Dungeon Siege
- March 20, 2002 00:00 AM PST
Bored with Diablo? Sworn off action RPGs for good? You might rethink your decision once you see Dungeon Siege.
Action RPGs have a storied past on the PC, with Diablo (and its sequel) and the underrated Darkstone as examples, but recently the genre has come under fire by diehard RPG fans who accuse it of being just another action clickfest, not worthy of the "RPG" title. To answer this concern, Diablo II introduced skill trees and more intricate control over your character�s advancement, but even that level of customization looks primitive next to the build-as-you-go nature of Dungeon Siege.Dungeon Siege will cast you as a humble farmer wrapped up in a dark plot that takes you through deep, dark dungeons and over lush, outdoor terrain to discover the source of this new evil and destroy it. You�ll go from being a newbie farmer armed with a hoe to a seasoned warrior, archer, or mage as you complete your time in the Kingdom of Ehb.
Dungeon Siege�s sweet graphics looked great zoomed in or zoomed out, indoors or outdoors in the preview version. Everything was in 3D, meaning you could zoom and rotate the screen at will, unlike in Diablo II. There was no loading time at all in between indoor and outdoor settings, which was certainly a welcome development.
As for character development, Dungeon Siege will feature the most flexible and intuitive level-up system ever. Simply put, you�ll get better at the things you do most. If you use a lot of offensive spells, you�ll get better with combat magic; if you swing a sword a lot, you�ll become a fine warrior. Pretty much any combination of mage, warrior, and archer will be possible, and your class will depend on how you play�not the other way around. In other words, play your role, and you�ll be rewarded.
If building up one character isn�t enough, you�ll be able to gather a party of adventurers to help you in your quest. Each member of your party will advance depending on how you use them, and you�ll be able to set their A.I. settings to tell them when and whom to attack. For example, you�ll be able to tell archers to attack the strongest enemy and have warriors fight the closest. Party fighting in the preview version felt a bit like controlling an RTS, and casting spells in the heat of combat was a bit awkward. You could even hire a pack mule as a member of your party to carry all the loot you "liberated" on your many deep dungeon expeditions.
