Dungeons 3: Complete Collection is the ultimate edition of the latest installment in the popular Dungeons series of strategy games. Build and manage your own dungeon, recruit monsters and place cunning traps. Dare to conquer the vast overworld in a comprehensive story campaign. Included in this collection are the base game, several free content updates and seven expansion packs...

If you're new to the Dungeons series of games then you're going to want to start with the tutorials. These guide you through the basic controls and skills you'll need to master the very early parts of the game (the rest you'll pick up as you go along).

Be warned, however, the tutorial isn't very comprehensive and more than a couple of times I was left wondering what on earth I was supposed to do. I was given instructions, but no real help in doing what was required. In the end it became a case of pushing random buttons in an attempt to work things out for myself. This issue never really goes away, as once into the full game it's pretty much a case of trial and error in order to attempt to complete your objectives.

Another annoying aspect is that the controls don't always work as they're supposed to. When selecting your army and then highlighting an area above ground for them to head towards, I found it hit and miss as to whether it worked. If it didn't it was a case of selecting them all again (but they're all ready selected and you can't seem to deselect them) and try to place them above ground again. Likewise, on the research menu, I found that the controls for choosing what to research sometimes didn't want to work.

The first level is used to ease you into the game. To begin, you need to build a Treasury, for collecting your gold, as well as mining any gold seams you spot on the map. This is where the Little Snots (your minion workforce) come into play. Thankfully they are quite motivated by any quest you ask them to do (mining, building rooms, etc) and you don't really have to worry about organising or keeping them in line. However, they are useless in a fight and run away from impending conflict... so this is where the next room after the Treasury comes into play. The Hideout is where your army can recuperate and regain any lost health. Not all creatures can use the Hideout, but in the early levels you don't need to worry about that.

Next, your army needs to eat, so a Gobbler Farm needs to be built and that, for the early levels, is pretty much all you need to worry about. Later you'll build a Workshop, Brewery, and various rooms that can only be used by different species in your army.

When you think your dungeon is strong enough, its time to choose your army and head above ground to complete the quests (usually destroying villages and turning areas controlled by the heroes into areas you control. But be careful, while you are gone Heroes have a nasty habit of entering your dungeon in a bid to destroy the giant heart at its core. So leaving behind enough soldiers is important, otherwise the army on the outside has to be recalled and that can take precious time.

The ongoing story is amusing, with a narrator filling you in. His voice is a little annoying though - like a bad impression of Peter Dickson, better known as "the voice of the X-Factor". Knowing my luck, it probably is Dickson. When listening to the actual words I couldn't help thinking Rik Mayall would have been the perfect man for the job, if he were still with us. He did a terrific job back on Hogs of War.

Head of the dungeons is Thalya, a woman battling with the evil inside her. Once a happy, good soul, she was drawn to the dark side when she realised how powerful it made her feel. As the game progresses she continues to battle internally between her Hero origins and her current evil path.

The slow unlocking of new creatures and rooms help to keep this game engaging and fun, and this Complete Collection has all of the DLC content included - there's a lot of it too. There's the expansion packs based around other famous media releases (tongue firmly in cheek): 'Once Upon a Time', 'Evil of the Caribbean', 'Lord of the Kings', 'Clash of Gods', 'An Unexpected DLC', 'Famous Last Words' and 'A Multitude of Maps', along with a new skirmish map pack and all previous content updates.

In total there are over 50 missions, randomly generated maps, co-op mode for two players, competitive multiplayer, more rooms, more monsters and more unique abilities. While the controls may be a little clunky, and getting your head around what on earth you're supposed to do can by a little daunting... if you stick with it you'll find this to be an engaging and richly rewarding experience which will keep you entertained for months...

9

Darren Rea