Tired of skipping through the shallow puddles that are console hack-and-slash games? Longing for that deeper experience that only a PC, mouse and thousands of items, skills and powers can bring? Well then, I’m happy to report your wait is nearly over; Dungeon Siege II is on the horizon.
More epic, more featured and a little less streamlined, the series is returning as Gas Powered Games’ second title in the dungeon-crawling genre, and with no Diablo sequel in sight, Dungeon Siege II should hit you like an old friend arriving at your door with a fist full of games in one hand and a six pack in the other.
Open that door and you’re immediately greeted by symphony music that sweeps into the forefront while art unfolds before you and you’re told the story of an ancient battle between the Azunai crusaders and the legions of Zaramoth. The battle ended with a shattered shield and the forces of magic being unleashed into the world. But now the heir to Zaramoth has risen, and legions of fiendish creatures stand between you, him and your ultimate destiny. And of course there’s a cool movie to watch as well.
Note: Click any screenshot below to see it full-size.
The game begins by picking and customizing a main character from the different races and genders, with customization available only for appearance, although different races provide different stat modifiers. Then, in no time at all, players begin clicking around the screen directing their characters around the world.
Collecting loot, destroying monsters, glancing over your inventory and stats … everything in Dungeon Siege II brings back that old-school feeling, and although it’s a bit intimidating at first, the game does a decent job explaining how everything works to new gamers while refreshing Dungeon Siege I players about the basics.
As an old-school Dungeon Siege gamer, I found only one thing confusing about the sequel: how the game handles the new Special Abilities Tree that each character has. Players allocate points along the tree to obtain different powers to use for different things. Similar to spells, you can set some of the powers on a power bar to be activated quickly, but unlike spells, they need to be “charged up” before each use, with a button appearing at the bottom of the screen to fire them off.
What makes this confusing is determining which powers have to be activated, which are on all the time and which button goes with which character. Some of these things may still be in development as the game continues to move toward retail, which would be most appreciated, but it’s easy to see that this feature is going to help increase the interaction that people were looking for in the original.
Other than the tutorial voice, which may still be a placeholder before finalizing the game, the voice work in Dungeon Siege II is really well done. A new movie-authoring system that shows in-engine cinematic dialog between party members is a nice addition, particularly for a genre that normally compels players to read text. The only catch is that, without moving mouths or blinking eyes, the “animated” characters really aren’t that compelling, especially considering PC gamers have been blessed with some revolutionary in-engine technology of late.
The scripting going on around players to liven up the world is excellent, and it does a great job of making you feel like you’re in an epic adventure involving entire armies and native inhabitants. On one adventure, for example, I came across a melee between a beautiful creature and an evil demon, the latter of which was winning. The creature’s cries made me want to help the poor thing out, and although the scenery forbade it, the entire interaction further immersed me in the world.
Ambient background music is a must in these types of games, and as Microsoft has consistently shown in the past, that is one thing the company has nailed down. The dynamic score Gas Powered Games has composed to rise and fall in the background quickly draws you into the fantasy world and keeps you there until far too late in the night.
Our preview build didn’t include the touted multiplayer aspects that allow players to bring their characters online to play with others, but even without it, Dungeon Siege II is looking to be a fun-filled 40- to 60-hour romp through the forces of evil. Anyone who enjoyed the first rendition is sure to enjoy this one.
— Robert Dusseau