Summary
Streamlined RPG-lite desperately needs more death at higher levels
The Good
Great graphics, seamless loading, various automations such as gather loot, follow leader, formations, etc., plenty of graphical touches such as varied swings, lots of enemies
The Bad
Only one type of damage means there's no "resistance" at all, impossible to grow characters beyond a certain level without cheating, no persistent savegame in MP
The Bottom Line
Dungeon Siege can be described as a streamlined version of Diablo with various improvements. Instead of controlling a single person, you control a party. Instead of grabbing loot manually you now can carry almost infinite gold as well as automatically collect gold and loot. There's no poison to worry about, and potion can be sipped instead of drank whole. The graphics have also been improved to truly gorgeous 3D. It's almost someone read the "wishlist" for Diablo series.
However, such things come at a cost. Diablo had multiple types of damage, fire / ice / magic / physical. In DS there's only one type: damage. That takes a lot of decisions out player's hands. Also, the weapons "top out" after a certain point, making growth beyond a certain point EXTREMELY slow. Also, the game mechanics are not quite the same in MP vs. SP. In MP you are limited to a single character, and the world state is not saved, just personal state. Thus can be very confusing.
The fan community has released variety of new content, from simple new weapons to full campaigns with their own stories and such. Still, longevity of the game may be a problem as the game simply ceases to be fun after a certain level. While you can replay the game as different classes and specialize in different areas and such, starting over may not be for everyone.
Overall, this one is a 7 / 10. It gets most things right, but has some faults that prevents it from being "great".
