Dungeon Siege III

I've been looking forward to the next installment of Dungeon Siege, and now it's here I am loving it! (Although I am a little saddened at some of the changes)

The game is your typical hack and slash game from the 90's, (Dungeon Siege, Diablo, Sacred)

It's pretty much top down, there is an option to change the camera angle to behind the character, but it's not great for tactical reasons (Your view is a lot more limited and it seems as though the enemies just pop out of nowhere)

You attack with the A button, X Y and B are reserved for special skills that use Focus (Which is pretty much magic) Focus is gained by attacking enemies, so you can't just spam your special skills over and over.

There are two stances your character can take, e.g Warrior sword and board or two hand, gunsmith is 2 pistols or a 2h rifle, etc. The can be easily switched between at a press of a button (However I, personally have been focusing on one)

The level up system is pretty same as, you kill things, complete quests, get xp and level up.
The level up process also includes "talent trees" so to speak, you can choose which skill you wish to have, and where to distribute points to increase the damage or effects done by that skill. Once you use the skill enough it becomes "empowered" giving you access to the more powerful version of it.

The reason I was slightly saddened by the game is due to two things ;
Being limited to 1 "Companion" in single player (Whereas previous Dungeon Siege games you had 4 characters in total) Whereas online you can have 3 other people join your game, but the game does increase in difficulty.
Secondly, I mentioned before about characters having two stances, unfortuntely there's no way to get your AI companion to stick to any particular stance, I have the mage as my companion, I have been levelling up his 1 handed stance skill, however he loves being in the 2handed stance, so his attacks are weak and he has an option of about 2 spells. He switches to the other stance irregardless of how many times I switch him to the 1 handed stance in the menu.

The co-op on the game is okay. You can't go too far away from eachother, which means that ranged attackers are in the thick of it, which can result in an easy death. You can be revived, but the other character has to come over and spend 5 seconds holding down a button to revive you (leaving you open to attacks) The AI puts you as priority if you die, which is nice of them. But can be a pain if they're surrounded and being interrupted every second.

With the multiplayer, as fun as it sounds having 3 friends join your game to rip the enemies another, it isn't beneficial to anyone but the host.
The other players take control of the AI units, so if you're a warrior, no one else can be. Once the players leave the game, everythin they've done to your characters stay, you can't redistribute points they have spent.
The people that took over control of your AI characters gain nothing in their games.

All in all, the game is what you'd expect. A simple hack and slash game that will keep you entertained. When you finish the game, just think, there'll be less time to wait for Skyrim!

This was bought for the teenagers in my household who love it and have spent many happy hours playing it. Would highly recommend.

Ever since video games incorporated cooperative gameplay to their games, I and many others have searched for a decent one that isn't just another first person shooter, multiplayer game that is either shoot them or shoot each other. Soon enough, games have involved coop campaign games - the Halo series always allowed for 2 players, but it only made the game easier and the necessity on your partner was non existant. Portal 2 however requires essential teamwork to complete your task, although it didn't seem to match the original in difficulty and the story was a separate one from the single player campaign. Dungeon Siege 3 manages to be a mix of both attitudes, having a friend, online or in person, help you out through the story, is possible and includes different plot lines and dialogue depending on your chosen character. On the other hand, having that extra hand may be helpful, but not always essential to the game. Still, the combat in particular is very well done and when taken advantage of, 2 player synced moves make it a doddle. The view point is similar to PC type games, having the camera scroll across the land from a birds eye view while you progress.

Falling into the genre of an action RPG, doesn't give much away. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the makers of a handful of popular games Fallout 3:New Vegas and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2:The Sith Lords to name a couple, and published by Square-Enix, the creators of Final Fantasy. Its pretty clear that its an Obsidian like game straight away, with the conversations are handled, similar to KOTOR2 or the Mass Effect series (selecting from a choice of different dialogue paths, with ok voice acting). However its seems like SE played minimal part in the construction of the game, merely publishing it as there are no trademarks from which are they are renown for. The story varies depending on which character you choose, of which there are 4, but largely revolves around being a legionnaire in a battle against several groups of enemies, including the cowardly main antagonist Jeyne. The characters consist of diverse combatants including a soldier, archon, mage and gunner. Each one has 2 'stances' that change up the gameplay, such as duel/one handing weapons and different forms. You have a health bar, focus bar (mana/stamina) and orbs which can help initiate stronger or specialist moves.

Lucas, the games intended protagonist uses lightning fast moves, finishing off his enemies with swords, decked out in armour, with the best intent being critical hits and focus regeneration.

Anjali, an Archon who is of the same race as Jayne, turns from a spear slinging high jumper to a flame throwing witch, summoning a beast and providing an adequate, ranged support role.

Reinhart, an old mage found in past Dungeon Siege games, able to use both ranged and close quarters magical combat. More of an indifferent battle style to the others.

Katarina, a Angelina Jolie look alike wielding a blunderbuss or duel shotguns. A little bit out of place with her kind of advanced weaponry, but a solid ranged character.. with a lot of pink over the top weapon effects.

Skills and Abilities are gained and upgraded by levelling up like most games, and features several unfamiliar stats and effects such as retribution, doom, chaos etc, but also simpler stuff like stamina, armour and magic elements e.g fire, lightning. The skills require a set amount of focus to pull off and are later mastered to combine effects (this can include additional damage, moves and combos). Passive traits are also included like being able to stun or damage foes with greater effect or as a defence mechanism when hit. There are 6 moves to learn and master for each person (one for X, Y and B, and again with the right trigger held) and 9 passive ones that can be upgraded throughout the 30 level cap. The combat and customisable levelling are really decent and the level cap is spot on in my experience (thoroughly played co op and completed the game at level 29). Sadly it is a fairly short game, with me and my chums total game time being just under 10 hours, which includes doing almost all sub quests and getting lost or side tracked. Although, we did stick to just using 2 characters, which means it has a certain replay value with different gameplay available. Quests aside from the main plot, are fairly mediocre, just picking up certain items and taking down more creatures.

Players can buy and find gear to equip ranging through standard armour like helmets or cuirasses and jewellery like rings and amulets, and of course specific weapons - all of which have different appearances in game. Environments vary quite a bit with snowy avalanche prone mountainsides, rustic villages, tribal swamp jungles, robotic advanced cities and numerous large scale mansions and mines. It all feels a bit far from special though as the music is entirely forgettable, not ambient just ignorable. You're also far to busy taking on enemies and keeping your health up to be too engrossed in your surroundings. Conversations aren't exactly intense or as intriguing as other RPG's, mostly babbling on about impending quests and propositions. As you'd expect with such dry dialogue, the story is equally unimpressive and the game is more focused on becoming stronger. The graphics don't necessarily disappoint during gameplay at least, but considering the camera angle, it could easily be a big budget xbox live arcade game - the special effects and moves prevent it from being official. It feels like a small PC game.

In conclusion, it seems more worthy of a rental, which you can finish it in 4 or 5 sittings and most of the talking is so dull its completely outshone by the addictive fighting aspect. A shame its been largely ignored but perhaps the fact that its neither a big blockbuster or a cult franchise, is reason enough.