This Side of Entropy

Heroes of Neverwinter is a new facebook app from Atari that brings the tactical game play of D&D 4E into the realm of games like Frontierville and all that other silliness.

I've barely started the game but so far it seems like a casual enjoyment for peeps who are looking for a good time killer on their lunch breaks but aren't interested in building farms or tending cattle.

The game allows you to make characters between 4 races (Dragonborn, Eladrin, Halfling and Human) and four classes (you guessed it: Fighter, Cleric, Wizard and Rogue.)

While a lot of the game comes off feeling very identical to our loved (or in my case loathed) Farm/Frontier games, especially the way you can add friends and share gifts, the actual game play is a pretty fun tactical RPG.

I also like how you recruit party members from either friend's character rosters or hiring other PC's from the tavern. It's not an MMO; but during one of my dungeon crawls a friend of mine was able to observe the encounters using his character and chat with me.

There's still the usual "social game" gimmicks: each delve into a dungeon costs energy, which replenishes as a set rate. You can receive in-game items as rewards that boost your energy points, or you can purchase more (or unlimited) using the game's premium currency: Astral Diamonds. Astral Diamonds can also be used to purchase other convenient items and services. I'm patiently playing through the game trying to find the inevitable "fun wall" where the game is rendered almost unplayable without shelling out money or recruiting a **** ton of friends into playing.

If you're wanting in to try the beta, check out their fanpage here and keep an eye for when they open up more slots. As it gets closer to release I'll do a video review of my experiences with it.