Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground: Home is Where the Monster's Heart is. Company: XSEED Games When asked about the concept behind Dungeon Master: Hunting Ground, the best parallel is, "Viva Piñata, only underground." While the comparison may seem odd, it works. You assume the role of an architect who has just moved into a town. For one reason or another, you decide to purchase a nearby cave and build a monster-filled dungeon. Though you would think the townspeople might be a little leery about construction that amounts to government-subsidized housing for monsters, they embrace the idea with open arms. For many, the dungeon - and the things it will attract - is great for business. The local hardware store is ecstatic to have repeat business from your construction and the weapon and armor smiths welcome the opportunity to create and repair new tools for adventurers who decide to flock to your twisted Disneyland once it is completed. Gameplay is broken up into days. Each day you are only allowed to visit your dungeon once. You can choose to venture through your dungeon and slay the monsters that have taken up residence - allowing you to acquire new items that you can sell for money, which you can then spend on improvements. While in the dungeon, you can also complete quests for townspeople. Some may have items stolen by monsters who have made your maze home; others may ask that you collect certain items that the monsters may bring with them. At any time during your exploration, you can work on your dungeon. Construction is very easy and flexible. Rooms and hallways can be purchased from the hardware store. You can buy normal rooms and hallways or, for a premium, also buy specialized treasure rooms or even guest rooms. Once you have rooms, you can place them using an Architecture Menu. Once a room is placed, you can replace it with another room or add objects to it. The hardest aspect is planning your layout, since that is what will get monster's attention. The latter is where the Viva Piñata aspects come into play. When it comes to choosing a place to call home, monsters are just as picky as piñatas. Monsters will only show up in your dungeon if you meet their particular needs which are discovered by talking to people in the town. Some will want a complex system of hallways with lots of places to hide their treasures (or themselves). Others may prefer cold, stone hallways while others will prefer more "comfortable" areas to reside, requiring you to build areas with wood floors or running water. Bigger rooms will attract larger monsters and so forth. Some requirements are obvious, while others are a little more obscure. So far, the only drawback is that the early pacing is slow. While it doesn't take as long as Viva Piñata to get interesting, creating even a good, low-rank dungeon is tricky. New materials are pricey, so cash flow is a problem. A few townsfolk are charitable and will donate rooms, though it takes a while to generate enough funds to attract "big ticket" monsters. Even then, the gameplay pacing is fast enough that waiting a few days isn't a big deal. Dungeon Maker: Hunting Grounds is not a name that has been showing up on many people's radars but probably should - especially armchair developers who routinely find themselves complaining about level design. Dungeon Maker: Hunting Grounds is set for release later this month. -Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker Related Links: Dungeon Maker: Hunting Grounds -- Official Site XSeed Games