Sneaking through the sewers you come across a group of sleeping kobolds. You set yourself up in position for the backstab surprise attack while the Barbarian prepares to charge the enemy and the sorcerer prepares to cast his ice spell. After the initial attack wakes the remaining living kobolds a fierce battle breaks out: arrows fly back and forth, fireballs singe your ears, the cleric desperately tries to keep the beserking fighters alive... all this chaos in the name of EXP.

They did the Monster Mash...

Welcome to the latest Dungeons and Dragons subscription based massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) from Turbine. With so many titles in the market for this genre of games we're going to take a look and see if Stormreach has what it takes to outshine the rest. If you were a fan of past titles such as Neverwinter Nights or Dungeon Siege then this title is definitely going to be right up your alley (or sewer if that's what you're into!).

Stormreach brings the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 (Similar to 3rd edition) rule set to your PC monitor via a beautifully rendered 3d engine. The graphics engine does justice in delivering the breathtaking fantasy atmosphere that any game in this genre requires. With a large numbers of options that can be turned off to increase your frame rate you won't have to have a latest generation system to appreciate this game. However, if you do have a beasty graphics card and processor then you won't be disappointed by the special effects and detail provided by the graphics engine. The third person camera view of your character allows you to rotate your perspective to almost any imaginable position (no up the skirt cameras thank you) which combined with the graphics helps to add to the depth and immersion of the environment.

Beware of Metal Constructs who had Hot'n'Spicy for dinner

The character creation system for Stormreach allows a decent level of complexity for those users who like to tweak their characters as much as possible but can still be achieved quite simply through pre-generated skills for novice players. If you've never played D&D before then the simple method of character creation will have you battling spiders within a few minutes of loading up the game. As with most games of this type one of the most important decisions you will have to make is the Class and Race of your Character as this will completely define the style of gamplay based on your choices. With 5 Races and 9 classes to choose from there are almost 50 different combinations of characters you can create which certainly adds replayability to the game. The developers have also added a new race, evil dark elves called "The Drow", which can only be "unlocked" once one of your characters has achieved a certain goal in the game.

The gameplay provided by Stormreach is relatively free-flowing and normally full of action. When not killing bad guys or casting spells, you're smashing open crates for loot, searching for a hidden surprise or trying to swim your way through an underwater sewer to get to the next area. The combat system is fairly simple and straightforward although learning some of the skills such as ranged attacks and targeting spells can take slightly longer than your average hack'n'slash game. The default HUD contains one bar for 10 quick-slots (holds your spells and special actions) but you can add quick-slot bars to cater for all your range of spells if you're a spell-casting type. Personally I found the control interface a little awkward for trying to easily switch between your quick slot bars to get the right spell but I guess it doesn't really matter if you accidentally cast a shroud of darkness on your party instead of a healing spell ... does it? The only other criticism of the interface is that there is no easy way to tell the amount of health a player has without targeting them which makes playing a Cleric or other healer type just that little bit more difficult.

An example of the detailed towns found in Stormreach

Throughout the game you develop your character in two main ways. The first method is by gaining experience which is achieved by completing quests and bonus objectives within those quests – the more bonus quests you complete the more experience you get. Get experience, level-up, upgrade stats and skills ... no rocket science there. The second method also comes from completing quests, but when you complete the quest by returning to the character who issued you with the quest, you normally receive some new items, possibly some gold but the most important thing is favor. Favor allows your character to unlock extra skills and possibly even join a guild down the track. Once you have achieved a certain level of favor you are able to unlock that Drow mentioned earlier (and other stuff) but essentially favor is just another type of EXP.

One of the most attractive aspects of this game is the huge focus on group play and team work. Stormreach actively encourages you to work with other party members by providing you with the handy ability to group up and form a party. Once you are in a party you have the usual party text-chat but the best feature (other than the ability to complete quests together) is the built in VOIP system. Furthermore, some quests are impossible to complete alone and certain quests will be made easier by having the right set of classes in your party. This puts an end to the hardcore uber-buff stat-lords who would happily run off as Rambo's into a dungeon alone and also encourages a fairly friendly atmosphere within the game servers.

Oz-Aerobics Stormreach style!

In terms of replayability, Stormreach certainly caters for plenty of entertaining gaming hours. Not only is there the massive number of quests available throughout the different worlds but you also have the ability to repeat those quests at different difficulty levels. You also have the massive number of different class and race combinations which adds further replay value but essentially you will still be completing most of the same quests. One of the most exciting aspects of the game is the developer's commitment to continual new content. There is a strong sense of community feedback within the game as well as announcing and resolving bug-fixes almost every day.

So basically what it comes down to is this: do you like playing RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights? Do you enjoy hacking and slashing your way through dungeons filled with hordes of players? Does the idea of yelling over VOIP at your friendly mage after he casts a fireball in your direction sound good? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions then you should at least check out the free 10-day trial at www.ddo.com. If RPGs are not your thing then you probably won't find anything to satisfy your gaming itch here but considering how easy the game is to pick up then it might not do you any harm to try something new.