Scourge of Worlds: A Dungeons and Dragons
Adventure is not a film sequel to
Dungeons and Dragons (2000), but the DVD equivalent of an
interactive role-playing novel. There are over 900 short digitally
animated sequences, leading every so often to a choice to be made
with the remote control, resulting after about 90 minutes in one of
four possible endings. Just as the original D&D was inspired by
The Lord of the Rings, the scenarios here are Tolkien rehashed:
a newly arisen darkness is seeking an ancient ultimate weapon,
against which stand a human warrior, Regdar; a halfling, Lidda; and
an elven wizard, Mialee. The CGI is closer to Roughnecks: The
Starship Troopers Chronicles than the pseudo-realism of Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within, the electronic score is tiresome
and the contemporary voice acting, using such expressions as "heads
up" and "…or something," is laughable.
What of the interactive element? Essentially it offers two
equally uninteresting paths at the end of every major
scene--uninteresting because it's impossible to care what happens to
the marionette-like stereotypes no matter what they do. While the
adventure does offer plenty of well-choreographed cartoon-style
action, interacting with Scourge of Worlds is ultimately
about as much fun as watching someone else play a computer game--and
that's just the first time through. --Gary S. Dalkin
