Dungeon Siege

People have been talking about Diablo-killers since Diablo II came out. Well, as of the release of Dungeon Siege, Diablo is officially dead.

The Kingdom of Ehb is beset with horrible creatures and evil plots, and it?s up to a humble farmer to save the world. Thus begins the tale of Dungeon Siege, the best PC action RPG to date. Dungeon Siege?s story line is minimal, but it?s there. You take the role of a simple farmer who has been asked by a dying friend to take a message to a nearby town. Along the way, you meet up with violent creatures and helpful allies, and before long, you find yourself embroiled in a plot to save the Kingdom. The story is skeletal for a reason: The story is created as you play, and the main characters develop however you like.

Unlike other RPGs, which ask you to do a lot of stat-juggling and which shackle your characters within the limits of classes, Dungeon Siege lets you develop your character however you wish. In the beginning, you choose a gender and set the look of your character, and that?s it. Your character develops the way you play; if you fight with swords a lot, you?ll become a fine warrior, whereas repeated magic use will improve your spellcasting skill. This mechanic guarantees that you?ll end up with a character that?s good at the precise things you enjoy the most, and this sort of behind-the-scenes character development makes playing Dungeon Siege intuitive, seamless, and fun.

The Kingdom of Ehb is a place filled with amazing visuals and engrossing sounds. By the time you enter the ice-covered lands near the town of Glacern, you?ll be driven to progress just to see what the next part of the Kingdom looks like. Your characters are highly detailed and no less gorgeous with equipment that changes the look of your characters as you don new weapons and armor. Ambient sounds of forests, caves, swamps, and catacombs keep your nerves on edge, while the growls of enemies and the clashes of weapons and armor make sure that you?re involved in the combat. The attention to detail in the sights and sounds is stunning; from the tiny faeries flitting about in the forests to the whispered scuttling of offscreen spiders, every aspect is gripping and realistic.

Dungeon Siege?s gameplay is perhaps its biggest and most transparent improvement over previous titles in the genre. The controls are so intuitive that you?ll have mastered them well before the game becomes difficult. Casting specific spells in a full party in fast-paced, RTS-like combat can be tough, but you can hotkey each spellcaster?s two most used spells, and they?ll cast them when needed. Customizable hotkeys allow you to quick-select tactics and weapon/spell layouts, and you can group characters RTS-style for easy party control. Best of all, you can ?recruit? a packmule into your party, so you?ll never have to stop adventuring just to sell excess items. Only a few camera control problems get in the way of a perfect gameplay experience. Dungeon Siege walks all over its competition with almost effortless grace. Anyone who?d like a little action in their RPG should look into this title. It?s easy for the non-gamer, deep enough for the hardcore addict, and pretty enough to please the finicky graphics snob in all of us.

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