Dungeon Siege

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".

The Good
Firstly, it looks absolutely superb. Personally, I'm more interested in how it plays than how it looks, but this game is simply breath-taking. Sure, if you get close you'll notice that the characters and critters are a little simplistic, and some of the textures are a little repetitive, but the overall look of the game is stunning. The transitions between outside and cellar actually took my breath away - honestly. Plus you also get gently falling snow, sunbeams in the caverns, accurate shadows of the characters, and so on. I love the way the trees fade away to let you see through them when your guys get close.

After you get over the look of it, you'll find that there's a competent if simplistic hack 'n slash underneath. Most reviewers seem to like comparing it to Diablo and Baldur's Gate, but I think Hexplore is a better comparison. BG is a little too involved, a little too serious. This is far simpler, like Hexplore with less puzzles.

The story-line is not too involving, in fact you could describe it as optional. You collect books on the way which you can read to flesh out the story. Or you can just charge through and hit everything that moves. A nice touch.

I can't really comment on the sound and music. I always turn music off in games, and I have the sounds low enough so I can still hear the TV. Yeah, that's right, it's one of those games. Wind down after a hard days work with Dungeon Siege and endless repeats of The Simpsons.

The Bad
It's very linear. You start the story on your farm and head off to the nearest town. You naturally follow the path, but if try to wander off you'll realise that you can't get very far at all. There is the occasional small area/dungeon to explore and loot, but you can complete the game fine without ever leaving the straight and narrow. If you imagine the third area of Diablo II (the swamps) and you'll get the picture. Also, even if you read the "optional" story-line, you'll see it isn't up to much. It's there, but it's not why you play the game.

Another thing I didn't like was the lack of an overall map. There is a map function, but it's really only a top-down view at far zoom. While this is fine for basic navigation, if you get lost (very hard to do) or think you've missed something (quite easy) there's not much you can do about it - you'll just have to wander round or re-walk everywhere and hope.

The Bottom Line
If you liked Diablo, then you'll probably like this. The same goes for Hexplore. Forget the comparisons to Baldur's Gate and other RPGs. This is not an RPG game. It's a pretty-but-dumb-hack-'n-slash-adventure. And that's all. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a lot of fun!

The Good
There's not much to like in Dungeon Siege except it's name (that has nothing to do with the game) and it's graphics (even though it slows down even on a top end machine). It's unfortunately not really an RPG, but more of a constant fight along different corridors disguised as playing areas. The controls were pretty good.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that this sets out to be an RPG, but since Microsoft removed the role from that word, it's just a Playing Game. For kids. There's not a single problem to be solved in the entire length of code. You basically go from battle to battle, pausing to drink a potion every now and then, before the "map" leads you to a "town" where you buy the most expensive gear you can find, before heading into the corridor-like maps again for more fights. Everything is so streamlined you only have to press ONE button to switch all your characters from long distance fighting to close combat fighting. And every area has only TWO exits. One you came from and the one you're supposed to exit from. You NEVER have to turn back and take the same route twice, which makes the entire game feel like a corridor full of fights.

The Bottom Line
A totally brainless hack'n'slash that doesn't deserve to be called an RPG. It boasts great graphics and the usual Microsoft presentation so it probably appeals to the younger audience.