Review of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition (2008)

((from RPG.net))
OverviewPlease ignore the prior 30 years, thank you.
What is Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition? To answer this, what have to do it purge anything in your mind about previous versions of Dungeons and Dragons and hide them in a deep, dark, safe place. Preferably in a suck-proof box, buried on concentrated soil, and warded against the evils of catering to the lowest common denominator. This knowledge no longer pertains to what they now call Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition – at all. What Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is, to be blunt, is a poorly made miniatures war-game that takes the worst elements of online MMO games and the applies a layer of ridiculous and arbitrary rules to actively stifle imagination, storytelling or immersion.
With this in mind, Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is quite possibly the worst role-playing game ever printed. Not necessarily because the actual product is an unplayable mess – but rather because it is just playable enough to end a beloved franchise and start a new legacy that replaces classic D&D a soulless sack of garbage. Unfortunately neophyte gamers won’t know any better and will probably buy into it for a short while. It is very clear Wizards of the Coast published these books with only financial goals in mind, with no real thought of RPG fans or the long history of the classic game.
Artwork, Layout and AccessoriesMandatory miniatures not included, please see our vast line of poorly made minis.
If I had to pick a high point of the core Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition books it would be the art work. The individual pieces range from mediocre to truly beautiful and I do have to say they have access to some truly talented artists. Unfortunately the artwork is hodgepodge of different techniques and styles that do not mesh very well together. Even some CGI work makes its way in. Each piece looks like it is from a different setting or even different genera entirely, which leaves the reader with more of distraction than immersion into the book.
The layout of the core Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition books are much different than previous editions and are muddled enough to force players into constantly return too many sections of the book during play. The rules are generally unclear enough to guarantee that some player or DM at the table is rimming through the book for a power, feat, skill, or arbitrary rule that permeate the books. The pages use vibrant colors and the quality appears to be excellent but his is quickly lost when actually handled. The page text smears very easily and creases are likewise very easy to get as well. In the few months I have owned the book, I have several smear marks of unreadable text and other pages that otherwise look like they have seen years of use.
Miniatures are flat-out required to play game - and so we begin with the long list of design decisions that ultimately crucify the game. The player no longer have the option to use ‘imagination’ and are boxed into shuffling miniatures around a grid map to carefully position themselves for tactical placement. It is no surprise that Wizards of the Coast offers its own line of poorly made and highly profitable miniatures to supplement this. Players can attempt to go miniatures free, but be warned that the game is simply not made for this style of play and many mechanics would be lost in doing so.
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition offers a host of online components to augment players and DM house-keeping. Unfortunately most of these are either simply not available, completely non-functional, killed before forced onto customers, or offer a meager amount functionality that a high-school php scripter could program in a week. Eventually players are expected to pay a 15$ monthly fee to access these options (or 156$