Dragonshard Previews

Both GameSpot and IGN PC are offering updated previews of Dragonshard, after seeing the RTS/RPG hybrid at this year’s Atari University event. A snip from GameSpot’s article:

Much of the game’s strategy will revolve around choosing specific units and developing those abilities over time, since your champion units will gain experience points and new powers, along with new items you equip them with. Even so, the game will try to emphasize micromanagement as little as possible. You’d expect spectacular magic spells from a game based on Dungeons & Dragons, and Dragonshard will have all the flame strikes, fireballs, and lightning bolts you can handle. However, most of these spells and abilities (other than a select few, like magic missile spells) will be area-effect abilities that will target all enemies or friendlies in a certain area (rather than force you to constantly zero in on one specific target each time)

And a snip from IGN PC’s article:

…the story of Dragonshard was written by none other than Keith Baker, the man credited as creator of the Eberron universe, so this should keep factual errors to a minimum while allowing the gamer to enjoy a story line drawn from the heart of the world. Instead of a generic “kill the bad guys first” deal, your objective is to get to a massive crystal shard meteorite that fell to the planet’s surface — the largest “dragonshard” ever recorded, big enough to earn its own name — the Shard of Siberys. Complicating matters is that this shard fell into a very inconvenient, little-traveled and ancient area of the planet. And there’s two other powerful factions vying for the shard, one of whom is shrouded in mystery.