Dungeon Siege 2

Dungeon Siege 2 from Microsoft has finally arrived. The original was plagued with a few key hindrances, although it was widely considered a very good game. Microsoft made the smart move of attempting to fix all of the problems while expand on the positive aspects of the game, something many forget to do when developing a sequel. These moves helped to make Dungeon Siege 2 a solid RPG.

Dungeon Siege 2 really ended up accomplishing many of the goals that were intended for it. Dungeon Siege 2 is simply one of those games that just gets all of the basics right and has the right amount of unique concept and ideas to set it apart. The original game had the action spot-on and it contained some inspired visuals for its time, but now the sequel improves upon those and fixes the problems a more challenging difficulty level, a longer storyline, and overall it has enough new concepts call it a true sequel.

Similar to the original game, Dungeon Siege 2 is also a fairly easy to grasp RPG. The core of the game mechanics themselves are very similar to the original game. Rather than controlling a single character and then having a couple support characters, Dungeon Siege 2 allows the player to control up to six characters in a party at once, something that isn’t too common for RPG’s.

Upgrading in Dungeon Siege 2 is very unique in the RPG world and offers quite a bit of customization over how the characters develop and improve. Unlike other games, a characters class is mainly determined by what that character does in battle. When leveling up, characters than earn skill points which the player can attribute to a variety of skills. One thing that is important to know is to focus on the important skills, primarily the ones directly affecting your characters class, rather than trying to be proficient in everything (you will only end up with a very weak character).

Fighting in Dungeon Siege 2 is controlled primarily by selecting a character(s) and then right-clicking on the desired target. From there, you can press one of a few simple buttons to have the other characters in the party do certain things, such as all engage in melee against the enemy, or simply let the AI control the other members of the party. While in combat, there are a decent number attacks and a good selection of skills and magic attacks to choose from.

Dungeon Siege 2 uses the same graphical engine as the original Dungeon Siege. While the original game truly did look good when it came out, now the engine is quite dated. Dungeon Siege 2, although improved greatly and carrying some beautiful special effects, definitely shows the signs of this dated engine and, for the most part, isn’t overly impressive. Environments can be somewhat bland, characters a little under detailed, and the animations repetitive and poor in cases.

The sound aspect of the game, however, is quite a different tale altogether. The game has an excellent audio department that really shines in its special effects. The music isn’t awe inspiring by any means, but the clings and clangs all sound perfect and are always right on cue. Just moving throughout the game, fighting the battles, and engaging in ordinary tasks sounds excellent, improving the overall quality of the game.

Dungeon Siege 2 isn’t an epic RPG that will grip fans and produce tons of followers, however it does succeed in delivering an original, fun experience that most RPG fans will enjoy. If you love RPG’s on the PC, then Dungeon Siege 2 should definitely be considered for purchase.