Dungeon Siege 2 - PC

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deject
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Dungeon Siege 2 - PC

Post by deject »

Dungeon Siege 2 - PC

Introduction

The original Dungeon Siege released in 2002 was a very good looking Diablo-esque RPG. To be honest, calling it a RPG is kind of misleading because this is nothing like ye olde D&D or anything. It introduced a novel leveling system that was very easy to understand. By using a type of weapon (like a bow or a certain spell) your expertise with that weapon increased. However, the biggest complaint by far about the original Dungeon Siege was the lack of depth. The RPG system basically did not allow enough for the more hardcore RPG players. However, for FPS monkeys like me, it is a great way to transition into RPG games. Dungeon Siege 2 was one of my most anticipated games ever, so much so that I even pre-ordered from the asstacular EB Games to get the mini-graphic novel. DS2 improves on the original in every way possible. It's longer, prettier, and is much more involved. Plus, the new Hero Powers are just awesome.

Gameplay

The basic party-based combat system is largely unchanged from the first game. You create your main hero from one of four races and four classes. Each race has different attributes so there is at least some amount of customization, much better than the original's "Choose if you want to be a farm boy or a farm girl." Another excellent addition in DS2 is the Diablo-style skill tree that allows for more customization of your characters. For example, my character is a Combat Mage who specializes in Fire Magic, and now that I have beaten the game again is almost as good with Death Magic. Melee fighters can choose from large two-handed weapons, dual-wielding, or using a sword and a shield. This system helps make a variety of characters to use in your party. The size of your party is initially limited to 2 characters with the ability to add 2 more the first time through. You will want to do this as soon as possible. Also added in DS2 is a weakness/resistance system that can be very helpful, or make you curse those damn Vai'Kesh assholes and their Death Magic resistance. The single coolest addition to the game however is the Hero Powers, which vary from the useful but boring Gravity Stone (gathers enemies into one spot) and Provoke (gathers aggro on the fighter), to the "oh fuck yesssss" Detonation (makes a giant explosion of fire) and the Elemental Rage (gives dual-wielders a large amount of fire, ice, and lightning damage with each hit). When used properly, the powers can make some difficult situations very easy. Facing a large group of Morden Thugs killing your mage? A quick use of Harvest Soul can restore him to full health quickly. Got a large group of enemies overwhelming your fighter? Whirling strike not only causes massive damage, but knocks all enemies back and stuns them.

Dungeon Siege 2 is a much longer game than the first. The first time through will take you probably 40-60 hours depending on how many side quests you finish. Doing all of them (you can finish them even after you've beaten the game) will take you probably more than 60 hours because of how big the world is. The game is much less linear than the first game and there is a lot of space to explore. You still follow the same path from beginning to end but there is more room to wander around, and lots of chances to backtrack.

Sights and Sounds

Graphically, this game is kind of a mixed bag. It uses the same engine as the original Dungeon Siege that has been modified to use pixel shaders and a new particle system, but this is still mostly 2002 tech here and it shows with some kind of crude looking models and effects. However, artistically, this game is beautiful. From the lush forests of the Greylin Isle, to Zaramoth's Horns, everything is beautifully textured and very colorful.

The sound design is amazing. The music, done by Jeremy Soule, is extremely well done. The sound effects of each spell cast and each sword hit are very good. This is a game that you can appreciate with awesome headphones. I was recently playing using the speakers on my laptop. The sound was still good, but as soon as I plugged in my nifty Shure E3g's, I could immediately tell I had been missing out.

The voice acting however, is a giant mish-mash of some very nice work, with some painful, ear-hurting performances. most of your party members are well done, as are most of the main characters you come across. But when you're dealing with all the minor NPCs while doing the side quests, some of the lameness becomes painfully obvious.

Stuff that sucks

As a Dungeon Siege fanboy, I don't find much fault with the game. The biggest negative is that it's using a 3 year old engine that looks a bit chunky. Next on the list is the hit and miss voice acting. Other than those two things, Dungeon Siege 2 takes the original and makes a vastly better game out of it. Hardcore D&D/d20 types should probably stay away, but they smell nasty anyways. Fans of the Diablo style of hack 'n slash combat will absolutely love this game.

Conclusion

This game is a veritable powerhouse of easy to get into RPG action. The boss battles are intense, the enemies are varied, and you're in a lushly detailed world. The Hero Powers are some of the coolest things in a game I've ever played. If you're looking for an intense game, play Dungeon Siege 2.

Score : :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starhalf: :starempty:
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Re: Dungeon Siege 2 - PC

Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

deject wrote:Score: 8.5/10
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Post by Lateralus »

I just aquired this the other day, and from an hour's worth of playing, it seems very button-mashing hack'n'slash. I think that for me, the first-person style of play of Morrowind makes for a more involved game, but this is with very little playing of DS2. I will give it a fair run tho.
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Re: Dungeon Siege 2 - PC

Post by deject »

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:
deject wrote:Score: 8.5/10
if you can't handle a 100 point scale, get to fuck.
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Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

the percentage score is pointless, and really i just figure we may as well try to keep everything related to everything else in some way.
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Post by spoodie »

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:the percentage score is pointless, and really i just figure we may as well try to keep everything related to everything else in some way.
I'm with Berk on this one, but it's your review and I'm not going to horse any rules.
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Post by friznit »

Can you add a bit about multiplay in? I've yet to play DS2, but the most pleasant surprise I had with DS1 was that I found a complete made for coop multiplayer part. It was basically the same campaign with a few neat changes, but it was a nice touch. Also the 3rd party mod scene is worth mentioning since it is still very active for the game - including a complete Star Wars Mod Pack (anyone noticing a pattern here in my preference for Mods? :P )
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Post by Joose »

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:the percentage score is pointless, and really i just figure we may as well try to keep everything related to everything else in some way.
trying to keep everything related to everything else is pointless. The scores are all just the opinion of the reviewer anyway. Its not like its a particularly scientific method we are using here. Does it matter how the reviewer gives it a mark? 86%, 8.6/10, 8 and a half hamsters out of 10, it all means, basically, "quite good but not perfect". Im sure we are smart enough* to realise that a game that scores 86/100 is probably better than a game scoreing 3/10, but probably less good than a game scoring 5/5.
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Post by Dog Pants »

What were you going to put in the subtext after that asterix? Hmmm?
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Post by Strawberry Dragon »

How about E/10 ?
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Post by cashy »

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:the percentage score is pointless, and really i just figure we may as well try to keep everything related to everything else in some way.
does anyone honestly give a fuck? its not like he tried using roman numerals or a tally chart or somthing

regardless, good review i might have to pick this game up. ive always been scared of D+D as ive never known what the hells going on with the whole 'roll a dice and prance around like a wizard' thing
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Post by deject »

cashy wrote:
Dr. kitteny berk wrote:the percentage score is pointless, and really i just figure we may as well try to keep everything related to everything else in some way.
does anyone honestly give a fuck? its not like he tried using roman numerals or a tally chart or somthing


^this I mean if you can't figure out that 86/100 is the same as 8.6/10 then you've got bigger problems than the way I score games. I don't see how this is a problem.

As for DS2 multiplayer, I don't like it as much as the first game because you can only just go through the same single player world, unlike the completely original one for the original. Also, you can either use just your main hero, your hero +1 or +2 party members. This being said, I have no real compelling reason to play the multiplayer in Dungeon Siege 2 unless you're having fun with people you know because I've beaten the game twice. I'd rather play it again on elite now.
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Post by mrbobbins »

Good Review :likesitall:

I played the Demo for about an hour and enjoyed it enough to want to play the full version, but with 60 hours of gameplay it would be hard to find the time to do it properly. But saying that...
a giant explosion of fire, and the Elemental Rage
:above: This makes me want it anyway :excited:

Also one of the most useful features I found which you didn't mention was the auto-pick up treasure button, I always hated spending ages collecting drops after a battle in other RPG's
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Post by deject »

mrbobbins wrote:Also one of the most useful features I found which you didn't mention was the auto-pick up treasure button, I always hated spending ages collecting drops after a battle in other RPG's
heh, to be honest, I kinda was taking it for granted since I've been playing Dungeon Siege games for so long... It is indeed very very useful.

One thing I've found somewhat funny is the frequency of so called "rare" item drops. It happens so much that I won't even pick up any regular blue items. The "rare" stuff is so common, I've even picked up 3 of the same item before (not at once, just over the course of the game). Also, the sets of items is pretty cool. For example, it's worth doing the Assasin side quest, at least the first time through, because the reward is a nifty pair of swords that give a death damage bonus.
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