So... let's discuss Dungeon Siege III

[Sicom]

What's everyone's thoughts on this upcoming action RPG? From what I've seen, the combat is more similar to the Diablo series than the previous installments of Dungeon Siege were, but there is a greater focus on the RPG element. Like many traditional RPG's, you're given dialogue choices during many NPC interactions and it's largely story driven.

GameSpot has a short but good co-op gameplay video up: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/dunge...&mode=previews

Frankly, the game play looks fun as hell, and the visuals are appealing. Hands on previews seem to indicate as much as well.

I'm actually more excited that this game is being cooperatively developed between two studios, Obsidian and SquareEnix, as opposed to the original developer, Gas Powered Games. I'm sure you're all familiar with SquareEnix, and I think they're offering more in the way of input than actual game development. Whereas Obsidian, who by the way is the talented albeit small studio that developed Neverwinter Nights 2, seems to be handling most of the actual game development and writing.

So yeah, something to tide us over until Diablo 3 hits store shelves? Or perhaps Torchlight 2.
(e) This is looking like a May-June release by the way.

[Technomancer]

This really belongs in the 'Other Games' forum. Other than that, I don't really have anything to add since Dungeon Siege hasn't made it past my 'to play' list yet. :(

[Thecla]

The original Dungeon Siege is my most hated game of all time. By the time I got through, I felt like I would've been better off spending the time chewing through a plank of wood or perhaps carving a rabbit out of a block of granite with a teaspoon.

Maybe subsequent Dungeon Siege's were an improvement, but I've never been inclined to find out.

[Sicom]

The original Dungeon Siege is my most hated game of all time. By the time I got through, I felt like I would've been better off spending the time chewing through a plank of wood or perhaps carving a rabbit out of a block of granite with a teaspoon.

Maybe subsequent Dungeon Siege's were an improvement, but I've never been inclined to find out.

I didn't care for the first Dungeon Siege either, and I skipped the second after only glancing at some video footage.

But this third installment is looking really promising in my eyes.

[Septar]

Obsidian is pretty well known for releasing games laced to the anus with bugs. They're pretty good at story though, I might try it out.

[AxeX]

I had a lot of fun with Dungeon Siege 2. I'm sad to see Dungeon Siege 3 has almost no connection to 2. If I ever do get the money, I'll probably buy it. Though, I'll most likely wait until some special edition comes out after the inevitable expansion gets released. Thats how I got DS2 anyways.

The only thing that has peaked my interest in the game so far is the fact that they seemed to have removed that retarded party thing they had going on in 2. I don't mind that in say, Mass Effect, but in an ARPG its just way out of place.

Obsidian is pretty well known for releasing games laced to the anus with bugs. They're pretty good at story though, I might try it out.

Heres to hoping Obsidian is as smart as GPG and they let the game be moddable then.

[Sicom]

Obsidian is pretty well known for releasing games laced to the anus with bugs. They're pretty good at story though, I might try it out.

Mhm, it's what happens when you're on a rushed schedule. They don't have the freedom that a lot of triple-A developers have, but they aim equally big. However, they always provide great support after a game's release, fixing bugs and other issues. Plus they developed one of my all time favorite games, so I'm a bit biased.

Here's to hoping DS3 is great on launch day, not weeks or months down the road.

[Moonfrost]

Maybe subsequent Dungeon Siege's were an improvement, but I've never been inclined to find out.

I played DS2 for a bit but gave up a dozen or so hours in because of this one thing that really pissed me off.

You see, every once in a while you'll come across something you can't interact with (e.g. a door, chest, NPC) just because you don't meet some specific requirement (e.g. possess the right key, skill or NPC in your party). The problem is, the game doesn't take notes of these locations and how to get there later; that's up to you to do.

Even worse, the game uses a waypoint system similar to that of D2, except each area is about 10 times more linear yet somehow 20 times more confusing, so to quickly find the right place you basically need to take screenshots of the map or use a walkthrough. Sounds like fun?

To illustrate, I'll use an example from Gamebanshee's walkthrough. This is one of the earliest areas in the game (Act 1, that is):



See all the numbers? Now imagine that they're not there on the actual map and then read the following:

3 - Some Abandoned Ruins

The ruins are also involved the quest Finala's Contempt, which you'll receive in Act Two. During the quest, Finala will discover another secret room in the ruins, and you'll be able to go through the secret room to access the Morden towers to the east (#5).

5 - Morden Tower

You won't be able to access this tower until you've picked up the secondary quest Finala's Contempt.

8 - Razka's Ruins

You'll find an elevator here that will take you down to an underground chamber. At the southern end of the chamber, you'll run into a door marked with an "X." The door is a part of the quest Deru's Treasure Hunt, which you'll receive in Act Two.

10 - Circle of Mushrooms

When you bring Amren (Act 2 NPC. -Moon) to the circle of mushrooms, it will turn into an elevator. See the Amren's Vision quest entry for more information.

So yeah, unless you're using a walkthrough or just happen to be some kind of oracle who knows which quest will take you back where, you'll be visiting that same area a handful of times over the course the game.

Out of all the horrible ways in which developers artificially inflate the amount of time it takes you to play through the game, recycling content by forcing the player to backtrack has to be one of the laziest imaginable.

Also, the game as a whole sucks.

[Sicom]

Well, thankfully, Dungeon Siege 3 will feature a whole new engine (though that could mean bugs galore...) and is being developed by different studios from the ground up. Obsidian are a talented lot that know how to tell a great story.

[ThomasJ]

I liked the last 2 alot. I'm sure I'll get this one as well.