Keepers is a weekly segment in which I discuss games I’ve played that I’ve seen fit to keep after playing. I generally sell a game that I’ve finished, so the only reason I keep one is because I plan to replay the game some day. Classifying a game as a “keeper” is generally a badge of merit.

Dungeon Keeper is an old game now. Twelve years old. But it’s still as fun as it was back in 1997, and I know that I haven’t played the last of it.

There was a sequel: Dungeon Keeper 2, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the original. In the original Dungeon Keeper, you were given free reign of various underground levels, and could tunnel them out in an infinite number of different ways, creating a lair for your evil minions and defeating the heroic adventures.

In Dungeon Keeper, the dungeon has its own ecology. Certain creatures couldn’t share living quarters without fighting and killing each other. Likewise, if you didn’t give them what they wanted, they’d grow frustrated and leave. Then, when the heroes showed up in your dungeon, you’d be at a lack of defenders. Still, it was an absolute blast to set traps such as rolling boulders, electrocution traps, and lava pits, and then watch the heroes fall prey to them.

A third Dungeon Keeper game was tossed around for a while, but never released. If the game had been more like the second Dungeon Keeper, it’s just as well.

If you can get ahold of Dungeon Keeper, I think it’s worth it. Its multiplayer mode is great too.