Dungeon Siege III Review

By Quintin Smith Published 17 June, 2011

Mule variations.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

I have a signature move in co-op action RPG Dungeon Siege III. How many games can I say that for? Basically none.

What I like to do in Dungeon Siege III is wait until there's only one monster left to deal with. Then I summon a mirror image of myself - something I can do because I chose Reinhart Manx as my character, a mage who makes up for his terminally boring dialogue by being the spitting image of Kenny Rogers - and run off to whatever chest is nearby.

As my mirror image tangles with the monster, I pop the lid of the chest, sending Dungeon Siege III's characteristic ejaculation of loot (there's honestly no other word for it) flying twelve feet into the air over my head. Then I turn around and, with the touch of a button, bring a whip of purest energy down on the monster's head to send it crumpling to the ground.

All is silence. Finally, the airborne loot comes tumbling to the ground, gold coins and magic pants spilling across the floor as I remain still, like in a Chinese action movie. I hold the pose for a moment, then hoover up the loot and go hurtling down the corridor to the next fight like a boulder with an agenda. He's not graceful, is Reinhart, but it's always a corridor, and there is always a next fight.

Made by Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, KOTOR II), Dungeon Siege III is radically different to Gas Powered Games' first two Dungeon Siege games, which offered top-down strategy and party management, not unlike a dungeon crawl crossed with an American football simulator.

Despite this, it keeps more than enough of their spirit alive to be called a sequel, if not a successor. The world still takes the form of one endless, branching corridor overflowing with monsters; the colour palette is still kaleidoscopic; the camera still hovers high overheard like a pervy eagle; and the plot is still grave yet lightweight, with the occasional gag.

In Dungeon Siege III, all of the playable characters are descendants of the 10th Legion, the highly trained army that originally marched out and founded the Kingdom of Ehb, where the series is set. Since then, the 10th Legion has fallen into poverty and disrepair (and pies, if Reinhart Manx is any indication), and a war has broken out between loyalists to the Ehb monarchy and loyalists to the Church, led by one Jeyne Kassynder (BOO!).

Since the game opens with Jeyne Kassynder (BOOO!) putting out a bounty on surviving 10th Legion descendants, your side is basically chosen for you, and yours is the hugely satisfying job of bringing the 10th Legion back to full strength by finding and recruiting other descendants, reclaiming Legion property and convincing the populace of Ehb that you're the good guys. Or at least, the guys who are really good at killing and unable to say "No" to any and all requests to go and save husbands, priceless trinkets or pies.

Yes, there are some RPG elements in Dungeon Siege III, in the form of towns and buildings where your right shoulder button has you talking to people instead of shanking them. But these are more like motorway service stations than anything else - brief pitstops where you can pick up a quest or two and sell your loot before getting back on the road.

Every so often, you'll get a tough decision that you and your co-op partner can squabble over. You just defeated a boss; do you kill her, imprison her, free her or send her back to her master with a message? While these represent high points, they're fairly rare. The primary purpose of these sections, really, is to give you a break from the combat so that it stays fresh - 'palate cleansers', in the trendy terminology.

Combat in Dungeon Siege III is relatively simple. By holding down the left trigger, you block, and if you try to move while doing this, you'll dodge. Almost every other button on the pad is assigned to your character's unlockable abilities, and by blocking and using your basic attack, you'll charge focus that will let you use your fancier powers.

As in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and other co-op action RPGs in this vein, the combat isn't demanding or unforgiving. Instead, it has a very clear goal in mind: to be playable no matter how much attention you are giving it.

With the exception of a handful of tough fights spread throughout the game, it's possible to go tumbling through Dungeon Siege III with half of your brain playing and the other half chatting idly to your co-op partner. You simply tap away at the attack button, dodge on those occasions when you see an attack being aimed in your direction, and fall back and use your healing ability when you're hurt.

But don't think this means that Dungeon Siege III is a brain-dead game. It's just an adaptive one. Because your character has up to 11 abilities, as well as charged versions of each of those, and each is best used in a slightly different scenario, trying to play Dungeon Siege III perfectly is a totally absorbing dance of glossy particle effects, small victories and even smaller failures.

If you play on Normal, you're never in too much danger of dying, but you'll have plenty of occasions where you spot at the last second that your health bar is a shred of its full self - and you'll duck out of the fight sucking air through your teeth the whole way.

Dungeon Siege III is, as the recent incredibly creepy TV ad expressed, a single-sofa co-operative game at heart. There's support for up to four-player online co-op too, which unfortunately I wasn't able to try, but I'd imagine would be awesome.

However, if you want to play Dungeon Siege III through solo, you'll have a good time. After the game's opening chapter, it gifts lone players with an AI co-op partner who's more than capable. They'll die every so often and need you to revive them, and when you die they'll keep fighting for a while before they abruptly notice that you've fallen and can't get up, but I don't mind that. These are human failings. So long as my AI partner isn't being confounded by a wall, I'm happy - and the pathfinding here is flawless.

So is the treatment of levelling up. No fannying around spending points on mysterious statistics like "Will" and "Agility" here. You get a point that you can spend upgrading one of your abilities in one of two ways, and you get another point you can spend on a permanent buff for your character. Maybe you'll also get a new ability to choose from. That's it. Clean, simple, satisfying.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the game's equipment system, which is something of a let-down and exactly where those mysterious statistics like "Will" and "Agility" make their sad appearance. Nobody likes you, weird stats! Go home!

Here's how loot works in Dungeon Siege III: you nudge open a slug egg or pile of bones and something called Brave Pants fall out. They look the same as your existing pants. You open up the equipment screen. They seem worse than your existing pants, and so you leave them there, in your growing collection of pants that look the same as your current pants but instead of offering +4 attack, +2 armour and +4 Chaos: Doom they offer entirely different buffs, like +4 will and +5 block.

It's miserable. Fortunately, it's easily fixed by opening your equipment menu once every 30 minutes and simply equipping the most expensive item you have in each category.

It's also the only failure in an otherwise smart action RPG that boasts such good combat that it doesn't matter if the loot, traditionally the heart of these games, is disappointing. In fact, it's so good that I think I'm going to go back and play it right now.

You hear that, Reinhart? Cinch up that Belt of Quickness of yours and let's get moving. I've got a hunch that there are some monsters just down the road.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (101) Latest comment 11 months ago

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  • Velvetmeds #1 11 months ago

    Nice to see a good score. This game is getting so much unfair hate that it's not even funny. It's not GOTY material but it's a great romp reminiscent of some of the great titles released on the PS2 (Dark Alliance-style). That and the fact that Obsidian is one of the most under appreciated devs around, i hope this title sells well

  • UncleLou #2 11 months ago

    Mule variations

    \o/

  • vijay_UK #3 11 months ago

    @Velvetmeds:

    The game will sell well, but they provided a poor demo which put me off. For me, DSIII can wait till it drops in price.

  • Ultrasoundwave #4 11 months ago

    Excellent score. Obsidian are one of my favourite developers and they deserve this success, hopefully they continue their hotstreak with their next game........

  • UncleLou #5 11 months ago

    GIMME THE LOOT!

    Well, yeah, just that that's apparently the weak part of the game, according to the review. :-/

  • Roamer #6 11 months ago

    Huzzah! My pre-order was warranted, it seems. Hopefully it'll arrive in the mail today. Obsidian never fails, they only sometimes stumble and pour coffee over the keyboard before shipping the game - hence the occasional bug. Not a mention of bugginess in this one though, perhaps they're better off with their own propretiary engine.
    Edited by Roamer at 17/06/11 @ 13:24

  • Darren #7 11 months ago

    Good to see this getting a nice score after hearing PC purists bemoaning that it isn't a Dungeon Siege game. Well, go and play I or II then if you're not happy while the rest of us enjoy this current gen version of the super-fun Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games. The demo was horribly addictive in spite of not being able to save so I can't imagine I'll be seeing much sunlight this weekend. Oh well. :)

  • Bikram #8 11 months ago

    Getting this in place of Duke

  • CaptAwesomeFace #9 11 months ago

    Great review. I actually like the equipment system that you've described here so this sounds like a perfect game for me! Will be picking it up after my exams to waste hour on.

  • prudislav #10 11 months ago

    interesting that this game get bigger score that DNF or Alice 2 if is more shitty

  • Daeltaja #11 11 months ago

    Ohhhh, highly unexpected score. I did like the demo, but I'm guessing this is at its strongest in co-op. Consider this BOUGHT! Anyone up for some Xbox co-op action this weekend?

    Well done, Obsidian.

  • darkmorgado #12 11 months ago

    Does it have a new game + option?

    I.e, do your stats and gear carry over into sibsequent playthroughs like Diablo?

  • bobfish09 #13 11 months ago

    This isn't a sequel to DS1&2 but is definitely a good game in its own right and worthy of the purchase.

    They could've avoided the hate by not called it DS3, maybe using a subtitle instead, but either way its one of the finer action RPGs to come out in the last few years.

  • Vortextk #14 11 months ago

    I do like this game but it feels that a mention to how multi-player works as well as once you beat the game, that character is done, is in order for basically any review. No replays like diablo II etc and the save system is basically secret of mana. The host is the "owner" of the snes and anyone who plays with him is leveling up the host's characters and skilling/equipping them out. Characters can not be exported/imported from saves and every single save file will have it's own separate 4 characters in it. None of this breaks the game for me, when the core game is good, but both of those are large negatives that really kill long time playability. Playing with randoms online is ridiculous while with a buddy/sibling is the only real way.

    You can play another character, try a slightly different build or make some changes in story decisions but it feels very underdeveloped here compared to the competition.

  • Miths #15 11 months ago

    This is getting surprisingly good scores. I wonder if any of the reviewers actually played the PC version - with mouse and keyboard - because as action RPGs go, the DS3 demo fet very little like other examples of the genre on PC (sometimes that can be a good thing, but it certainly wasn't here in my opinion) and more like a straight console port of the worst kind, intended to be played with a gamepad and with an interface designed for consoles.

    I don't think I'll bother with the PC version - usually my first choice for this game genre - but perhaps it's worth considering the PS3 version.

  • CaptainJelly #16 11 months ago

    Lo

  • TruWari3r #17 11 months ago

    Not bad at all, I had a bad feeling about this when they only released a demo on the US xbl marketplace but apparently I didn't need to worry.

  • RedSparrows #18 11 months ago

    snakechips, you getting this? LOOT WHORE AHOOOYYYY

  • Vortextk #19 11 months ago

    Well PC is still the best version and you can just hook a controller into your computer if that's the only reason you want it on a console...

  • CaptainJelly #20 11 months ago

    Loved the 'signature move' - brilliant.

  • The-Jack-Burton #21 11 months ago

    After the incredibly dull Demo, I just can't bring myself to pay full retail for this. I'll get it at some point though.

  • Embar #22 11 months ago

    "Fannying around". Brilliant.

  • Instinct #23 11 months ago

    I heard the co-op was broken and dumbed down ala Fable 2. Had hoped it would be in the review, but anyone confirm?

  • FanBoysSuck #24 11 months ago

    Awesome score, glad I pre-orded it.

    Does anyone know if the PC version has local coop? eg xbox pad and KB & mouse?

  • Darren #25 11 months ago

    @darkmorgado - Apparently, the game does NOT have a New Game+, at least not the PC version anyway. Seems like an odd oversight for a game of this type. It's possible that Obsidian may patch it in later though or incorporate into some DLC as they're already working on fixing issues with the PC version (keys for camera rotation, etc.).

  • Wizard83 #26 11 months ago

    I don't really think i've learnt anything more about the game by reading this review... plus nearly everything gets an 8 :-S
    Also i'm not sure i've forgiven Obsidian for the half finished KOTOR 2! After the brillant face-off in 1 between Revan and Malek did i really have to fight floating purple lightsabers in 2! :-/

  • innokenti #27 11 months ago

    The stats are actually fairly simple, but you need to go into the help menu and read through the list of what they do to understand it. Why the PC version doesn't have tool-tips or why it doesn't just explain them all to you early on, I don't know.

    For reference:

    Agility - affects your % chance to do a critical hit.
    Doom - affects your critical hit damage.
    Will - affects your Ability DPS (how much damage or benefit your special abilities do)
    Attack - affects how much damage you do.
    Chaos - applies effect e.g. Fire damage, Life-drain etc.

    The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Just a shame they didn't make a little more effort to make it that bit more understandable.

  • Quinns #28 11 months ago

    @darkmorgado @Darren - It does at least have a Hard mode, if you wanted some replay value.

  • Vortextk #29 11 months ago

    Yes to 2 pads on a pc, I really don't know about KB+m and pad combo, haven't tried it...

    Co-op isn't fable II, it's secret of mana. If your friend is level 3 and playing reinhart, when you join him you get auto leveled to him and can pick any of the 3 leftover characters. You equip stuff, spend skill points etc all like normal. All of that gets saved to whichever character you pick ON HIS SAVE only. You can't export that character to a save of your own, he can't bring his reinhart into your game. No problem if you want to play with a friend, absolutely WASTE of time and netcode to play with random people online. Infact, hosting a public match can get you griefed, since they could just spam points(that are non-refundable) on whatever skills they want to(hence spending them for anyone else or when you use as npc companion) and could sell everything sitting in your inventory not equipped+buy whatever they want if you pass by a vendor.

  • fongy #30 11 months ago

    @Vijay_UK

    I couldn't agree more - the demo was HATEFUL - really, really poor, I was looking forward to this UNTIL I played the demo, basically spamming one button and just a dire location... with really bland-looking guards, etc. to battle...

    Interesting that it got such a good review... but tbh, so many good games on the horizon - this is a £20er at the most...

  • fragglerocks #31 11 months ago

    Did someone say loot?
    /buys

  • PoundHound #32 11 months ago

    I was heartened by the review, but completely crushed by Vortextk's comments about co-op. I've been desperate for a Baldur's Gate-esque RPG to play couch co-op with my wife. But what's the point now if you can't save your own character? Why do devs continually overlook these basic features when making co-op games? They always mess up achievements too. It's always player 1 who gets them. Grrr.

  • Markitron #33 11 months ago

    @Wizard83

    Kotor 2 was not obsidians fault, it was all Lucasart's doing. They only gave them about 15 months to do the game and, ending aside, the game was good for the crazy timeframe

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #34 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:15 09-05-2012

  • butler` #35 11 months ago

    a quintin smith 8 is good enough for me. it might as well be a 9 for me anyway as a... bit of a arpg fan to say the least.

  • Xardan #36 11 months ago

    Wow what an unexpected score! So this got a better score than Hunted: Demons Forge? That i did not expect.

  • Daeltaja #37 11 months ago

    @Poundhoud - don't get so disheartened just yet.

    From what I understand, you start a co-op game and pick your character. The second player joins in and picks from the remaining characters. Any progress that is saved from that point forward, includes both your levels, specs, gears etc.. everything is the way you've left it next time you load it up - all as you'd expect.

    The problem comes from online co-op. For example, you host a game and the save is local to your xbox. Someone joins in and picks a character. Said players leaves 1 hour later and a new player joins, picking the same character. The skill points and equipment the previous player spent/earned, will still be present and the new player is basically 'continuing' that character.

    The rest was clear. Am I right here? If so, that's a massive oversight alright, but for couch co-op, makes little to no difference.

  • Anciegher #38 11 months ago

    Didn't expect an 8/10 based on the demo. More like 5/10.

  • Seoh #39 11 months ago

    YAAAY, sounds like a fair review and backs up my experience with the demo. Looking forward to playing this coop.

    Incidentally if you get this on the PC (please use a gamepad) and are lucky enough to own a 3D vision setup its a real treat, trees and bridges pop out as you pass them by.

  • gospvg #40 11 months ago

    Added to the buy list but it will drop to £24.99 quickly I feel so I'll pick it up the

  • Spekingur #41 11 months ago

    So this isn't exactly Dungeon Siege as such. And Eurogamer again did not touch on the PC version - where Dungeon Siege has its roots. I've just got to ask, why?

    I have also heard that the PC version suffers from consolitis. How true is this?

  • Vortextk #42 11 months ago

    Glad to see someone is reading my comments, upset to see you're reading them wrong! If you're getting this game to play with your wife, DON'T be discouraged by my words. Start a game, pick your character, have your wife join, and go to town. Your 4 characters(meaning your main character and whoever she picks to play with you and the other 2) will all be saved with you. The only problem is if she was just some online buddy and not your wife, when she stopped playing with you she would have no access to her character. Online play with friends committed to playing with each other or couch co-op is perfectly good in this game, random public games are absolutely trash.

    @spekingur. At the moment, keyboard + mouse controls suck. Personally, I liked my friend's torchlight on 360 better than mine on pc because of the gamepad, but it's not like DSIII has even classic clicky dungeon crawler interface, it's much worse. Supposedly it's already being worked on though. With a pad, it works very very well however.

    Oh and to everyone...camera is shared, even if you play online, lol. NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS, I'm being serious, because areas are much more claustrophobic than like diablo II, but be aware of this. Played online with a friend and it rarely presented a problem.
    Edited by Vortextk at 17/06/11 @ 14:20

  • orpheus #43 11 months ago

    'Made by Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, KOTOR II)'

    Not exactly a roll-call of high points..
    Edited by orpheus at 17/06/11 @ 14:19

  • PoundHound #44 11 months ago

    Thanks Vortextk & Daeltaja for clearing up the couch co-op thingy. Panic over.

    For the record, I bought the game at lunch time, so messed up co-op or not, it was getting played.

    Now I'm excited all over again!! :)

  • pinebear #45 11 months ago

    Did someone say Golden Pantaloons?

  • butler` #46 11 months ago

    pretty sucky that itemisation and item management, of all things, sounds shit.

  • Miths #47 11 months ago

    Well, despite being severely turned off by the PC demo, I'm heading into Gamestop now to trade in a few PS3 games for the PS3 version.
    Otherwise I suspect I'll be tempted to buy the PC version from Steam over the weekend, and as much as it will look better and run better (the demo rarely budged from 60 fps at 1920x1200 on my aging gaming PC), this game really does seem like it needs to be played with a gamepad, and unfortunately I don't have one for my PC at the moment.

  • merc2k7 #48 11 months ago

    Just got this and Alice. No sleep for 72 hrs!!!!!!!!!!!

  • berelain #49 11 months ago

    DSIII plays just fine on PC with a control pad - exactly like the console versions, in fact, but prettier, though I did have some really weird graphical glitches on my ATI card that forced me to reset Catalyst settings to default in order to see the characters or the ground.

    Apparently you can only play local co-op on PC if you're using two gamepads, but I haven't tried it yet to see - will give it a bash tonight and find out.

  • darc #50 11 months ago

    "'Will' and 'Agility' make their sad appearance. Nobody likes you, weird stats!"

    I still like them (though it can be a drag when they're not readily quantifiable vs one another.)

    AND I thought the "incredibly creepy" ad was great. :)

    I'm surprised to see such a good score, particularly from EG. The demo kind of left me flat, though I confess I only gave it a few minutes. I was a big fan of the 1st two, and a fan of anything co-op, so I'm tempted. But I can't shake the sense that this is somehow closer to an XBLA game than a $60 boxed title. I think I'm going to have to wait until it drops to $30 or so.

    (Meanwhile, will headback to give the demo a fair shake.)
    Edited by darc at 17/06/11 @ 15:01

  • Vortextk #51 11 months ago

    It's definitely more than an xbla title, it just feels like two halves of a different coin. They try to go the story rpg route with dialogue wheel and choice mechanics, without any kind of good cutscenes or great character development(I'm only halfway in). Then they also try to do the loot dungeon crawler with somewhat crippled co-op and no way to replay after beating the game.

    It seems it would've been better to do one or the other fully fleshed out, or given the time and money, kick ass of both. Imagining something like mass effect 2 but loot heavy and co-op sounds...fun.

  • Eldritch #52 11 months ago

    Terrible demo, but this sounds like I'm going to pick up the game somewhere down the line. Maybe at this year's Steam sale.

  • xrnzaaas #53 11 months ago

    I really wanted to like this game, because I'm dying waiting for Diablo III to be released. Unfortunately due to horrible control scheme, bad graphics and not a lot of joy from collecting loot (everything looks basically the same) I'd say it doesn't deserve more than 6/10.

  • teamtink #54 11 months ago

    Loved the demo and hoping for the pre-order has arrived on the door mat!

  • FanBoysSuck #55 11 months ago

    @Vortextk

    Cheers for the info. Will be playing this with the Mrs tonight :)

  • mikebates #56 11 months ago

    It's not bad, have a love hate thing going with it at the moment though. Main gripe ? When buying gear from the shops or a merchant, you have to guess if your class can use it. Unless I'm missing something that is.

    Otherwise it's a fairly pleasant effort but then I like Alpha Protocol as well ;)

  • Fidjit #57 11 months ago

    "the camera still hovers high overheard like a pervy eagle"

    Made me spill my coffee. I'm liking your style Mr Smith, please keep it up.

  • man.the.king #58 11 months ago

    I will certainly be buying this! Dungeon Siege was my first proper foray into gaming and I still have a soft spot for it. Currently enjoying Infamous 2 and so will buy this some time later. Hopefully it will be a bit cheaper by then as well.

  • ubergine #59 11 months ago

    I'm finding Eurogamer's reviews less and less credible. Eurogamer gave this 8/10 but many comments I'm reading elsewhere are very negative. EG also gave unpatched Fallout: New Vegas 9/10, THAT game deserved 8/10 at a stretch despite it's appallingly unready state at time of release. I think Eurogamer must have some kind of bias favouring Obsidian. This review reads a lot more juvenile than I would expect and I'm taking it with a groan of salt.

  • Lemming81 #60 11 months ago

    "Did someone say Golden Pantaloons?"

    If only. Games like this feel a little unsatisfactory when you've played BG1 and 2.

  • Vortextk #61 11 months ago

    Ugh.

    @xrnzaaas, how different did you think the gear would be in the demo? Honestly.

    @mikebates well you should eventually learn what kind of stuff you can wear. Otherwise, look at the stats, if its all 0(+#) and no negatives, it means you can't wear it in a roundabout way.

    @ubergine yes base your reasoning off dungeon siege fanboys who hate this game because it isn't really dungeon siege(nevermind quality) or computer elitists who would rather suicide than use a controller. Not the multiple reviewers all giving the game the same scores. Five 8/10~'s recorded right now.

  • jimr9999us #62 11 months ago

    Obsidian=Fallout2 and Planescape:Torment=+1 Pants of Review Bias. That's a great piece of purple gear and well earned. Nice to see they were able to release a working game, even if it took a dumbed-down one to let it happen.

    Congrats Obsidian.

  • ToAks #63 11 months ago

    how come everyone except me hated Alpha Protocol???? sure it wasn't a GOTY contender but adamn fine game IMO.

  • lord_fartsalot #64 11 months ago

    I sure would like to replace my stained pants with some brave pants.

  • Gastrian #65 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Stardusted #66 11 months ago

    @Miths

    I don't know of anyone who owns an xbox or ps3 and doesnt have a joypad for his pc, unless he doesnt have any joypad for his consoles.
    Just use a ps3 controller mate.

  • darksx #67 11 months ago

    I tried to play Dungeon Siege 3, and all I know is this game is has some of the worst game mechanics I have ever seen in a game.
    No customization at all for rebinding of keys. That includes AutoHotKey not even working; something in the way the game is coded prevents it from working.
    Coop, is a joke, once the second player gets in the game the camera locks down to one zoom. And will auto adjust itself as you play in certain areas. Horrid is the only word I can use for it now. My friends go so frustrated with this game that we never made it past 30 mins of play time, that’s how bad it was in Coop.

    Balance, what can I say, the normal creature you fight are tough but beatable, boss fights are super hard, I can’t tell you how many times we died and was not able to beat a boss.

    There is little healing in this game, they are using the Diablo 3 style of healing, drops little balls that will heal you up. Good luck getting enough of those to drop. plus the special ability to heal yourself works like crap, it’s on a cool down and is based off kills to build up rage or whatever they are calling it so you are able to use it again. Healing kills this game or the lack of it.

    This game was a direct port straight from Console, there was nothing done or added for the pc. You have to use a controller to get the game to work properly. Using the WASD is the only other option and it’s not all that great.

    Buying and selling items, Gold is shared across the board, whoever is the first person to talk to the vendor and buys items will use the community gold. Yes the gold is shared meaning one lump sum. If one player is selfish and uses all the gold no one else can buy items. Same goes for items that drop. One shared inventory. Again, if you were saving an item for later usage, and the other player sells it your SOL.

    This game is about the worst game I have seen come out in many years. This is not a game worth buying, save your money and avoid this game like the black plaque.

    I have no idea what Eurogame is thinking or who is paying them to give this game an 8/10 but this game dfeinatly does not rate that. its at best a 5 to 6 out of 10
    Edited by darksx at 17/06/11 @ 18:09

  • MrTeatime #68 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:59:18 03-01-2012

  • suicidal_penguins #69 11 months ago

    Odd review. Game sounds very lightweight and shallow, can't see where it adds up to deserving an eight really?

  • acuratebob #70 11 months ago

    I like this game a he'll of a lot. Iv told a number of my friends to get this.

    I disagree about the weird stats in the equipment though. I find it helpful to know what they do. And they do change the visual aesthetic of the characters.

  • Miths #71 11 months ago

    @Stardusted

    I didn't think you could connect a DualShock3 directly to a PC with the USB charging cable? But since I've always been under that assumption that it wouldn't work, I've never actually tried. I guess I should have known that someone had probably made a Windows driver.

    I used to have a wired 360 controller for my PC, but I gave it to my father last year when he expressed an interest in playing racing games on his PC, and I virtually never used the controller anyway (I'm a huge racing game fan as well - on both PC and PS3 - but I have a Logitech G25 for that).

    Nevermind in this case though, as I'm just about to start playing the PS3 version of Dungeon Siege 3 now.

  • marmaduke #72 11 months ago

    It does look a little bit shit.

    DNF managed to be total arse and still look more exciting than this.

  • immateriaux #73 11 months ago

    I don't have a button on my right shoulder so not sure if I can play this?

  • scuffpuppies #74 11 months ago

    8, and not a 'full page web advertisement' to be seen anywhere. Eurogamer genuine review shocker!

  • Vergis69 #75 11 months ago

    Well im playing it right now and Im enjoying it for sure. Its not the best game in the world by any means but its worth a go if you like dungeon crawlers. Id recommend it

  • sarcasmoidosis #76 11 months ago

    @mikebates

    There's a picture of the character than can wear the item on the item icon.

  • UncleLou #77 11 months ago

    It's reasonably enjoyable, it just seems terribly unbalanced - two hours in, and my character has such a high "block" value that there is zero focus drain anymore - which means I can stand in a group of enemies (including boss) forever, just blocking. Now add to that the self-heal you can use while blocking, which uses power, which gets recharged when I get hit (even when I block), and I am basically invincible. Hohum.
    Edited by UncleLou at 18/06/11 @ 00:20

  • Miths #78 11 months ago

    I've spent around three hours with the PS3 version now (two hours on my current main, Anjali) and the game most certainly plays a hell of a lot better and more fluidly with a gamepad than the PC demo did with mouse and keyboard.
    I'm enjoying it so far, but it feels very little like any of the many action RPGs I've played on PC over the years (my favourites of fairly recent years being Titan Quest and Torchlight) - and neither did it when I played that PC demo with m/kb. That one pretty much just felt like a dreadful console port.

    As both a PC and console player myself (PC for almost 20 years, consoles really only the last four years), I can certainly see why this game might not sit well at all with the PC action RPG crowd. It really is a console game that they just happened to shoehorn onto PC as well.
    Yes, you can use a gamepad with many PC games these days, but I can certainly understand why many people - myself included - feel that that really shouldn't be almost necessary with a game genre (and in this case game series as well) that has such a long history on PC.

  • addugg #79 11 months ago

    8! Wow, did not expect that! Although had you have got to play online the score would have dropped considerabley. Also, loved the review, the moment you said ejaculation, that screamed out to me that you understood what the game was.

  • menage #80 11 months ago

    After the demo I was expecting the worst. but I might pick this up on the cheap now.

  • dagas #81 11 months ago

    Not a very good review. From the text it sounds more like a 5 or 6. If you like it enough to give it an 8 then describe why it deserves it. From the text it seems like a very mediocre game. In short make sure your text and score match!

  • azix2 #82 11 months ago

    Controls terribly with mouse keyboard on PC. Consoles really are screwing that platform over

  • DefendoCroc #83 11 months ago

    lol @ 8/10 ... you need to lay of the reefer Quintin

  • Makeem95 #84 11 months ago

    Sounds like they completely fucked up the franchise.

  • strangerism #85 11 months ago

    it is truly a console game made for selling, just like this score

  • Ternon #86 11 months ago

    I enjoyed this game greatly, can't wait for a DLC or expansion.

    It has one of the best combat mechanics I've seen in RPGs.

  • goldenbone #87 11 months ago

    If you want to play on PC, use a 360 controller if you can possibly lay your hands on one. Also, it looks absolutely unbelievable in Nvidia 3d Vision. One of the best titles I've seen - there's no glitching at all, and the sense of depth is incredible.

  • Ternon #88 11 months ago

    "If you want to play on PC, use a 360 controller if you can possibly lay your hands on one."

    This is complete nonsense, stop being lazy and learn to play.
    You will find then that PC controls are superb and precise.
    Edited by Ternon at 19/06/11 @ 12:06

  • merc2k7 #89 11 months ago

    It's not bad. It certainly not wonderful but its good for a good ol' fashon crawl and looter. Like UncleLou says, it's unbalanced and a patch should sort it and the story won't win any prizes.

  • Stratix #90 11 months ago

    Oh. I played the demo and dismissed it as crap, partially because of that pervy eagle camera.

    Maybe I'll give it another shot.

  • TRUTH #91 11 months ago

    Is this a button masher or is there some/deeper substance to the action as in the Demon's Souls ?...Hope it has depth in the action!!

  • Agent_Orange #92 11 months ago

    I played this on my mates pc online - co-op is disappointing. I hate the way that you get stuck behind walls and cant move because another player has pulled the camera too far away... Why cant you just move freely around the levels!

  • Madder-Max #93 11 months ago

    the review read like the author was desperatley trying his best to talk up what sounds like a pretty average dungeon slasher thingy.

    i regularly summon a guardian of light in Oblivion to provide a distraction in fights that alows me to pop chests.....and that game came out years ago.

  • FortysixterUK #94 11 months ago

    I liked the review, and am currently playing throught this game very happily. It's good.

  • kasabkata #95 11 months ago

    The review is spot on.The fignhting mechanics are really engaging, that's the strongest point of the game. I'm used to play action RPGs with mouse and keyboard, but this game feels really fresh with xbox pad on a PC.
    Also for those who wants some strategy in the fighting, play on hardcore. Anything below that i find insultingly easy and boring button mashing..
    Edited by kasabkata at 20/06/11 @ 14:17

  • TRUTH #96 11 months ago

    Hardcore - does this give a good challenge and requires a form of strategy to winning; that's why Demon's Souls was so appealing because you worked and discovered the best way to defeat enemy without simply button mashing and watching OTT moves!..as with many games.
    Edited by TRUTH at 21/06/11 @ 19:26

  • Ternon #97 11 months ago

    Yes, hardcore is very enjoyable.

  • sabbede #98 11 months ago

    No. This game is really a 6/10 at best.
    Even if its existence were not an insult to a great series, its BORING! Not to mention ridiculously short (especially for an RPG).

    I would have loved an actual sequel. This doesn't deserve the name.

  • sabbede #99 11 months ago

    @acuratebob
    You're a terrible friend.

  • himmelsturmerIX #100 11 months ago

    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 patch is coming to address some of the issues in PC control, that is good news.

    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.

  • Kalak #101 11 months ago

    "...Nobody likes you, weird stats! Go home! ..."

    Are you REALLY serious ??!! DUNGEON Siege is a RPG... Weird stats ? Go play DNF !!!!