The biggest contributor to that featureless visual feeling, though, is the dungeon itself. "Metal dungeon" is an apt description, as there are no other distinguishing features. The 10 sections of the dungeon are all randomly generated, using a 3D tileset that has more in common with the periods and pound signs of the old text-based computer game Rogue than it does with the visual diversity of the Diablo series. The bulk of each section is laid out entirely from one wall tile, one floor tile, and one door tile. There are four or five special rooms, for things like elevators and control panels, but otherwise each relatively large level is completely devoid of any variety. Even the weapon monsters patrolling the level are all represented by a single model, a generically round thing that resembles a probe droid from Star Wars.
With characters classes that aren't all that distinguishable to begin with, the static nature of the avatars as the game progresses further dilutes the visual impact of the game.
The only plausible reason that the actual monster models themselves don't roam the level is because they're only animated for idling, attacking, and being hit. Having the monsters patrol the levels would certainly have added the tiniest bit of variety to exploring, even if there weren't any animation. Still, the weapon monsters are seemingly the only part of the game that any sort of attention was given to at all. Metal Dungeon has more than 70 monsters--though some of them are merely palette-shifted versions of other monsters--and they all look pretty good compared with the rest of the graphics. Though, it's more of a less-dull spot than a bright spot, thanks to the rudimentary animation. Thankfully, the animation can be turned off to make the battles go more quickly, and the speed of the battles themselves is adjustable.
Fighting in Metal Dungeon is a real-time, party-on-one-side, monsters-on-the-other affair. A full party of five characters is organized into two rows, three in the front and two in the back. Those in the back row are safe from melee attacks. Each party member will default to attack, unless he or she is in the back row and isn't equipped with a gun, in which case that character will default to guarding. You can issue orders to characters that they'll execute when it's their turn, after which they go back to their default. The only real flaw in the combat is that issuing an order doesn't pause the action. The ability to alter the battle-speed setting and turn off the animations can be useful in alleviating tedium, but those options can't be changed during battle, and issuing an order can be somewhat time-consuming, leaving you at a disadvantage. Some people will be put off by not being able to target a specific enemy unless you constantly issue specific orders, trying to stay ahead of the real-time nature of the battle. The default of letting the characters target their attacks randomly won't really affect the outcome of a battle, though it is a bit exasperating seeing a character ignore a monster with just a few hit points left and attack one still at full, and then watching both of the monsters attack. While nothing about the combat is particularly awful, like the rest of the game, it just fails to be interesting, from the animations to the music, which sounds more like a Russian funeral march than a proper battle anthem.
Metal Dungeon is obviously a rushed game. Amazingly, there aren't any bugs or particularly rough edges in the gameplay mechanics, but Diablo II has set the bar for these types of games in terms of both polish and content, and this game doesn't even come close. While it's fairly well balanced where difficulty is concerned, and it has plenty of stats, classes, and inventory slots, none of these tried-and-true mechanics actually mean anything if the look and feel of what's happening onscreen doesn't distinguish itself, and it certainly doesn't in this case. There's just too little in terms of art content, and what little is there isn't even well executed. For all its 3D trappings, Metal Dungeon is a very basic game, one that would have the same feel if it were text-based and is certainly not worth paying full price for.
Metal Dungeon (Xbox):
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