Dungeon Siege 2 (PC)
 

There was a demo of this on the latest PC Gamer DVD that came in the mail last night, so I popped it in and gave it a try. I only played for an hour or so, but here are my initial impressions:

* Gameplay and Interface: Nearly identical to the first game. Point at the bad guy, and your character kills it. Level up your skills by using them. Etc. It does seem a bit less automated than the first game (which practically played itself), but not by much.

* Content: You can now choose from four different races: Human, Dryad, Elf, and Half-Giant. Each with their own pros and cons. This should add some variety, especially in multiplayer.

This game borrows a lot of concepts from the Diablo games that weren't in the original Dungeon Siege. There's now a "tech tree" for your skills, which include special abilities you can level up and use. Very nice improvement. You can also upgrade certain weapons and armor (similar to the socketed items in Diablo 2). Also, once you complete the game, you can go through it again on a higher difficulty (a feature that was sorely lacking in the first game).

The quest system has been updated as well. It's very similar to World of Warcraft (right down to the ! and ? over the heads of NPC's).

* Graphics: This uses the exact same engine as the original game. The "seamless universe" isn't quite as innovative anymore, but it's still fun to see. The polygon count on everything has been improved, with a little buff and polish...but don't expect the latest video bells and whistles.

And I still don't understand why my character has a kink in his neck. I want to look up, dammit! Very frustrating when you get to a slope and you have to zoom way out just to see something that's 10 feet above you.

The journal/quest log is very pretty, but hard to read at a high resolution (teeny tiny fonts).

* Production Values: Very high, a lot of polish...even more so than the first game. All of the NPCs have voice acting behind them (which makes even short conversations tedious). There are well-done cutscenes, some of which are integrated into the story. They've dumped a lot of money into this side of the game.

The music (on the demo anyway) was identical to the first game.

* Storyline: Doesn't seem to be a continuation of the first game (which didn't really have much of a storyline at all). The storyline here is a blatant rip-off of Lord of the Rings. I mean, it's REALLY blatant. But the story arc for your character is a lot more interesting than the first game (you begin not as a farmboy, but as a mercenary in the employ of the main villain).

* Multiplayer: This demo didn't include multiplayer, so I have no comment. I didn't really care for the way multiplayer was implemented in the first game, so hopefully it's improved.

* Verdict: Based on the demo, this game is ready to ship! I like the improvements they've made, but my initial thoughts are that it's still too close to the original game. I'm going to play through the rest of the demo, and may consider purchasing this when it gets down to $20 or so.

This game is due to be released next month for PC only.

Yeah, this just went gold, I'm excited to give it a try, I heard the first was fun but never played it.

I think I'll pass on this one. The first one was quite repetitive (but pretty to look at) and the only reason I finished it was I had gotten so far and I wanted to see the end (hah!)

There just doesn't appear to be enough differences to make it worthwhile. And it doesn't help that the graphics engine was hardly (if at all) upgraded.

Any word on needed specs?

I liked the first one, so I'll be picking this up as well.

I remember playing around with it at E3, and picking up a free shirt to boot. Too bad its XL and doesn't fit me. Just for that, screw this game. ;)

Agreed. I also love the music and visuals of the first one, probably will pass on this one or maybe pick it up when it's in the bargain bin.
Also I dislike the linearity of these type of games, you just keep following the path. At least Baldur's Gate : Dark Alliance 2 (for the consoles) broke it up a bit with some side quests and personalized areas for each character (and it was fun to be able to make your own magic items).

I just finished playing the demo and it's pretty good. I enjoyed the first game (if simply for the fun of collecting items and mules in multiplayer). This one is far improved. There are side quests you can do which adds to the game and makes it seem less repetitive. This time there is more interaction with items and customizable characters. It does seem like they borrowed a lot from Diablo, right down to the little pygmies you fight in the jungle. This turns out to be a good thing though, because it makes the game better. The story is a rip-off of Lord of the Rings and somewhat cheesy, but at least it held my interest for the most part. The demo pretty much hooked me. I'll definitely buy the game when it comes out.

I'll wait for the movie.

Looks good.

What is it with Uwe Boll (the director) and video games? He's done House of the Dead, and Alone in the Dark, and doing Dungeon Siege, Far Cry, Bloodrayne, and Fear Effect.

fixed