Hack, slash, rinse, repeat
If you've ever wondered what a rogue-like such as Rogue or Hack would look like if dressed up in 3D, then Bob's Dragon Hunt may just be what you've been looking for. The game basically takes almost everything that defines rogue-likes and then throws them into the third dimension but eschews fancy graphics and instead presents things in gloriously blocky and simplistic form. In case you've not played such a game before, the goal here is basically to explore a series of dungeons, slaying beasts and looking out for treasure as you go. Everything is presented in fairly low key 3D, with buildings, monsters and other things being represented by various forms of block, with some imaginative additions to bring some character to proceedings. There are also text descriptions at the bottom of the screen to add more flavor as well as some interesting commands alongside the usual'run' and 'jump', such as 'quaff' and 'commune with the gods'. The gameplay simply consists of exploring, then hacking and slashing away at whatever nasty beast inevitably shows up, before repeating over and over again. As far as basic rogue-likes go, this isn't bad stuff although it is a far from essential play. The leap to 3D, while remaining the deliberately crude look of ASCII-driven classics like Kroz, is interesting and certainly brings something new to the table. However, the biggest problem here is that the gameplay is a little lacking in depth or anything to keep you playing for any length of time and it soon becomes apparent that the hack/slash/repeat formula is pretty much all there is to experience. As such, it gets dull rather quickly, meaning you can easily skip this one.
