Dungeon Siege 3 Review (PS3)

Visually pretty, generic RPG that serves as a mere taster for Diablo 3…

AH, RPGs. Whether you like them Western, Japanese, fantastical, steampunk, futuristic, action, turn based, strategical, or more, there’s always a safe core of functions you can rely on. Stat trees, character development, epic boss fights, tens of hours of gameplay, weird names for people and places, odd forms of magic and skills – when ytou know a game is an RPG, you know what you are getting. Which is why, for a game that got so many things right, DS3 falls flat due to missing a couple of core necessities for a modern RPG.

So, DS3 is a classic action RPG in the style of Diablo or Baldurs Gate, developed by Obsidian and updated from the original PC series for the modern gamer. Played in a 3D isometric view (the staple for all well meaning dungeon crawlers), players control one of four main characters, who fall into the brawler/mage/ranged/mixed categories, and each have two attack styles which can be switched at will. So, for example, anyone choosing to play the feisty Anjali can switch between ranged fireball attacks and closeup stick fighting at the click of a button (with relative special attacks for each stance).

Notice the lack of healer? Well, there aren’t any health potions either. All characters have a stock healing power, which relies on a simple battle system and several power bars. The standard health bar is underscored by a focus bar, which is is consumed by special attacks, and filled by standard ones. Using special attacks fills a Power meter, which is then used for healing and more powerful attacks. Round this out with blocking, dodging, Empowered moves and instant stance changes, and there’s a fair bit to tinker with.

Except there isn’t. All nine special abilities unlock naturally over the course of the game, and each level up instead is used to tweak stats a little bit. And the problem is, over the course of the game, I had little idea what different stats actually did – so long as you dodge regularly, switch attack stance depending on the circumstance, and keep using the healing spell, you’ll breeze through nearly every encounter in the game. Which quickly became very evident in the games boss fights – most were just a game of patience and button hammering until they keeled over.

So, onto the presentation. The voice acting is ok-to-hammy, but the graphics are pretty cool. The view tends to keep everything at a respectable distance, but abusing the roaming camera shows that close up, most character models look pretty tasty, and changing armour and weapons is subtly reflected in colour and occasional design changes. Each character seems to possess three models per armour piece (helmet, body, legs, etc.), and then change colour depending on associated buffs. Again, the buffs didn’t seem to have much effect during gameplay, but those looking for something easy on the eye shouldn’t be too disappointed.

But you all really want to know about the story – you are one of the last members of a sacred order who were decimated thirty years before by the games bad-lady du jour, Jeyne Kassynder. Your guys were accused of murdering the King, and Kassynder and her associates seized the opportunity to assume command of the country. The game begins with an attack on one of the final strongholds of your order, and progresses into your attempts to rebuild it and uncover the truth what really happened. Add in a sprinkling of different races and cultures (witches, goblins, cyclops, etc.) and the game is ripe for a variety of stories and sub quests.

And, at a base level it succeeds – side quests often involve secret dungeons, and tend to reward you with plenty of XP and loot. The shame is, everything happens so quickly – by my reckoning, most side quests take about 15 to 30 minutes to complete (often alongside one another), and the main story is about 6 main quests (including the introduction), which run at about 2 to 3 hours apiece. I finished the game at 100% completion in about 12 hours, which by RPG standards, is barely the first of five chapters.

The story is good, with various factions and towns adding depth to the land and its people. But you breeze through far too quickly, often hitting a final boss just as you expect to uncover a deeper plot. This is fine for such generic gameplay as is found in DS3, but it does also make the game feel rushed and unfinished. And when it’s linked with such repetitive loot drops, the game game feels somehow less epic.

One more thing of note is multiplayer – you can drop in on another persons game and control one of the various sidekicks, and slap buttock in up to four player mayhem. In reality, you can’t import your own character, you can’t save one you are currently playing, and you spend most of your time wishing you were back in charge in the single player. At least the connection was smooth, and didn’t seem to lag or drop too much.

DS3 isn’t actually a bad game – the story is pretty interesting, and earlier actions have impact on later scenarios – the ending also shows you how everyone ended up after your choices in the game. The combat isn’t too bad either, if a bit repetitive, and the levelling is a case of subtle differences instead of game changers. The real shame is the lifespan – it’s too short for an RPG, which not only kills the creative depth, but the character depth too, as there isn’t enough time to really invest in your stats. It’ll certainly fill a brief gap in the long wait until Diablo 3 (oh, God, the wait…), but it’s more of a brief snack than a satisfying lunch.

Bronze Y Award

3.5 / 5