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Gaming Dungeon Siege 3 Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 23 Jun 2011.

  1. arcticstoat

    arcticstoat Minimodder

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  2. XXAOSICXX

    XXAOSICXX Minimodder

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  3. sear

    sear What's a Dremel?

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    I think this is a pretty good review, though I would have liked a bit more commentary and detail on the actual game mechanics, balance and so on rather than "it's fine."

    That's the big thing I noticed about Dungeon Siege III myself - it's very competent mechanically, quests are all logical and tie in well with the story, there's even some mild choice and consequence in there, etc., but it all has this sort of staleness that you wouldn't expect from an Obsidian game (though that said, some of the music is excellent). At times it seems like the presentation is nearing Icewind Dale as far as atmosphere goes, but it never quite gets there and then it's back to "boring fantasy hovel" or "like the city of Tarant in Arcanum, but less interesting."

    Whether or not you're willing to spend your time and money on a perfectly serviceable and rather fun aRPG without it necessarily doing anything special is an interesting question - most games we get these days are usually either fairly outstanding and at least have something to help separate them from the pack, even if it's just a gimmick or visual flair, or are just not very good, but Obsidian's game here has the rare status of being smack in the middle.

    Not sure how I feel about how the review handled the visual side of the game. For me graphics have long reached the point where they're "good enough that I don't really care" and I don't think it's very reasonable to expect every game to have the cinematic presentation of bit-tech's "RPG" of the Year, Mass Effect 2 - it's focus on heavy visuals, full voice acting etc. that's doing damage to the narrative depth and complexity of games in the first place since it's literally a hundred times more expensive to provide that sort of storytelling, and while Dungeon Siege III isn't exactly going to win awards there, I'd much rather see the developers spend their budget on getting the gameplay right rather than build a game where the goal is to sit through one interactive cutscene to the next while popping moles in between.
     
  4. MrCraigL

    MrCraigL What's a Dremel?

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    @sear - Like you say, it really is smack in the middle which makes it a difficult review to write. And yeah, it totally depends on what you want out of an RPG and whether you really need a new one in your life. Some people are happy to settle for average if it's a genre they like and they can play co-op, but for me, when there's so many alternatives, it seems pointless - especially if it's going to bog me down in rubbish plot.

    For the visual side - I knocked it because a game either has to look interesting or be pretty, and I don't think DS3 is either. Zoom in a bit in the normal view and everything looks smeared and ugly, then washed over with some cheap neon particle effects. Whereas if you look at Torchlight which is older and cheaper - it doesn't go for "real" but it does look interesting and it's clear. I remember Titan Quest looking better than this to me - but it's probably been a year since I played that.

    Glad you liked the review anyway.
     
  5. Paradigm Shifter

    Paradigm Shifter de nihilo nihil fit

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    Sounds like they've removed what (IMO) was one of the more innovative methods of levelling your character up in an RPG - the 'the more you use it, the better it gets' system. OK, so Final Fantasy II was doing that back in 1988, but it's not a mechanism that got used an awful lot. It was certainly better than the 'add points to skills freely' system, IMO.

    Bah, now I want to play Dungeon Siege 1 and 2 again.

    This review solidified the opinion of DS3 I gained from talking with people who bought it - capable but uninspiring. I'll likely pick it up when it hits the 'cheap shelf' in a Steam sale.
     
  6. Grimloon

    Grimloon What's a Dremel?

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    I'd probably rate it a little higher (not much though) but TBH at the moment when I get in from work what I need is exactly what this game delivers - acceptable graphics, unsurprising mechanics and a lack of needing to think. Remove brain, open beer, play game - job done! I haven't tried multi player yet but expect that it'll either give it a bit more longevity or be an excercise in frustration, one or the other. There's also some variation possible by changing stances mid fight, at least with the two I've used so far. Abilities with duration also appear to persist after the stance has changed (at least with Anjali - fire mage) so you can vary the play style a touch more than is immediately apparent.

    As far as the console port is concerened, I had a 360 controller plugged in to the PC and it immediately defaulted to that, the ability icons end up highlighted in the apporiate button colour. I reckon that'd confirm that the PC UI was tacked on afterwards, wouldn't it? ;)

    @ Paradigm Shifter: There's a mastery bar, no idea what it does yet as I haven't RTFM'd at this point but it does appear to be increasing on my more commonly used abilities.

    I bought the bundle pack from Steam with the two previous games so don't feel that I got too bad a deal out of it, I figure £35 for all 3 in the series is reasonable. I never did play the second one and have no idea where my copy of the first one went!
     
  7. Cei

    Cei pew pew pew

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    The Mastery bar, once full, grants you access to an extra ability for that power. For example, I'm playing as the gun-rogue character, with my super power being an extra damage shot. I filled the mastery bar, and now I can shoot out three super powered bullets.

    Apparently a patch is coming for better PC controls. I'm using a 360 controller as well.
     
  8. PingCrosby

    PingCrosby What's a Dremel?

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    Is Garcia Hotspur in this?
     
  9. Yemerich

    Yemerich I can has PERSUADETRON?

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    hmmm I was hoping for a good score on this one. Shame..... It has been a looong time since I last played a game that blew up my mind....
     
  10. Kiytan

    Kiytan Shiny

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    Nice review, and lines up with the impressions I got from playing the demo: Functional.

    Think I'll go play another run through of titan quest (which still looks pretty good)
     
  11. Grimloon

    Grimloon What's a Dremel?

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    @Cei: Cheers for that. I'm using Anjali (fire mage) and there's a sweet little AoE DoT that I use all the time which is nearly full, I'll see what I get when it's there.
     
  12. Denis_iii

    Denis_iii What's a Dremel?

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    I'll happily wait for Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3 :)
     
  13. himmelsturmerIX

    himmelsturmerIX What's a Dremel?

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    Currently playing Dungeon Siege III, enjoying it so far. It is IMO a beautiful looking game. I love the character design (the female one at least).
    The control on PC suffer from consolitis; it's not as intuitive as you expect using a keyboard and mouse, this game is not point and click ala diablo anymore.
    It is obvious that this game is made to be played on controller, and therefore arises issues that made it not as good as it could have been on PC.

    Some of the example of consolitis:
    1.Lack of precision in targeting which enemy to attack (the game rely on auto targeting, you can't even change the target once it's locked on).
    2.To move instead of clicking the ground, you have to keep right mouse button pressed.
    3. Lack of key mapping feature.
    4.Only 2 camera distance.

    The lack of precision/freedom in targeting is my biggest gripe with this game, it feel dumbed down, even when shooting in no particular direction the game snap you into shooting into breakable objects. It feels like the game is being played for you, instead of you playing the game.
    It's not game breaking but it could definitely be better.
    I heard a PC control patch is coming, I hope it address the issues I mention above.

    I have not finished playing the game, despite my critic of it I do enjoy playing this game and could not wait to go home and play some more.

    I say this game score a solid 7.5
     
  14. the-beast

    the-beast What's a Dremel?

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    Is this game limited to steam only or are the retail editions drm free?
     
  15. Skiddywinks

    Skiddywinks Minimodder

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    Damn, where did this game come from? Looks very promising.
     
  16. MrCraigL

    MrCraigL What's a Dremel?

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    From what I can find, retail uses Steamworks too.
     
  17. Sheiken

    Sheiken Wat?

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    Actually I am really enjoying it! But on the other hand, I enjoyed Duke Nukem as well ;)

    I think the game world is very well constructed and very immersive!

    I think the way you lvl and choose attributes SUX though, as well does the inv system.
     
  18. rojo

    rojo What's a Dremel?

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    I'll be waiting on the steam sales myself on this one.

    I have to agree with the review, does nothng special and is to bland for me.
     
  19. EdwardTeach

    EdwardTeach What's a Dremel?

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    I think I may pick this up when it goes on sale. My impression from the reviews I have seen was that this was a lazy port.
    First impressions count a lot! Console menus & poor controls are a massive turn off.

    Do you think PC gamers would be happy to get the game a month later than consoles of it was properly optimised?

    It just seems crazy to release a game in this state, it will ensure mediocre reviews = mediocre sales. Really shot themselves in the foot.
     
  20. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    I enjoyed the first 2 games, though I will admit they had no replayablity for me. Was really hoping this would be worth digging into. So few rpg type games these days, and of those few there are even less worth the time. Guess I'll wait on Bioware to entertain me.
     
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