Dungeon delving defiantly done, er, well. (Dungeon Siege II (PC))

Member Name: Rocketeer007

Product:	Dungeon Siege II (PC)
Date:	26/10/08 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good graphics, simple game-play

Disadvantages: Fairly simple missions

Dungeon Siege II follows on from the original Dungeon Siege game in both story and gameplay.

The game is in concept a fairly typical third person RPG (Role Playing Game), although instead of controlling just one character, you control a group of up to 6 adventurers.
In the single player game, you control one of these directly, and the others will follow and assist as instructed (you can, of course, switch which is your character at any point); in the multiplayer mode, friends on other computers will be controlling the second character.

You have a choice of 4 races to play - Dryads, Elves, Half-giants and Humans, each with it's own advantages and disadvantages.
The story line is fairly linear - each mission leads on to the next, although you can end up with several side missions to complete at any one time.

The graphics are spectacular - although of course your results may vary depending on your system configuration.
Similarly, the sound - music, sound effects and voice acting - are well put together and bring the player deeper into the game.

The gameplay though is the controversial aspect. Like Dungeon Siege, advancement in skill is gained through use of that particular skill, although there are some choices to be made when levelling up that make the talent tree more noticeable in this game

However, almost all missions resolve to "Find the bad guys, kill them", or often just "Go here... kill all in your path". This is a true hack-and-slash game, with no finesse in the execution of missions.

To me, that's great... I don't want to have to think all the time... but don't expect the complexities you'd find in a game like Neverwinter Nights or Morrowind.

Summary: This is a fantastic hack-and-slash... but not for those who want deeper stories!