I have been eyeing Dungeon Siege from Gas Powered Games and Microsoft for many weeks now and weighed up all the seeming pros and cons before eventually shelling out some of my hard earned cash for what I hoped would be a worthy addition to my vast collection of computer role-playing games.
Of course, I was a little worried with the many reviews which had bits like "If you liked Diablo, you will LOVE Dungeon Siege, because I bored quickly of Diablo and completely hated its over-hyped sequel. The back of the box just sounded so damn impressive. I Couldn't help myself!
BIG mistake. Dungeon Siege effectively isDiablo in every important regard. From fighting bunches of the same monsters in each particular area, the to the mindless combat system of click, click, click (actually, Dungeon Siege actually takes this a step further and it is more like "click, watch, watch")
Common sense actually goes out of the window rather often during combat. I don't think I will ever consider a game in which a bow comes with unlimited arrows and is just as effictive at point-blank range as it is over distance a serious RPG.
Likewise the generic barrels and crates containing goodies scattered around the landscape make an unwelcome return. Is the game supposed to be set in some sort of alternate universe where there are just a few more coopers than you would normally feel are necessary? Either that or the annual Barrel and Crate Fanciers open-air festival took place in the previous week and they left some of their stuff behind.
Dungeon Siege places the player in the role of a simple farmer who is forced to leap into action when "evil" threatens the land. Your character's appearance is nicely customisable and the advancement of statistics based on the weapon and spell preferences throughout the game are a very neat touch. As the game wears on, different characters can be added to the party, as well as the Pack Mule, Dungeon Siege's answer to the car trunk in Fallout 2, except without the need for power cells or an update patch to stop him disappearing.
Graphically, Dungeon Siege is so bloody beautiful that I wanted to force myself to enjoy playing it. The landscapes, plants and structures each seem lovingly crafted. The rain, the fog, the water... it almost brings a tear to the eye. As you wander around your lovely environment, a terrific musical score plays along, changing in mood as you move through various locations, but almost always remaining high in quality.
Game play is the area in which Dungeon Siege lets itself and the game player down badly. So much could have been done with the stunning setting and the weapons, spell and party system, but what you invariably end up with is monsters who charge at you like wounded bulls as soon as you get within a very specific predefined distance from them. Spells are almost worthless, there is no time to take things slowly and strategically, you simply have everything set as you want it for all your characters and watch the chopping and zapping unfold.
The simple paper-doll inventory method is also here, with the compulsory blue and red potions for mana and health respectively. The items you find are not particularly exciting or imaginative, although I did enjoy some of the character movements as they wield and use the various items and weapons (particularly the shovel, early on).
I don't feel as though Dungeon Siege was play-tested very well either, with a particularly ludicrous example of why I believe this, being the fact that you can simply bolt for all you are worth along the very linear levels and past all of the enemy, who chase after you, never quite able to catch up unless you make a mistake. It is quite hilarious to charge along some of the earlier levels and turn to see a massive lynch-mob hurrying along behind you like a large field of long distance runners. I was even able to complete areas using this laughable method.
Of course, if you did enjoy Diablo, you will probably like Dungeon Siege. It is more of the same in an infinitely more attractive packaging. People like myself, I know there are some of us out there, Don't even think for a minute that even though you were bored by Diablo and blanch every time someone calls it an RPG you might like Dungeon Siege - FORGET IT, you won't.
Overall, Dungeon Siege is a very pretty game which other than one or two small design flaws, does just what it sets out to do. The problem is it didn't set out to do anything more difficult than to appeal to the masses. Most gamers will find a lot to like here. Myself, I will file Dungeon Siege away into the "Not for me, but I might recommend it to friends who like action games and Diablo" basket.
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