..Dungeon Siege III..

REVIEW |

Here we are, nine years after the first Dungeon Siege and six years after Dungeon Siege II – both big hits at the time, and sparking a pretty big legacy (add-ons, comic books, an Uwe Boll film). Dungeon Siege III finally comes to us and this time in a more console-centric way. Dungeon Siege III follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. However, there are enough gameplay changes to make it feel new and unique. 

Dungeon Siege III is your basic looting, dungeon-crawling, hack n’ slash RPG fare. Players adventure though dungeons, fight monsters, and search out more powerful items and weapons. DS3 attempts to spice this up a little with story, but there’s very little to care about as far as plots and character development. NPCs offer some story development, but the minimal dialogue trees affect the game in small and seemingly insignificant ways. Often, it feels as if the attempt at complexity in these dialoge trees should have just been forgotten, since they often fall flat and slow the pace of the game down.

- This simple action RPG is especially rewarding in co-op play -

However, controls are ultra-tight and slick, and the fighting architecture is actually quite lively and fun. Each player is able to switch their fighting stance with the press of a button – so quickly switching between melee and ranged or a variety of stances used for different strategies is a lot of fun.

Playable characters are basic: tanks, magic users, and ranged attackers, with the single-player mode employing an AI sidekick. Unfortunately, the single-player side of Dungeon Siege III eventually wears down and becomes yet another grindy lootfest. However, the game shines significantly more in co-op mode. Playing in four-player co-op keeps the game fresh and entertaining. With the variety of skills for each playable character and the more or less brainless hacking and slashing that makes up the gameplay, it is the perfect game for getting a few friends together to play after a hard day at school or work.

The graphics, particle effects, and ambience all look great, and the game moves at an amazing pace – from battles, to loading, to level designs. However, you are not getting much other than what the title says… a dungeon siege with little variety and no significant changes to the simple hack n’ slash formula used in the first two entries in the series.

- Clearing out the caverns in DS3 is nothing new but still worthwhile -

The best part about Dungeon Siege III is that it is incredibly accessible. Easy to learn and not insanely challenging, DS3 doesn’t bog you down with too many stats and menus. However, it gives you just enough to satisfy the power-leveling crave. Anyone who hasn’t stepped into the RPG realm would easily be able to slip into Dungeon Siege III without too much of a problem, and they possibly will find it fast-paced and fun. 

That being said, Dungeon Siege III may not please the fans of the first two. However, newcomers to the series will find it an enjoyable game that would be easy to sign their friends onto for a few gaming sessions.

GameDynamo's Score for Dungeon Siege III (X360)

Rando Evans   Followtinydinosaurs Three things describe Rando: Good beer, good food, and video games. On occasion, Rando flies a zeppelin through time seeking power crystals.

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