Obsidian Entertainment and Square Enix brings us a new RPG, the third game in the Dungeon Siege universe, we speak of Dungeon Siege 3, a game to delight lovers of the genre.
Being honest i never had the chance to play any of the previous games in the saga, so i can’t compare gameplay and combat style, i am to judge this title based on my experience by playing this as a newcomer to Dungeon Siege. So far the game has been satisfying.
Story
The Legion has been the protectors of the people and the kingdom for many years, one day the King was murdered and Jeyne Kassynder framed and blamed the Legion for the tragic event to take control of the Realm. The Legion has been chased and almost obliterated, only few survivors remain, and 30 years after the events, Odo, one of the oldest members decides it’s time to rebuild the Legion and to take back their honor and save the Realm from the clutches of evil.
Gameplay
This is basically a hack and Slash action RPG, featuring campaign with a single player mode and offline or online co-op modes, offline lets you grab a second controller and a friend can select a character to help you fight your way throughout the dungeons at the same time you enjoy a monster slicing and dicing fest.
I have to admit i enjoyed single player mode a lot, as co-op was not exactly what i had hoped for, i will comment that further in the downsides below. Although online has interesting additions such as players voting when you have to decide to listen a story or a choice to make story progress.
On this same topic, the way the story progresses is something, i truly liked as dialog and choices you make will lead to different endings, giving Dungeon Siege 3 some replayability. That’s if you are the kind of player that needs to see every possible ending in a game.
This being a AAA title gives you a Torchlight dejavu with similar gameplay, this is not bad at all, Torchlight may not be a retail title but is one amazing game. Dungeon Siege 3 let you chose 4 different characters.
Lucas Montbarron: Son of the former Master and pretty much the classical tank/melee fighter. This was the class i used the most. He can use both swords and great swords that do massive damage.
Anjali: a mix of melee and fire based attacks, playing with fire anchor forms can be fun but was not my favorite class.
Katarina: Illegitimate daughter of the former master, a sort of rogue type warrior using guns, rifles and long range weapons.
Reinhart Manx: the mage class character and one of the best if you want avoid direct combat encounters.
Controls feel nice, as i’ve heard a lot of complaints from PC players, yeah… PC players got the short straw and got terrible controls. The controls seem to be designed for consoles in mind and not PC. They are always responsive and smooth with a 360 control pad and cannot complain. I think they did a good job.
Plenty areas to save to avoid backtracking, which is actually good. Although you are forced to backtrack in so many quests, if you don’t have a problem with this, go for it.
It’s not a perfect game but the fantasy theme along with the dark game atmosphere is good to submerge the player into the story and keep the player interested for hours.
Graphics 7.5/10
Cut scenes with dialog are impressive, details on the models is something remarkable and really hooks you into the story, that if not spectacular is entertaining. Worth to mention the art direction and details are very good. If not top notch, Dungeon Siege 3 has remarkable graphics but definitely could have been more spectacular.
Sound 7.5/10
They are ok, music it’s pretty good with overall good sound effects, if not mind blowing it’s all ok.
Downside
As much as i liked the art and details from some maps, specially the cities and towns, you don’t feel they are presented in a way they can captivate the eye of the player. The top view makes me feel i’m playing Torchlight or arcade games of the sort and not a AAA title.
Multiplayer was a total disapointment, while you can go online and co-op with up to 4 players you do not play your own character, but one character from the host, so if the host never geared and leveled up the class, your abilities can be extremely limited, this was far from fun and wasn’t properly done.
Lack of quests, i expected more, there is not a big array of quests to do and i love sidequests, there was not many, sadly.
Overall
Cant deny i had fun playing Dungeon Siege 3 and it’s not a bad game, if you have never played any of the previous titles in the saga you may find it enjoyable, and may not be the case if you played DS 1 and 2 you may feel this is not really a Dungeon Siege game, but hey change is not always bad.
Overall polished controls and gameplay, stunning graphics and plenty hours of fun is what awaits the player in search of dungeon crawling adventures in a similar fashion of Torchlight, definitely not a bad title to own in your collection.
Giving the game a 8 out of 10.
**A review copy was provided by the publisher for this review
