Dungeon Siege III

As a former high school basketball player, I understand the value of the "glue guy" role: A solid, dependable contributor who isn't exactly on par with the team's superstars, but whose performances are nevertheless valuable to the squad. If I assemble a list of RPGs on the XBox 360, Dungeon Siege 3 will be the "glue game". It's a game that has few glaring weaknesses, coupled with enough strengths to make it stand out slightly above the crowd. It's not a game that will forever change RPG game history, but it is fun and memorable in its own right.

DS 3 tells the tale of a civil war in the country Ehb. After its monarch is slain, a random yet charismatic woman called Jeyne Kassynder rallied the nation and its church to overthrow the 10th Legion, the monarchy's military and judicial arm that was accused for the regicide. Thirty years later, the nation is split between Kassynder's followers and the remnants of the monarchical government. You play a character (out of 4 choices) who is tied to the Legion, and it is your job to restore the Legion to its former glory and overthrow Kassynder.

I give the story credit because of its expansiveness. The world of Ehb is pretty well flushed out and described through book excerpts and conversations, telling you many important facts, like what motivated the 10th Legion to commit the murder, as well as some key details, like the government and cosmopolitan demography of Stonebridge (city). I also like the fact that the game doesn't force feed you the info; it allows you to explore as much as you please, and is OK if you don't want to know who the Archons are. The story also has its share of twists and turns; you're not going to just march straight to the Spire and kill Jeyne. You'll need to convince the monarchy that the 10th Legion is on its side, and to persuade Stonebridge to offer its automaton army to fight Jeyne's army. Moreover, there are decisions you must make in the game that will change the game's ending. These aspects make the story very engaging and top-notch. The only problem I've had with the story are the characters; most of them are pretty one dimensional if not flat. However, they are more likable than grating, so the lack of character development really isn't an issue.

Technically, Dungeon Siege 3 is an action RPG that has a lot of fighting and an adequate amount of RPG depth around the fighting. Simply put, your character moves around Ehb killing antagonists and other hostile wildlife en route to completing story objectives. Regardless of the character, the player has two attack stances (eg. melee vs. long range, attack 1 enemy v. crowd control) a primary attack, 8 special abilities (split into 3 tiers), and more damaging Power Attack for the offensive side of the floor. On the defensive, each character has a healing move, a block stance and a dodge move. Though the combat is not entirely deep it is still fun. Enemies and bosses are extremely aggressive and come in waves more often than not (do you see that, Dynasty Warriors?), allowing for some really exciting fights from start to finish, especially during the later boss battles. It's also worth noting that DS 3's difficulty level is just right; the game never seems to be either despicably cheap or excessively easy. Therefore the frustration factor for the combat is pretty low. A problem I did find for the game was its multiplayer component. It was suited more for the casual gamer, because all the equipment taken in the game goes to the host, not to its online or local guests. Obisidian lost a good chance of having a really good implementation of a good online experience, so if you like having more than 1 player with you put that into consideration.

DS 3 also has its standard RPG elements, like leveling up, side quests and character customization via equipment. Probably the deepest part of the RPG stuff comes once you level up. Not only can you unlock abilities, you can customize abilities to your own liking. For instance, if Katarina uses her healing move, do you want to add a vampiric element to it, so while you heal you also recover health when she damages an enemy? Or do you want to increase your armor while you are recovering? Or both? Moreover, you can apply passive effects (like increasing Attack power by X%) that can further distinguish your character from someone else's. The Talent and Proficiency options for the customization is pretty deep and has numerous possibilities. Another feature I love is the D-Pad Up button. Press it, and the game gives a glowing trail to direct you through a quest. More impressively, you can switch objectives and allow the trail to change to accommodate you to other quests. This feature really saves the player from a lot of needless searching and backtracking. Side quests are simple fetch quests or slay quests, although they are usually close to the main objectives, again reducing backtracking and hassle. The only problem I have with the RPG part is the loot; save for the stats only a handful of weapons and armors really stand out, though thankfully there is a lot to choose from. In short result, DS 3 doesn't have a great RPG set it is implemented to the point where you won't feel like it's overly bare.

The overall presentation is serviceable but not mind-blowing. Player character models and animations look detailed, even when looked at closely, although the rest of the package feels a bit bland as textures are a tad bit on the low side apart from the models (like during dialogue sessions). The soundtrack is filled with a lot of smooth and subtle tracks. I don't think it's memorable but there are a few gems. Voice acting is actually pretty strong in terms of delivery but not of variety. You really feel the personality of the people who read the lines. Again, because the one dimensional characters sound good while not getting on my nerves I consider the voice acting a strength, not a weakness, for the presentation.

The game clocks in at around 9 hours if you went out to complete the side quests, although you can tack on 4-5 more hours if you play the DLC, Treasures of the Sun, which I highly recommend buying (see below for full review of DLC). More importantly, the game is so fun, and its story so engaging, that it does have the drawing power to get players back in even with no new content to offer.

In the conclusion of the game, the narrator refers to other adventures that will be covered in another volume. I don't really know if there's going to be a Dungeon Siege 4, but fingers crossed. DS 3 is a fun experience with fast paced combat and a sound RPG component. Couple those with an expansive mythology of Ehb and an intriguing storyline and the game is definitely worth playing.

Breakdown (without DLC)

Story: 4/5

An interesting story coupled with a lot of information about Ehb waiting to be discovered at your leisure.

Gameplay: 3.75/5

A sufficiently difficult game thanks to aggressive enemy types. RPG component includes level up, decisions, character and ability customization, which is nice.

Graphics: 3/5

Like the player character models, not so much for everything else. Soundtrack has its moments but largely forgettable.

Favorite track: Intro

Replay Value: 3.25/5

Very short for an RPG, but fun enough to keep you coming back. Has a casual gamer-built multiplayer component.

Final Score (without DLC): 14/20, 3 and a half stars.

A game with a couple of good strengths, not too many weaknesses.

*This ends the main review component of Dungeon Siege 3. The following review concerns its DLC, Treasures of the Sun*

Treasure of the Sun, a DLC for Dungeon Siege 3, is an outstanding addition for the game, thanks to its storyline and additions to the gameplay that make it a bit deeper.

The DLC starts when you accept a quest from a former Legion servant who wants to find his master in the Desert. You travel there and find an abbey full of rogue churchgoers, who didn't follow Jeyne even when she had the church wrapped around her little finger. From there, the player tries to open the vault, where the master is, and later search it to find him. The plot sounds simple, but the context is incredible. You'll know why the churchgoers left Jeyne's side, the reason for the master's entrance to the vault, and why the leader of the abbey is kind to Legionnaires despite the political climate. There's just a lot going on, and the game really tells you what is exactly happening. The story blends in nicely to the overall plot and is enjoyable, a plus to the DLC's developers.

But more importantly, TOS has a couple of extra features to the game. There are 3 more super cool abilities for the player to use. A massive healing ability, an invinsible barrier or an offensive wave that damages incoming foes. You can only use one ability at a time, and they are all cool add-ins. But the real additions are the essences, which you can add on to weapons and armor to implement an effect like Warding (stunning opponents). This adds more customization to the characters, bolstering the game's RPG part. The game also addresses the loot issue with some really powerful items that are both unique and powerful, so finally the player can have some variety with its equipment. More importantly, the equipment makes the rest of the game a lot easier, thanks to the huge stat boosts and alot of leveling up.

But with such new additions comes great dangers. TOS has got to be the most difficult part of the game. Once again, the enemies are extremely fearless and will attack you at every turn en masse. I remember dying only once or twice in the game before TOS. With it, I lost more than 5 times, a complement to the game's difficulty level that is harder but not cheaper.

TOS also has its share of side quests, all of which are close to the main objectives anyway. With it you can tack on 4-5 more hours for the game, a necessity given the briefness of the main campaign.

At the end of the day, TOS is a great addition that improves an already strong narrative and bolsters the game's RPG component. If you like the game, especially the combat, this is a must get.

Story: +0.25 for expanding on the Ehb mythology and adding its own intrigues

Combat: +0.25 for higher difficulty, more customization options and better loot

Replay Value: +0.25 for increasing the campaign length by around 50%.

Final Score (Dungeon Siege 3+ Treasures of the Sun): 14.75/20 (3.6 stars, round to 4 stars)

A good game that's a bit on the shallow, short side, but still a hell of a fun time.