Still what we have here is a solid game that will not be a disappointment to the Hack & Slash RPG fans of ye olde day such as Diablo, Titan Quest, etc.
GAMEPLAY
What can I say. it is a hack n' slash RPG. Be prepared to go by dungeons grinding away on mobs and collecting loot! Dungeon Siege 3 does not disappoint in this category. It brings lots of gameplay something crucial to any video game; especially a hack and slash type. You have a favorite of 4 pre-made characters which of course breaks down into typical Warrior, Caster, Rogue etc. When not in dungeons you will be visiting towns to purchase and sell goods, pick up some easy quests that are not to bad to complete, and of course continue the storyline. It is fairly simple but gets the job done. Dungeons are varied as are the types of mobs you encounter so things get changed up enough to not get boring. Throw in a variety of difficulty levels and drop-in/out co-op and you have a pretty solid gameplay experience.
Combat is handled exceptionally well I feel for a hack & slash on a console. Your primary attack and 3 skills are bound to your attack buttons while blocking and your stances are controlled via the shoulder/trigger buttons. During mid-combat with the warrior-type lets say, a bunch of trash rushes you just switch to a 2-handed stance and hack back. By doing this you open up your 2 Handed skills. Middle of the fight a boss mob turns in you can just switch, on the fly, back to a sword/shield stance and of course unlock 1 handed skills. You can map 3 skills per stance which makes you have to choice between the out in the market skills per stance. Toss in Proficiencies, which add some customization to the skills by allowing you to pick a perk for that skill, and you have a simple yet somewhat diverse set of skills. While it is no Diablo or Titan Quest in skill variety and customization it keeps it very simple.
GRAPHICS
The game looks pretty superb on the console. I have not checked it out on the PC but it is a very pretty game. The fire effects aren't bad and the variety of colors and effects for your skills are awesome. By no means is this a perfect engine here but it has graphical appeal and does assist to make the world a bit more recognizable. I did notice some slow down on the PS3 version when I was hunting awkwardly at fire with the camera, but I tend to try and kill the frame-rates on purpose at times. Combat however was very smooth and I noticed no difference between the PS3 or 360 versions when it came to the FPS during combat or cut-scenes.
SOUND/STORY
The effects and sound track here aren't bad. I would say average. Nothing special to talk about but the voice acting I would say is sub-par. Many times it seemed as is the actors/actresses very did not care much about their lines. This puts a damper on the already boring storyline. Yes there is a storyline here for a Hack & Slash! A detailed storyline to boot! Problem is I found the storyline very boring and uninteresting. A lot of it had to do with the dialogue as it truly didn't sell you on the story. Still there is some meat here to supply purpose to your adventure.
REPLAY/LENGTH
What good is a hack & slash without replay!? Well this game boasts a few solid replay value if you are up for it. Where as past Hack and Slash games I have played allow you to continue on harder difficulties with your existent loot. not the case here. There is no Game+ feature here. Rather you just start a new difficulty from square one again. Replay value will come down to simple trophy/achievement collecting, easy enjoyment of the game and of course Co-Op. The game itself took me around 13-15 hours to complete on my play-through; and I have yet to replay it on another difficulty since nothing carries over.
*** CO-OP FEATURES *** ( 4 player On The Web support, no LAN support, 2 player LOCAL co-op )
A crucial part of this game that people have been getting confused about. Co-Op works very strange in this game and while it does work. it doesn't at the same time. Much like how the game truly simplified the elements almost to a fault, the Co-Op was simplified far past a fault. Not only is there a lack of Game+ here, but Co-Op works fairly backwards for a game of this type. If you hop into a game On The Web or with your friend only, your SP character WILL NOT be used. No progress you make with your friend/PUG will carry to your account. You are simply there for moral support you might say. To make things worse, even if you are doing Co-Op on different accounts (love a 4 player PUG group) the host is who the camera centers on. Meaning you are locked into the hosts camera frame. While this just takes time to get used to, it seems prefer a colossal step backwards compared to previous hack&slash titles. The overall Co-Op experience can be a lot of fun if you put aside gear, level and just work as a team to have some fun.
OVERALL 73% (7.3) . C
Dungeon Siege 3 is not a bad game by any means. It simplified the Hack & Slash elements to suit the console but in doing so it over-simplified the elements down to a no-brainer. While perhaps a disappointment at first glance Dungeon Siege 3 still brings gameplay to the table and lots of it. There is tons to do here, and despite a slightly simplified dungeon design you still have tons of baddies to plow through and loads of loot to gather.
A weak inventory system clenches it back as does the Co-Op method used by the game but still. this is the kind of game Hack and Slash fans have been craving for a long time. It is a fresh change of pace for the genre despite being simplified. While not a full-price for a few, it is a game worth picking up if you are a fan of the genre. The flaws in DS3's armor are not bad enough to ruin the game but it might leave a sour taste if you set expectations to high.
**NOTE: I was disappointed with the absence of SET items. However with no real game+ mode, and a 10-15 hr campaign it is understandable why they were probably absent
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If there’s one thing that Obsidian Entertainment and Square Enix are not afraid to, it’s bringing the popular Dungeon Siege series to the 360 and PS3. Well, that and sending waves of formidable bosses your means. Don’t worry, the mounds of loot you’ll retrieve will assist you immensely.
If you’re search for an enjoyable, dungeon-crawling, hack-and-slash, action role-playing game that two people can play on the same screen, then this game is right up your alley. To be honest, it’s the most fun I’ve had with a game of its genre in rather some time. The game takes place in the same lands as the other Dungeon Siege games, but aside from a few references and evolved environments, you would never know. The story stands completely independent from the other games.
Up to four players—two on the same console—can play together having on the roles of Lucas Montbarron, the sword-wielding warrior; Anjali, who can shift between human form and an incarnation of elemental fire; Reinhart Manx, a scholar of arcane magic; and Katarina, who solves her problems with firearms. Combat is fast and furious. You will be mashing the “A” button a lot, doing your normal attacks, and will have your extraordinary attacks assigned to the “X,Y,Z” buttons. The left and correct triggers bring up other abilities that your character has. Defensively, I have found that dodging takes care of all of your problems. Each character also has two different offensive stances to switch between. For example, Katarina uses her rifle to take care of foes from afar, but up close she can dual-wield shotguns and pistols, as well as wielding curses.
The combat is fun, but it’s not without its faults. The camera does a few quirky things when playing on one screen with two players. The camera will over-rotate, and sometimes during attacks you won’t be able to find who you are fighting, or where one of the players are. It never led to a death for me, but it led to annoyance.
Each character is customizable—to a degree. When you level up you receive points to assign into a combat ability, a proficiency (which lets you to add limited effects to your combat ability), and talents (which give you passive improvements).
While the game can be challenging, especially some of the bosses, it does not promote competition between teammates. There’s not the feeling of added stress by having to get to an item drop before your teammate; all players share any gold and loot is picked up. Players even out share the health and focus orbs that enemies drop. It’s the friendliest co-op action-rpg that you’ll ever play. Other in-game actions are easy as well. Obsidian Entertainment made sure that the player could retrieve multiple menus or actions with the click of a button. You can regain all of your quests and items, as well as breadcrumbs (a line of gold orbs that guide you toward your destination for a short period of time) all through the d-pad.
To broaden on the loot, since that is what drives action-rpg games like this, I want you to experience that there’s lots of it. You will forever be picking up new items. The nice thing about the loot is that you don’t have to fight over it with your teammates. Each item only usable by a certain character, since none of them use the same armor and/or weapons. When I played with other people, there wasn’t any “I need that more than you.” Instead, there was, “Wow, that’s an awesome gun. Grats.” Much nicer, don’t you think? There is also tons of attributes on the items, such as doom, warding, bloodletting, vampirism, etc.
All of the different attributes on the loot lets the player select the items that match their playstyle the most. Unfortunately, none of the loot very causes any aesthetic pleasure. The difference in looks is barely noticeable. If you are playing with two people on the same screen, you won’t notice any difference at all since you can’t zoom in at all. Sometimes you can notice a faint glow on a weapon, but that’s about all.
Graphics-wise, the game holds its own. The environment glows a quick bit too much for my liking, but it’s not bad by any means. Character and enemies have some modest detail to them, but nothing draws you want to say “wow.”
The story is also satisfactory; there’s nothing cracking about it, but you won’t be lulled to sleep. However, conversations are frustrating. You can, of course, speed them up by skipping the voice acting, but it just feels love there’s way to much fluff to get to the point. Each player can vote on which dialogue alternative they think should be said, but only one person gets the concluding say. Depending on how often you agree/disagree on dialogue, you earn achievements and deeds (gives your party a passive buff). In the end, the story is going to play itself out no matter what you say.
Dungeon Siege III is a game worthy of your attention if you prefer the hack-and-slash, dungeon crawl, action-rpg type of game. There’s no fighting over the massive number of loot you’ll come across, and most of all, IT’S FUN! Minus story fluff, inconsequential dialogue, and an unruly, this game gets a lot of things right, or is on the correct path with a lot of things.
You can follow Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ
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