Rating: Summary: I'm In Love Review: This is the first game i have played where i was totally satisfied. It combines all the Diablo, Vampire the Masquerade, (I have never played B's gate so i couldnt say there) traits that I love and destroys the ones that I didnt like, Then blended in excellent graphics... all and all I am VERY pleased with it.
Rating: Summary: RPG not hardly! Review: This game is not for anyone who is really into true RPG. The graphis are great but that is about it! In this game you can't save or build a char when playing with others on the net or local network.
Rating: Summary: Extremely dissappointing Review: Well, where to start? I was really excited about this game. My husband is a HARD CORE RPG'r and was the first to tell me about this game, and after reading reviews I felt confident it would be worth the money. Some major drawbacks of the game (IMO) are: It gets really tedious, running into the same 10 opponents over and over. I would really prefer for the characters to actually speak, rather than have text scroll across the screen. The main character doesn't speak at all. And although you occasionally run into a character who will speak out loud, it's few and far between. The dynamic between the group of characters you can acquire is clumsy at best. Between needing to check the inventory for the different characters, etc...it would seem that it altered their ability to stick with the main character, or they they'd do so in a haphazard manner. Sometimes they wouldn't follow at all. Sometimes they would fight with her, other times they would just stand aside looking bored. I know the game adheres to typical RPG style gaming where everything is just "point and click," and fighting is automatic. But if this is something that is boring to you (which it is to me), you'll prefer the fighting dynamic of say Heretic II, where you actually contol the body of the character, rather than just clicking where they should go. I felt the quest journal wasn't well thought-out either. Often you are left wondering if there is something else you're supposed to do to complete a quest, and/or whether it's actually over. The maps don't help you much with this, either, as they are entirely unmarked, and you are often left wondering whether you've fleshed out an area entirely or not, or whether you're missing something important. All in all, I must say the game seemed counter intuitive and repetitive. There is really no major plot factor propelling you through the story, and so it adds an aimless quality to the gaming which leaves you pining for something a bit more interactive..like a good book.
Rating: Summary: Char Development vs. Storyline Review: Many critics of this wonderful game come from the simple (straight) storyline of the design. Before I really play this game myself, I read reviews saying it is even worse than Diablo II in story aspect ---- that is pretty bad, actually terrible because story wasn't point for DII at all. But actually it turned out not to be so bad. The legend itself did not have any branches ---- nevertheless as a fan of it, I have to admit this design is not among the best modern RPGs. But it is not a problem for me. Because you can choose your company. This made up a independent "story line" in which I most enjoyed. I have been playing BG, BG2, MMVI, MMVII ---- well, rich in stories as they are, sometimes they went beyond another extremely, they became tedious. At least for some people, including me. Anyway, DS did not feed a full tree of branches to lure your curiosity but at the same time, it saved you from your desire to explore all the possibilities which will cost you too much time in gaming a single title. The best part, which drives me to give it a 5 star ranking, is the char training model in DS. I noticed people also complaining about this aspect as well. Some about the archer's arrows were unlimited, some about not detailed enough, and so on... but it is a very good beginning of new ideas vs. the traditional distribute EXP/SKL pts among different catagories. I did never understand how can one simply distribute some EXP pts to learn to use a sword as a master. This model (improve through using) is far more reasonable and realistic. And this allows a very interesting strategy of developing your team and your own char. You may combine a group of ranged attackers at the beginning for at that time, all monsters are with short lives(low HT), you may end up killing them all even before they get close to you. But later you may get into big trouble since they usually surround you for a long time and cast of higher magic cost both time and mana which you could afford none. So... you could not abandon your team at this time, you gotta teach them how to fight hand-to-hand. And you do have the chance.....(not like in other games, you preset everything, even in BG, though you can choose multi class or dual class, but the restriction was still too much.) And they will pick up hand fighting pretty fast, but reasonably difficult. That is the balance I like in all the good games ---- challenging but not too complicate (if I like tedious things, why do I bother to play games after work? I just work again.). Of course, the hitting point was the map without loading, a super tech, but that is well known already. If later versions can provide a more detailed skill set, more branched storyline, this title will explode.
Rating: Summary: What a GREAT game! Review: I agree completely with ... review and have already recommended this game to anyone who will listen. Like her, I am a girl who loves RPG's, isn't into PVP, and likes to explore. I also really liked Diablo II, and am a magic user. This game is FABULOUS (beautiful, user-friendly, fun to play)! So far, I've played in single-player mode, and have yet to be disappointed. The game is completely stable. It hasn't crashed once (unlike Baldur's Gate). The auto-arrange feature in inventory is terrific. I can spend more time playing and less time juggling items around. There is also a feature that allows you to pick up all items on the ground with the push of one button, which adds to gameplay time. What a great game!
Rating: Summary: Both terrific and terrible. Review: Dungeon Siege, unlike most "RPGs", is primarily a hack'n'slash, mindless combat game in the vein of the Diablo and Gauntlet series' of games. If you're looking to purchase the game and didn't like EITHER of those series', turn around now. The game is great if you enjoy the "kill-endless-hordes-of-monsters-and-get-better-stuff-to-kill-bigger-monsters-very-little-thinking-involved" style of gaming. If, however, you're looking for something more along the lines of a Final Fantasy (heavily plot driven, character based immersive RPG) or Baldur's Gate (heavily strategy based, plot driven RPG), you're looking in the wrong place. If, however, you enjoy the first type of game, then continue reading. Dungeon Siege is basically Diablo 3: that is, it's Diablo II made better. The graphics are greatly improved, with both the characters and environment rendered beautifully in 3d. Unlike Diablo II, you don't have to rapidly click your mouse button for hours - you can click the target once and your character will continue attacking it until it's dead. You can also set your character to have intelligent AI: to have it move freely, to have it attack specific kinds of monsters, or to have to have it defend specific characters in your party. Potions are consumed in the amounts you need to consume them, instead of wasting an entire big health potion on a few scratches. The game provides innumerable other player-friendly devices, including pack mules, healing rings, variable difficulty settings, and the like. The variable difficulty settings are a mixed bag. I began playing the game on easy, to try and get a feel for it, and the game is a joke on this difficulty setting: My main character could rush into a room of 50 or more enemies and take them all down without having to use a health potion. I was wondering why so many health potions were dropping until I switched into Normal difficulty. It proved far, far more difficult, and I learned the value of the quicksave button. The difficulty settings are quite steep, given that there are only three, and provide a unique level of challenge to every player. It does, however, take the fun out of the game when you can dumb down the difficulty for a boss that you have trouble with. The one aspect where this game will pale in comparison to Diablo II is the multiplayer. Unlike Diablo II, Dungeon Siege's multiplayer characters can be imported from single player. It is, therefore, possible to use cheat codes and hacks to create a massively overpowered single player character and then use it in multiplayer. The online internet (ZoneMatch) based version of the game will end up like that of Diablo I, where everyone has the highest level character possible with the best equipment possible and PVP is a joke. Character advancement will be non-existant, and several key aspects of a massive multiplayer community will be missing, like an economy and a learning curve. If GPG & MS had taken the time to create an online-only database for online characters, the multiplayer version of the game might stand a chance. Because the net-based multiplayer will be so incredibly poor compared to D2, don't buy the game expecting to jump into a better version of D2. Buy it because of its fun single player campaign, and to play it with your friends.
Rating: Summary: Awesome game........but few annoying bugs prevents it from 5 Review: Continuing in the tradition of Baldur's gate 3/4 perspective style RPG's, Dungeon Siege delivers with beautiful graphics and an non-stop action. As the title suggests....its one siege after another. So if you like Fantasy Styled RPG's but with alot of combat and action this game fits that mold. The only sore point is a nasty save bug where the game crashes everytime I go to save. I am sure there will be updated patches on their website. All in all, a great game.
Rating: Summary: Diablo 2 but fancier Review: Dungeon Siege falls somewhere between Diablo 2 and Baldurs Gate 2. You find yourself as a farmer who's village is overrun by monsters. You start off with a knife, you fight monsters, you find better weapons/armor/spells and than repeat. The graphics are amazing though, and as you get more members in your party the combat complex. Microsoft really should have spent more time on story, you'll usually get to a town and be on the road again in about 2 minutes after. But if you enjoy fast paced games with good graphics and just enough story to keep you happy you should buy this.
Rating: Summary: Better wait for Icewind Dale 2 & Neverwinter Nights! Review: I purchased Dungeon Siege in order to try out my upgraded system...I agree, it's visually stunning but it's both a bore and a chore to play after a while (it may be different when it's a multiplayer session, as I was going solo instead). I guess I'm an old D&D gamer type, I like the idea of classes and such. Also, however, I prefer games with a modicum of plot and halfway interesting NPC's, neither of which is found in Dungeon Siege. After a while, I just stopped caring about the game. (I've since sold it and deleted the game on my hard drive, there was no point in continuing.) If you like Diablo, you'll probably like DS to a certain point, but if you want something more just wait for Icewind Dale 2 and Neverwinter Nights to hit the shelves (which will be in 4-5 weeks for ICWD2 and 6-7 weeks for NWN). This isn't a very professional or polished review like some of the others, but it cuts to the chase.
Rating: Summary: Highly Addictive! Review: OK, remember how addictive Baldur's Gate and Diablo 1/2 were? Now imagine that the two games are combined together with even better graphics and more personalization. And imagine that multiplay is amazing. That's what you get with Dungeon Siege This game is amazing. It's fully customizeable. You choose your character and get to choose male/female, hair color and style, skin color, shirt and pants, and even get options like mohawks and tattoos. Your character is a farmer descended from the 10th Legion and now just trying to live a quiet life. But of course, you can't. The evil baddies come into town and it's time to hack. The interface is a cross between Diablo and Baldur's Gate, with the best of both worlds. It's fully polygonal - you can zoom in and out, spin around, change the angle, anything you wish! Your character in his (or her!) fully customized glory goes wandering around, scaring off the chickens and rabbits and little fairies that hang out innocently, while fighting off a huge range of graphically amazing monsters. There are stony gargoyles, fleshy pig-beasts, and all sorts of things in between. The buildings are multi-levelled and the game makes it easy to go from floor to floor. Sometimes the game is picky about here you click - you can try to go IN a building and end up going behind it - but you get the hang of that pretty quickly. You can sometimes try to click on an enemy to attack it and instead start meandering over to that spot of ground. Be sure to know where you click! Like Diablo, this isn't heavy in storytelling. Yes, there's a general plot, and you hit little side quests along the way. But you go a VERY VERY long way at the start of the game before you find anything town-like, so don't even bother trying to store up all the random things you find along the way. You'll run out of room long before you reach town. You meet party members and can have them join you if you wish. Each person has his or her own skillset, and your own grow over time. Keep twanging that bow, and you become an archer! Use those magic spells again, and magic becomes your speciality! You're not restricted like in other games to a certain class. In this one, every single character starts out exactly the same. What you choose to do affects how you develop. The various weapons and armor and magic items you find are quite fun and well designed. The graphics are just great. Shadows, flickering candles, fog, it's all here. True eye-candy, and if you don't have a GEforce 3 or GEforce 4 yet, it's time to buy one. Even the arrows you shoot go thudding into your enemies. Try hitting pause while one goes whistling past your head! Shoot three into that pig-creature and zoom in to see that they all hit! Shoot at that fast enemy and watch him dodge your arrows! It's just amazing. Highly Recommended and extremely addictive.
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