Menu Close

Dungeon Siege III Review

Graphics:
7.2
Gameplay:
8.3
Sound:
7.8
Control:
7.6
Replay Value:
8.5
Online Gameplay:
8.0
Overall Rating:
8.0
Publisher:
Square Enix
Developer:
Obsidian Entertainment
Number Of Players:
1-4
Genre:
Action/RPG


Being a super huge fan of the Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games, I was anxiously anticipating the release of Dungeon Siege III . For all intents and purposes, it’s this generation’s version of those aforementioned dungeon crawlers; that’s a dying breed of gaming, and I was happy to see it return. For the most part, I’m satisfied with the result, despite my reservations concerning the mechanics and overly in-depth character advancement and outfitting, it’s exactly what one would expect. It isn’t any fantastic graphical tour de force but then again, neither were those other games. If you’re looking for a dark hack ‘n slash RPG with a whole lot of replay value, look no further.

Like I said above, the visual presentation is underwhelming. After their last project, which was also mediocre in this category, I have to believe developer Obsidian is just way behind the times. That being said, there is a fair amount of diversity in the realms and landscapes, the animations are smooth, and the special effects are often a big highlight. While the character design – typically only seen up close when interacting with someone else in a cut-scene – is lacking as well, the entire package is consistent and pleasing. The atmosphere is appropriately dark, there’s quite a goodly array of enemies, and there really aren’t any glaring graphical errors.

For what it wants to be, the technical elements are fine. The audio does its job by offering a fitting and occasionally rousing soundtrack, some well-performed voiceovers, and better than average effects for a game of this type. I still think the latter could’ve had more “oomph,” especially in regards to the melee attackers, but there’s a nice balance between all audio divisions. The music is just about right and combined with the fluidity of the animations; the action remains tight and satisfying throughout. In short, not only does Dungeon Siege III play a lot like those great action/RPGs from the PS2 era, it also looks a lot like them, only with the benefit of HD.

Honestly, if you’ve played any of the titles I’ve mentioned, you’ll quickly become familiar with the gameplay in DSIII; you run around in real-time and beat on swarms of enemies in plenty of different locations. There are towns to visit, side-quests to accept, fresh places to explore, and a surprisingly in-depth progression mechanic. Even the standard gameplay features a twist or two, which we’ll get to later. But for now, the biggest difference between this game and those older adventures is this- you get a party this time. That’s right, it isn’t just about a lone hero taking on the world; you’ll pick your character and recruit others along the way.

I still haven’t decided if I like this more or less than the old-fashioned solo method, but for the sake of this review, let’s just say the party scheme works well. At the start, you will select from one of four distinct heroes: there’s Lucas Montbarron, a warrior equipped with a sword and shield, Anjali, an archon “legend come to life” who shifts between human form and elemental fire, Reinhart Manx, your classic mage, and Katarina, a gun-wielding vixen with access to ensorcelled bullets. Now, regardless of who you choose, you’ll meet the rest in your travels; your choice simply dictates who you will control. I chose Katarina, just because I’ve never seen a firearm wielder in a dungeon-crawler, and I wanted to check it out.

Ultimately, I started over and tried Lucas, which turned out to be a better fit for me. That isn’t to say Katarina wasn’t effective and fun; I just felt a little…shall we say, removed from the combat, as I’m typically trying to stay away from foes, even when I switch to my sidearm/shotgun combination for closer encounters. And it isn’t the same feeling I get when playing as a mage, who also has to stay away; the guns just sort of distanced me from the action, if that makes any sense. But anyway, I soon found that all the characters are well balanced and enjoyable to play, so it really doesn’t matter who you choose. The mechanics are just a trifle iffy.

In addition to having a party, there are other unique gameplay alterations to the tried-and-true hack ‘n slash formula. For instance, you can roll-dodge with the L2 button, and you switch stances with the L1 button. This is important because not only does your stance change the weapon(s) used in combat, it also affects the skills you have at your disposal. For instance, one of Katarina’s special power abilities with her rifle sends a supercharged bullet that knocks over an enemy. When you switch your stance to dual-wielding the sidearm and shotgun, her power move causes her to spin around and fire quick shots in all four directions. So stance is crucial.

The controls just bug me a little bit, that’s all. The camera can be frustrating, and it took me a while to get the button layout through my head. Having to hit R1 to pick up any equipment is only a minor annoyance, but I had to really pay attention to both my stance and the types of magic and skills I would use based on that stance, and what I had been working on in my proficiencies. In truth, I actually think there’s a little too much depth; for a game like this, it feels overdone. Some hardcore RPG fans will disagree, though. It just drove me a little nuts to have so many pieces of equipment, and they’re different for each character.

Thing is, because you can pick up a lot at once, this affects the pacing because then you have to go in and see if anything you snagged is a better fit on one of your party members. I’m also not the biggest fan of the story, and having block be the same button as roll-dodge (you just flick the left analog to roll) seems like a bad idea. I also didn’t like the fact that most enemies typically seem to key on me, regardless of how far away I am, or what type of fighter I am. Other than that, the game is entertaining and relatively well designed. Having green and blue orbs that replenish health and magic feels too “action-y” to me, but I’ll let it slide. Heck, you could jump in Dark Alliance .

The game also offers online co-op play for up to four friends and an offline two-player co-op. These are great because such games really excel when playing with a buddy; I still remember going through Dark Alliance II multiple times with my roommate. Plus, given the four separate characters – each with individual storylines – and plenty of incentive to keep powering up your fighter, you’ll get some serious bang for your buck. The customization of each character class and the addictive nature of the side-quests and exploration is great for role-playing fans, and the gameplay is both accessible and intricate. It tends to drag at times, but that’s minor.

Dungeon Siege III is a solid action/RPG with plenty of punch due to an engaging gameplay mechanic that offers some fresh features. The four characters provide players with very different combat experiences, the party system works well (with only a few small issues concerning AI), there are many places to explore and plenty of foes to fight, the multiplayer is a definite bonus, and the longevity is appreciated. The pacing takes a hit because I think the developers went a little overboard in terms of character depth, the camera can be problematic, and a few too many of the abilities seem pointless, but in the end, DSIII is a dungeon-crawling winner.

The Good: Decent soundtrack. Fluid action and animations. Accessible yet complex gameplay mechanics. Character customization is a big plus. Longevity is high. Fun and quite addictive. Multiplayer is a big bonus.

The Bad: Lacking visuals. Controls can be a little tough to get used to. Camera is a little funky. Pacing can slow due to overcomplicated character setup.

The Ugly: “Man, these NPCs look like they might actually be from Dark Alliance.”

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
31 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Victor321
Victor321
12 years ago

Downloaded the demo, but haven't had the time to play it (all those high school projects -_- despite the year almost being over).

Will play it ASAP to get a personal impression now that those aforementioned projects are finished =D

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
12 years ago

Surprised by this score, the game sounds pretty blah. Why can't Obsidian get with the times on their graphics and technicals? If I didn't have ten thousand games to play I might try the demo.

Geobaldi
Geobaldi
12 years ago

After playing the demo, the game is blah. It plays nothing like the previous games in the series at all. So unless things have drastically changed since the demo released 9 days ago, I'm not giving this game the time of day.

Teddie9
Teddie9
12 years ago

The demo was fun, Being a big rpg fan (the customization in this game is great) and a fan of several dungeon crawlers – I think I'll invest 🙂

mk ultra
mk ultra
12 years ago

Roll dodge and green and blue orbs does make it seem more action oriented. I was on the fence because of the party system but thats propably the reason im going to get it now. I need a good offline co-op adventure.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
12 years ago

Square Enix: "We can't make RPGs any more so we will publish other people's"

Lenoxseer
Lenoxseer
12 years ago

ditto my friend, ditto.

CrusaderForever
CrusaderForever
12 years ago

Hey Ben, I just wanted to say nice job! So fun to read your reviews. I played the demo and found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed and how well it seems Obsidian did. I was glued to my screen for 1.5 hours I spent on the demo.

I have one question Ben, how does the game handle online coop? Does it really only allow 1 player to save their level and loot?

I will definitely be picking this up, maybe sooner than later. Hopefully I can get lucky and find a good deal. Come on Amazon, work with me! 🙂

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

Crusader, that is exactly how the loot is handled.

This game will be a failure, guaranteed.

Oh wow look at this image of dungeon siege 3 showing off its epic lens flare effects from 1997.

http://media.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/dungeon-siege-3_005.jpg

Lens flares happen when looking out of a camera, right? Is there a camera in the dungeon? 🙂


Last edited by Palpatations911 on 6/16/2011 11:10:39 PM

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

I was a massive fan of the original Dungeon Siege because for me, it was the next best thing to Diablo 2 but it actually used Direct3D and had graphics acceleration.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, a game like this requires a quality online Co-Op to be successful and it really needed a lot of improvement in its visual flair, AI, and overall brutality when smashing through enemies. You toss a fireball at an enemy and it looks like he just gets singed by the fire, then falls over dead. It was very underwhelming.

In terms of the aforementioend Co-Op, this game does not allow the non-hosting players to save loot which is terrible. What is the point of playing a "loot grinding" game when you can't retain the loot because you're not the host?

Why in the world would they not allow this? Was it because of laziness or time constraints or budget? Was it because they couldn't find a reasonable way to prevent people from duplicating items? I'd rather have people walking around with duped items and godlike characters than not getting any loot at all.
I would bet money that the host can't even give the equipment to his friends.

Even if this was a 9.99 PSN title and discounted to 7.99 for PS+ users, I would find difficulty in spending money on it.

To everyone interested in this game, just go buy Sacred 2 out of the bargain bin and be glad you made a wiser investment.


Last edited by Palpatations911 on 6/16/2011 11:17:19 PM

CrusaderForever
CrusaderForever
12 years ago

Well, I can see why you are upset. But DSIII still looks like a great SP adventure. I will still pick it up. Oh and your comment about Sacred 2 is very valid. I have Sacred 2 for the PS3 and it is outstanding IMHO. Still hope for a resurrection of the Sacred name. Back to DSIII, I don't feel the MP deficiencies are a deal breaker. It's sad and a massive head scratcher. But maybe they can fix in a patch or maybe the horror story…..it will be released as part of a DLC!!!!!! 🙁

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
12 years ago

So…because of graphics and a loot thing nobody will notice unless they do multiplayer, the game is crap?

Okay.

Honestly, I hear a lot of unwarranted butt-hurt talk from original DS fans because DSIII is nothing like the first games. Right, it's a different game. That's true. You might have to get past the bias and find a way to view it objectively. Just my two cents.


Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 6/17/2011 12:16:48 AM

Alienange
Alienange
12 years ago

Since I've been playing Sacred 2 lately I just need to hear it. Sacred 2 or Dungeon Siege 3? Or is it that if I like one I'll like the other?

CrusaderForever
CrusaderForever
12 years ago

I honestly think you like one you will like the other. I have put about 15 hours in Sacred 2 and 1.5 into DSIII and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed both. If I had to choose, as of right now, I would choose Sacred 2.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
12 years ago

Sacred 2 is a lot like DSIII. Sacred 2 is a little more open but DSIII is darker and a bit more complex. Also, you have a party.

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

Yeah if you like sacred you will probably like this game. I would imagine most CoD players would find some enjoyment in playing BF, and vice versa. However, if you like to play online you will be disappointed when you join your friends game and you have to play with a default character while he has his tricked out player.

You can probably find Sacred 2 for $10 at the store whereas Dungeon Siege 3 will be $59.99 and really doesn't innovate the Hack and Slash genre in any interesting way.

If I hadn't played either of them, I would stick with Sacred 2.

Thats just my opinion though.

Claire C
Claire C
12 years ago

Sacred 2 runs pretty poorly *screen tearing and framerate issues* so I bet DS3 is probably the better of the two.

big6
big6
12 years ago

Thanks for the heads-up on Sacred 2!
I'll be getting this from the bargain bin. Just checked out some pics and it looks pretty good.

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

I would have been butthurt if I had to review this game.

The point i made about the co op and the graphics are absolutely true. Theyre using graphical effects from 1997 and remote users during co-op can't save loot. Graphics DO matter, by the way. If they didn't, Blizzard could repackage Diablo 2 and put it on a Next Gen console and duplicate their exact same success that they had when it was originally released. However, try playing Diablo 2 now. It's one of the greatest games ever made but it doesn't hold up when your maximum resolution it can be played at is 800×600. You know for a fact graphics are important depending on the type of game. For mindless loot grinding games, graphics are important. The story line certainly isn't going to engage you in most cases. That is going to make a lot of people "butthurt" when they drop $59.99 for a game that is missing features and has worse graphics that older and "lesser" games have.

Even without talking about Co-Op, the plot is boring, and the cutscenes are uninteresting. So why purchase a game like this at retail value as opposed to a better game like Deathspank? (Which is a PSN downloadable title) The only reason I can think of is the fact that there are really no must have games coming out until approximately November. Some people need a way to spend their summer, I guess.

Should have been a low budget retail game or a 9.99 PSN game.


Last edited by Palpatations911 on 6/17/2011 12:38:45 AM

Claire C
Claire C
12 years ago

The only thing good about Deathspank is its unique visuals. I found the gameplay to be incredibly boring and tedious, and the *hilarious* jokes to be rather dull. I stopped playing just before finishing it.

Underdog15
Underdog15
12 years ago

Welcome to PSXE, Palpatations! Thanks for commenting!

Just a little tip for ya. If you post a comment, people can click the reply button. However, there is no reply button on other replys. What people do when there is a thread of replys, is just reply to the initial poster in that thread. In other words, a little higher up, Crusade and Ben both replied to you. You can keep that thread going by also replying to yourself. Your reply will drop right under Ben's comment.

It just keeps conversations focused and localized. 🙂 Enjoy!

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
12 years ago

No idea what you're talking about.

These are exactly the types of games where graphics are NOT a big requirement. Nobody cared that Champions and Dark Alliance didn't set high-quality graphics bars. From that perspective, who really cares so much? It's ALL about the gameplay.

And nobody really cares about the storyline or characters in dungeon-crawlers, either. This is not your standard RPG. Sounds to me like you really can't come up with any other complaint besides, "oh gee, the graphics aren't any good and we have a co-op loot problem."

There just MIGHT be other factors involved. Go read other reviews if you like. The game is averaging right around what I gave it- an 8. And there's a reason for that.

Claire C
Claire C
12 years ago

I played the demo and thought the combat was pretty good and other elements were too but that the visuals were very bland.

I was very interested to see your take on the final game. Now I'm looking forward to picking it up sometime in the near future.

=<.<=

Lawless SXE
Lawless SXE
12 years ago

Hah… I actually managed to excite myself for this one when researching for my preview last week, and it sounds like Obsidian finally managed to deliver something that is technically sound, though that perhaps has more to do with S-E's QA, because we all know that Sega and Bethesda are somewhat lax when it comes to that.

Sounds solid and I've been after a dungeon crawler… Just about the only type of game NOT in my collection at this point. Though if I do wind up getting it, it'll be a cheaper purchase down the track. Gotta hate having a restricted leisure budget, but it's a good thing. If I were as free as I used to be, I'd never get my car paid off.
Peace.

big6
big6
12 years ago

Hey Ben, why did you just brush over the co-op portion? I'm assuming that it's because you had an early review copy and, obviously, your friends are unable to obtain such a copy themselves.

Co-op was the only reason for me to pick this game up. After reading several articles on how it's "simplified" to allow only the host to advance his character, whereas the co-op partners act just as supporting chars with no progression, I have to vote with my dollar and skip this game.
Disappointing really…as I was really hoping to enjoy some co-op dungeon crawling.

For now, I'll just have to stick with Dungeon Hunter and pick up D&D: Daggerdale afterwards.

Beamboom
Beamboom
12 years ago

Ben is a single player gamer and has so far never paid much attention to the co-op features in games. You have to keep that in mind when reading reviews here. Other sites pay more attention to that particular aspect of a game in their reviews.


Last edited by Beamboom on 6/18/2011 4:41:06 AM

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

I heard Daggerdale was pretty bleak also, unfortunately 🙁

SolidFantasy
SolidFantasy
12 years ago

Not bad! Looks alright. Unfortunately I saving up for Deus Ex as my next big RPG venture.

burnedknight
burnedknight
12 years ago

Looks good i will probably pick it up. Should hold me over till WKC2 comes out

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

This review really damaged any credibility this site had. Even gamespot recognized that this game failed to live up to the expecations that the previous games created. Gamespot gave it a 6.5 which is pretty much on par.


Last edited by Palpatations911 on 7/13/2011 1:08:50 AM

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
12 years ago

Yes Ben, those two reasons plus the fact that you can not use your own characters while playing remotely.

You mentioned Dark Alliance and that had solid graphics for that generation of consoles. Oh and guess what, you could use your own characters in TCP/IP co op and you could save loot which are some of the core features you should have in a multiplayer Diablo-Esque game.

Good conversation bro but so far you're the only one that has disagreed with me on this one. I have friends, who also have friends and you know what? We like to do stuff together, as friends. This includes gaming!

I think i'll just wait for Borderlands 2!!!

31
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x