Gamezebo Rating:

D&D: Arena of War looks great, it sounds great, and who doesn't relish the idea of battling their way across the fabled Sword Coast of Faerun during the world-changing events of the Sundering? But in the end, it's a deep disappointment, brought low by the absence of one fundamental component necessary to any good D&D game: the actual D&D.

My time with D&D: Arena of War did not start well, as the game struggled with a post-install asset download that took much longer than expected and timed out twice, but I started to feel some optimism once things got going. It's a tad cramped on an iPhone screen, but even so it looks fantastic; and while the initial character creation is dramatically simplified - you can select from a number of pre-made race/class combinations (although some of the more exotic combos must be unlocked before they can be used) and adjust gender, hair color, armor, and gauntlets - that's not necessarily surprising in a combat-focused mobile game.

My excitement grew as I started to play. D&D: Arena of War is set on the Sword Coast, a region of Faerun that will be pleasingly familiar to veterans of the famed computer RPG . Your adventures begin with a simple quest against some Kobold troublemakers in Beregost, a town that makes an early appearance in Baldur's Gate, and I was very much looking forward to the opportunity to once again walk its streets.