Dungeon Siege III 1.5

Dungeon Siege 3 is a game with difficult fate. Developed by a fa-favorite company, it was still seen as an inferior sequel to a much-beloved classic game. After the mediocrity that was Dungeon Siege 2, all seemed lost for the franchise, but Obsidian actually managed to make a good game.

The gameplay and visuals of Dungeon Siege 3 are pretty nice, yet both are nothing spectacular. Obsidian's engine gives us a moderately pretty world with nice character models and decent effects, but has a couple of unpleasant shortcomings such as low polygons here and there and several minor technical glitches. You control one of four characters with unique abilities and fighting styles, from sword and shield to explosives to rifles and magic. Action, the backbone of Dungeon Siege, is fluid and diverse, with various skills and items helping you create an unstoppable killing machine out of each and every party member. The abundance of loot, as usual, helps with that as well.

The story is typically good. Your characters have different backstories that lead them to joining forces to fight against a tyrant who rules the fantasy kingdom of Ehb. As the game progresses, you complete various quests and meet the other three characters available for selection earlier. Depending on which character the player chose, some events encounters might be subtly changed. Unlike the previous games in the series, the player can only choose a single one of the three non-player characters to accompany them at a time, although they can exchange them immediately via the game's menu. Each character has two different styles of fighting based on their unique class and style, such as shape-shifting magical attacks, swords, ranged weapons, explosives and traps. Each of the four characters features nine different sets of equipment unique to them.

Dungeon Siege 3, surprisingly, has no auto-attack and uses the WASD control scheme with combat mechanics similar to a slasher game. This gives the game a more dynamic feel, but may disappoint the fans wishing to have a classic experience.

Overall, Dungeon Siege 3 is no masterpiece, but it's a nice original game that's worth our time. Smooth, interesting and fresh, it's good for a couple of evenings.