Dungeon Siege II - Gone Gold

[Evil Avatar]

Microsoft sends along a Press Release announcing that Gas Powered Games RPG, Dungeon Siege II, has Gone Gold.

Microsoft Game Studios and Gas Powered Games today announced that Dungeon Siege II, the ambitious sequel to Chris Taylor’s best-selling, award-winning action role-playing game (RPG) Dungeon Siege, has gone gold. Gamers will once again journey to the beautiful fantasy land of Aranna on August 16, 2005, when Dungeon Siege II charges onto store shelves with a suggested retail price of $49.99.

Dungeon Siege II casts players into a land deeply scarred by civil war, where they will lead an elite battle party against a vicious marauder hell-bent on bringing the world under his control, no matter the cost. Dungeon Siege II raises the bar for action-RPGs by introducing a deeper storyline, an extensive quest system and a new AI system creating more challenging and cunning foes.

Developed exclusively for Windows XP, Dungeon Siege II promises to delight RPG fans with a cutting-edge 3D engine, intense real-time combat against monstrous foes and cooperative multiplayer support. Visit the official Dungeon Siege II website at http://www.dungeonsiege.com, then pre-order the game at select retailers and receive a bonus Dungeon Siege II comic book!

[Kefkataran]

I was in the beta for this. Sort of interesting. Definitely a lot more story and a lot more things to do in combat than the first, but still not super-interesting. But if you're up for a good hack-n-slash it's probably worth picking up.

[goc_sin]

Sweet. I enjoyed the first one, so I think I'll pick it up.

[KarmaGhost]

I can't wait for the Dungeon Siege movie, directed by Uwe Boll!! (http://www.uweboll.com)

[Undertakr]

Couldn't stand the first game. Way too repetative, way too laggy in multiplayer for me, no thought process at all. Power up your healing and be done with the game. I might be more interested in this game if there wasn't a better game called Guild Wars that's almost exactly like it but with a better story and better multiplayer.

[Wyrm]

I absolutely adored the first one. I'm a diablo fan deep in my core and it satisfied my addiction as I'm sure this one will.

[joruussuun]

Awesome! This seemed (to me at least) to come out of nowhere. I really liked the first one, so I'll definitley be picking this up.

[Orphiuchus]

Wow, this one took long enough.

[Grimgrock]

Gas Powered Games was bordering on a Blizzard-like development cycle. If it is as polished and relatively bug-free as a Blizzard game, they might have a hit. Otherwise, I'm afraid we might have vaporware here as the age of the hack n' slash is dying. At least that's what I think.

[Kefkataran]

Grim: From the beta, it seemed perfectly polished and bugless. But I'm not sure that's enough. I mean without a brand name as big as Diablo's or any real innovation to the hack-n-slash gameplay... well, I think it'll probably be good for the people who want some good Diablo-esque gameplay to tide them over. Other than that, it will probably fade from the gamers' minds pretty quickly.

[bapenguin]

Microsoft sends along a Press Release announcing that Gas Powered Games RPG, Dungeon Siege II, has Gone Gold.

The use of the yellow color is a nice touch. :D

[51|RandoM]

Ah, does this one require actual user input, or does it play itself? The first one, especially with the expansion made me feel sort of redundant to the system. Go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, it was like programming in logo.

[Librum]

I'm looking forward to it. I got all the way to the end of the first one only to be defeated by the endgame bug, but it was still fun. As for it being like Guild Wars, I really can't see the similarity. That, and GW has just not grabbed me at all, despite my efforts to get into it.

[Liquidize105]

The first one was so stupid. My character wore a helmet that looked like half a coconut shell. I remember going down a mine shaft and getting raped cus I was so bored of it to pay attention. I quit after that, forever.

I might reinstall it to try that TC they got... Mmm... Elemental (http://www.the-elemental.net/).

I'm vaguely interested in #2. It looks like ass though.

[Kefkataran]

Ah, does this one require actual user input, or does it play itself? The first one, especially with the expansion made me feel sort of redundant to the system. Go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, it was like programming in log

There's more to do gameplay-wise, like I said. Nothing more than your average hack-n-slash, still, but now you have some abilities and such, like in Diablo 2.

[PacerDawn]

Ah, does this one require actual user input, or does it play itself?
This is funny. When games have the player pressing buttons to do everything, people complain that it would be better if more things were automated so they didn't have to click the mouse 50 times just to swing a sword. Then, someone comes out with that, and people complain it's too automated. (Also, there are very few non linear-path style games, so you cannot fault DS for that...)

All fantasy games boil down to the same mechanics - fight mobs, cast spells, get gear, level up. Some games interlace the standard mechanics with extra mouse clicks, hundreds of hot keys to press, and volumes of text to read. It's rare to find a simple game that sticks to just the basic mechanics (which are really where the fun is anyway) and which does them well. IMHO, DS does just that so I personally cannot wait for II!

[Kefkataran]

All fantasy games boil down to the same mechanics - fight mobs, cast spells, get gear, level up. Some games interlace the standard mechanics with extra mouse clicks, hundreds of hot keys to press, and volumes of text to read. It's rare to find a simple game that sticks to just the basic mechanics (which are really where the fun is anyway) and which does them well. IMHO, DS does just that so I personally cannot wait for II!

As good an argument for Dungeon Siege as I've ever heard. Well-stated.

I may not be ecstatic for the new one, but I had lots of fun with the first and will probably pick up the new one once it's lower-priced.

[51|RandoM]

This is funny. When games have the player pressing buttons to do everything, people complain that it would be better if more things were automated so they didn't have to click the mouse 50 times just to swing a sword. Then, someone comes out with that, and people complain it's too automated. (Also, there are very few non linear-path style games, so you cannot fault DS for that...)


Call us crazy for wanting a happy medium between no input required and endless micromanagement. For something to qualify as an RPG in my book, it requires me to use my brain for more than just figuring which of the 50 crappy pieces of armor carried by my packmule I want to turn into coins so I can pick up the 51st piece of crappy armor.

Ultimately, DS was a lowbrow monty haul campaign with pretty graphics. I suppose that is what some people like.

[51|RandoM]

Be nice if they balance the 'naturalist' progression vs. that of other classes too.

I found the nature magic was always behind. You couldn't level it via offensive nature magic, cause then you'd have no mana for healing and you couldn't level it via healing because most occasions required either NO healing or more healing than you could produce.

On the other hand, since healing was rarely required, it wasn't a big deal. It just felt funny dragging around a naturalist for a few utility spells.

[Heretic Machine]

Dungeon Siege sucked ass... I mean sure, it came out the same year as NWN and Morrowind, so it had some rough competition. But still, it was ass. Gameplay consisted of the following ->

"Hey guys, see where I'm pointing? Go there."

*watches the group engage the enemy*

*watches the group beat the enemy down*

*points at another location and watches the party engage the enemy*

[bait]

It troubles me that someone "adored" Dungeon Siege.

I could understand if you "adored" Morrowind or if you "adored" Fallout, but not Dungeon Siege.