It’s almost difficult to believe that at one stage the hack-and-slash RPG genre was one of gaming’s biggest. So often we get caught up in this world of AAA first person shooters, or high fantasy third person RPGs, we forget that for a long time, isometric viewpoints and point-and-click control mechanics were prominent favourites amongst gamers.
However, this aging genre seems to be regaining traction, with the likes of Torchlight recently capturing the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of gamers, and of course the ever-lurking Diablo III which promises to be released early in 2012 if not late in 2011.
Speaking of Diablo III, Dungeon Siege III could not have picked a better time to be released. With the aforementioned behemoth lurking just around the corner, interest in hack-and-slash RPGs has not been this high in years. At the same time, the wait for Diablo III is still long enough to justify a quick dungeon trawling romp in the meantime.
I will confess, my first impressions of Dungeon Siege III were not great. As a PC gamer, the extent to which the interface has been “streamlined” for our thumb-twiddling cousins was a bit of downer. The control system is a little unusual, combining numerous keyboard inputs with point and click mouse mechanics. For instance, players block using the space bar, and switch between stances using the Q key. WASD is also incorporated, and it quickly becomes clear that using these four keys is the best way to control your character’s movement.
Fortunately, within an hour or two the control scheme feels natural, hovering somewhere between a classic point and click interface and a keyboard driven setup one would expect in a third person action adventure game. As I got used to the layout and interface, the game started to become rather enjoyable, and even quite compelling.
Another thing I noticed early on is that Dungeon Siege III is an absolute treat for the eyes. Textures are rendered with impeccable detail, and environments are ludicrously lush, while colours are vibrant, and lighting effects simply stunning. To be blunt, Dungeon Siege III is the best looking hack and Slash RPG released to date, and is really nothing short of an absolute joy to behold.
Not only does it boast impressive visuals, but with a good sound system or headphones, the audio is simply outstanding. A ridiculous amount of detail has been built into the sound design, with accurate and solid surround audio placement, and a wide variety of unique sound effects which help each environment to really come alive.
In terms of production values, the Dungeon Siege 3 preview code I played was extremely impressive. In over 10 hours of playtime I did not experience a single crash or bug, and the aforementioned audio and visual brilliance is exactly what we would hope to get out of a current generation RPG.
Dungeon Siege III’s story picks up where the previous game left off. The kingdom of Ehb is embroiled in a brutal civil war, and the 10th legion has been destroyed but for a few remaining individuals, of which you play one. The basic premise of the game is to rebuild the legion and lead a powerful rebel attack against the cruel Jeyne Kassynder and her zealot army.
Players can choose between four heroes. There is a standard warrior class, a gun slinging rogue-type character, a mysterious fire demon called Anjali, and a mage. Players will select one of these options at the outset, and the other three characters will join your party at different points in the game. Unlike previous games in the series, you will only ever be able to directly control your own hero, although you will be able to control your companions’ level up process and outfit them with items of your choice. Sadly, your party can never consist of more than two characters, and you are able to switch between companions at any time.
One of the neat innovations behind Dungeon Siege III’s game design is the dual-stance combat system. Pressing Q switches between the two unique combat states, which vary between characters. The gunslinger will switch between a rifle and dual hand cannons, while the mage will switch between powerful electricity fuelled melee combat and a ranged attack which causes area of effect damage. Each stance has its own special abilities and spells, which can be unlocked and upgraded in the levelling system.
There are a few interesting gameplay design tweaks, which while subtle, can make a rather large impact on the player’s experience. Performing attacks accumulates “focus” which allows you to cast more powerful spells or unlock more powerful versions of abilities. While it took me a little while to get into it, when I became adept at taking advantage the combat system’s features, it became highly enjoyable and even addictive.
Another of Dungeon Siege’s real strengths is its pacing. The story advances at a satisfyingly speedy rate, and as it progresses players visit a variety of interesting, and beautifully rendered locations. Within the first 10 hours players will have visited murky swamps, dusty dungeons, dense forests, a massive haunted mansion, and the glorious city that is Stone Bridge. Along the way you will be presented with various different enemies, and there is no shortage of boss fights, most of which are challenging and feel suitably substantial.
Players will also constantly be acquiring new loot which they can equip to their hero as well as their companion. Like in any good RPG, the loot does a good job of keeping the player driving forward. There seems to never be a slightly better shield around the next corner, and the difficulty swings between quite challenging and rather easy depending on what items you have equipped and what abilities your are using.
Despite its obviously console friendly design, the actual RPG component of the game feels remarkably robust and is actually quite deep. While it advances quickly (I hit level 14 at around 9 hours), there is an element of weight behind the entire process, which is just what you want in an action orientated hack and slash RPG.
The voice acting is average, and the character animations – while not overly impressive – do the job just fine. There is a distinct, subtle humour embedded in the conversations, and while it is not something that is particularly memorable, the narrative tone is pleasant enough.
One of the game’s biggest selling points is its online cooperative play. While I never had a chance to try this out, provided the system is well implemented, Dungeon Siege III looks like a game that will benefit greatly from being able to go dungeon trawling with friends.
While the entire thing got off to a bit of a shaky start, I was left with an altogether very positive impression of the game. Most importantly, it has that X factor which had me promising myself “just another 30 minutes” on a few late nights over the past week.
Dungeon Siege III is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and is due out on 17 June.
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