least for now)

Vote: Descent

I hate the damned game, and for all the same reasons as everybody else who hates it. It's long, it's boring, and most of that "deep" complexity is just bullshit smoke and mirrors. I'd have to be pretty drunk to play it and have fun.

BUT, it at least has some of the makings of a good game, and perhaps it could have been one if they'd designed some good scenarios, or put out some map tiles that let you convincingly build a setting other than "Lame Underground Tunnel Complex."

If it's up to me, I'd much rather play CR, but CR is exactly the kind of title that's good for about 3, maybe 4 plays before you've wrung all the fun there is to be had out of it.

And yes, I understand that it's not really a "gamer's" game, and some little kid is going to get this for Christmas, then burn his Xbox the next day and all that. If that's really this game's gig, then it has no excuse to have a billion chits and a $70 MSRP.

Descent sucks, but it still doesn't deserve to go down to a game like CR.

EDIT: Also, I forgot to mention that anyone who picks CR is a tool. Yeah, Loter, that includes you. Fuck you.

As much as I love the things that Ravenloft brings to the table, things that Descent sorely could use.... Descent's going to have to win this one.

Vote: Descent

Mr Skeletor wrote:
Wow, I thought for sure castle crapper would be right up your ally.
[/quote]

The fact that I dropped 40 bones on it certainly indicates I was hoping, but half of me knew that it just wasn't what I wanted it to be. In an incredibly crowded field, this really was fairly lackluster. I'm opting to simply use the splendid bits for application with the Dungeons and Dragons Fantasy Boardgame Adventure as I thought I'd have to.

It's not that it's bad, it's simply an incredibly dull, forgettable, game that could've been so much more.

What is truly amazing to me is how CR and Descent, which share only one trait, and that being they both take place in a 'dungeon' can be Trashdomed together. It's apples and Abrams M1A1s.

I think a far fairer Trashdome, that really would've been good as a pros/cons determination in this market would've been more like Castle Ravenloft V. Dungeon or something more along similar natures. I like the concept of simplicity, but I don't like the fact that they made it SO fucking dumbed down that it should've come with a mail-in rebate for Platinum Blonde hair dye.

Nah, the yokels want to see CR get crapped on repeatedly for some unknown reason. I expect CR vs AH in the next 'dome to round out the trifecta.

It's not that people want to crap on CR. But some of us want to show that we will always vote for a nerd game over a light non-gamer game that is played with 6 year olds.

Ultimately we're all hobbyists, which means that Decents perceived over-copmlexity and time commitment should not bother us.

JonJacob wrote:

It's not that people want to crap on CR. But some of us want to show that we will always vote for a nerd game over a light non-gamer game that is played with 6 year olds.

"Always" - That much was obvious when folks started saying things like "I'd rather play CR" yet still vote Descent.

I'm not above playing a game with kids, but to me a good game is a good game. Whether it's a 'non-gamer' game, a euro, a kids game, whatever.

Not saying CR is the best game, but I would vote against Descent in pretty much any match-up. I can't think of any one thing it does that another game doesn't do better.

I'll admit that base Descent sucks. Too long, bloated and crappy balance. In our book all that was fixed when Road to Legend came out. Now there's a fun campaign system, shorter scenarios and if you're group is taking too long, then you need to put those fuckers on a chess clock.

CR is not a bad game, but there's just not that much to it. It's fun for a few plays, but then you're done with it. I just see more staying power in Descent.

vote - Descent


-Will

What is truly amazing to me is how CR and Descent, which share only one trait, and that being they both take place in a 'dungeon' can be Trashdomed together. It's apples and Abrams M1A1s.

Who said Trashdome is balanced or fair? The simple fact is people do still keep talking about these two games together and comparing which one is better. A perfect fit for the 'dome.

Vote: HeroQuest

JonJacob wrote:

It's not that people want to crap on CR. But some of us want to show that we will always vote for a nerd game over a light non-gamer game that is played with 6 year olds.

In my experience, Ravenloft has been a hit with all types of gamers: Eurogamers, light gamers, heavy gamers, ATers, etc. Not just little kids who don't know any better. The fact that it's cooperative and extremely short certainly doesn't hurt.

That said, I agree with Bulwyf that Road to Legend fixes Descent's rough spots. Plus my kids like most of the expansion stuff: Feat cards, indoor/outdoor encounters, tons of different monster types and abilities, etc. Descent has a lot going on compared to CR, and that's something that kids (well, my kids) find fascinating, challenging, and intriguing.

Of course, many would argue that RPGs accomplish all this and more, but I'm simply not an RPG guy.

Jeff White wrote:

Not saying CR is the best game, but I would vote against Descent in pretty much any match-up. I can't think of any one thing it does that another game doesn't do better.

This is where my experience falls short. I've played DungeonQuest, Dragon Strike (1993), Ravenloft, Formidable Foes (if that even counts), Dungeon!, and that's about it. I'll play the first three if have 1-2 hours to kill, but I'm happy to play Descent instead if I have 4-5 hours available (or can let the game sit out for multiple sessions) since it provides its own unique experience. Other dungeon crawlers may do a better job, but I haven't tried those others.

By the way, I'll never touch Dungeon! again now that Ravenloft and DungeonQuest both exist. I'm not sure that I would have touched it again anyway.

Descent is definitely your option for a longer game (amongst those listed). I know there are lots of folks that are still big fans of Warhammer Quest, but for my money Advanced HeroQuest is still the king of the 'meaty' dungeoncrawls. I liked how the players rolled up and named their own characters, the game made use of a variety of random dungeon crawling items and not just weapons and armour, the banking system was neat, hiring henchmen was fun, etc.

wkover wrote:

I've played DungeonQuest, Dragon Strike (1993)

This review puts me, Ken, Barnes, Vasel, Thrower, Loter, and EVERY OTHER guy who's ever put a review on the web TO SHAME:



EPIC.