Larian Studios Forums General Chat RPG Chat Recomendation: Dungeon Siege 2

After playing the demo, I can't recommend Dungeon Siege II enough. The best way to describe it, is to call it a successful blend of Icewind Dale and Diablo games as it menages to combine real-time party action with a decent storyline, branching quests and certain strategic depth.
You have a party, up to six, which may include the protagonist, allies, a pack mule and a pet. You may control any of them at a time whereas the others respond to their surroundings according to their stance and formation. You may select their active melee weapon, ranged weapon or spell as well as set certain spells on 'auto cast' which shall be used when situation requires. For the rest, it plays like a most computer action-RPGs of the Post Diablo era.
Your characters have their spellbook, inventory and skill three (think Diablo) but with a twist: depending on the skills you have, your character may have specific super abilities. Think of those as "Smart Bombs". They recharge with every monster slain (or activating a totem which instantly recharges them) and, when activated, change the tides. You may throw several daggers (assuming you have them equipped) to deal 1000%+ damage to all surrounding foes or you may summon a monolith to magically attract all foes in it's area to help you unleash some Area of Effect attack. Those abilities are really fun to use.
As in Dungeon Siege I, your skills improve with usage. Keep casting combat spells and your intelligence and spell casting improve. Keep fighting with two longswords and your melee and strength will go up.
Just like in the original Dungeon Siege, you have NO loading. When you create your character, the world is created (still not sure if it's randomly generated or not). You may travel anywhere without a slowdown or a loading screen. Town-portal is almost instant too. Unlike the first Dungeon Siege, though, the sequel has more focus on backstory and lore. Talking to people is highly rewarding: you may get a sidequest, get an item to help you in your travel or learn a crucial bit of local lore. Chants can be used in specific pedestals. Step on a small stone construction in the forest, press Enter to say an incantation and your party is strengthened, healed, boosted et cetera. There are many, many chants to learn from people or scrolls.
Pets are a novel addition. Think "Tamagochi" without having to clean up the cage. Once you buy a pet from a trader, it's just a baby. It still fights, casts spells and carries equipment, but its potential is much greater. Feed him items and eventually it will grow up! There are 8 stades of growth which alters the way the pet looks as well as its skills and abilities. Keep in mind what you feed to your pet: a magician's robe might increase its magical capacities by a little as well as grant your pet armour. A fighter's weapon improves the creature's melee.

The game's release date is August 16th, but a bunch of reviews are ready. eToychest have published a very accurate review of the game. Read it here.

If you want, you may download the inhumanly large 1.4 Gigabytes demo here which includes one sixth of one third of the game on the easiest difficulty level which the game has three. Every difficulty level increases the level cap.

I hope you'll enjoy DSII as much as I did: it's not every day you see a 60-hour RPG with equal focus on single player and multiplayer. I have reasons to believe that fans of <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" /> will enjoy it.

Bunch of reviews of DS2:
7.0 from 1Up
C+ from GameRevolution
4 out of 5 from KillerBetties
8.3 from GameZone
88% from EToyChest
GamePro's review

I stopped playing Dungeon Siege when I realized that I literally could go and do something else elsewhere in the house while my character fought monsters on his own. All I had to do was return now and then to move him to another spot to fight other monsters. I did buy the expansion, but never finished it. The graphics were far superior to Diablo 2, but the gameplay and replayability were inferior. Hopefully the game has been improved in Dungeon Siege 2.

i have the same disappointment, cleg. but what DATD said has made me more hopeful of the sequel.

thanks for the review of the demo, death ol' boy. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />

& mysterd -> thanks for the links! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />

Well, I've played it (a little, am a lvl 4 rang... fletcher) and:

1: The graphics looks great! Just great <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.
2: The game is the most Diablo2ish game I've ever seen that isn't Diablo 2. Fighting means you rightclick the monster until it dies, and not the WoW-GW mark it and it will hit it until it dies. This is something i consider positive <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.
Character creation is pretty simple, first you choose a race (human, dryad, elf or half-gigant, different bonuses between the races ie, dryads gets -1 to str but +4 to dex and +2 to int, and allso a 10% res to death magic, while a half-gigant gets +6 to str but -1 to dex, and +2 to fortitude (a skill)). Then you choose a weapond type. The weapond type you choose determines your class. If you pick a meleeweapond, you'll be a meleefighter, and benefit from the melee skill tree (orwhatever they call it). If you pick a bow: the bow skilltree, a combatspell: combatmagic, and a naturespell:naturemagic. These skilltrees looks really much like D2, with one difference: the skills ae all passive, and they unlock more mighty actives, or specials like they call it. The first special for both range and melee (they don't give them the same name, but they both require critical shot) is a special you activate (like all specials I think), and on the next hit you'll get a huge damagebonus! It's like 1500% dmg on your next hit (slightlly less for range). It doesn't cost anything, but it has cooldown. If you want a bigger bonus, you'll have to invest another four points in criticalls. And there are more powerfull specials you unlock with higher level skills.
There are allso three main stats, which is strenght, dexterity and interligence, which improves from useing melee, ranged or magic (you won't become strong from useing agic <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />). There are allso melee, ranged and combat/nature magic, that I think reflects how many skillpoints you've put in the different specialityscools (you get a skillpoint each level. You probablly get more hp and mana too).
Apart from this, it allso have got some special aspects, like waypoints for traveling (that's just SO d2), bushes you can harvest potions from and sancuarys (like a temple with treasures from all four skilltrees, locked behind doors, ao you have to open it with the apropriate damagetype. If your combatmagicskills isn't good enough, you won't be able to open it).
After all, I liked it. It will probablly be a good Action-RPG, with good multiplayer-gameing. It will probablly be able to compete with D2 at least. But then again, D2 is like five years old <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />!

Übereil

this looks like a real good game. never played diablo2 or DS but anyway it looks great! oh yeah, can you download a demo of diablo somewhere?

Try checking www.battle.net out <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />. I think there's a demo somewhere...

Übereil

thanks, downloading now. in 20minutes and a couple of seconds its downloaded. thanks again <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />

For me it took two and a half hour ...

Übereil

ohh, poor you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" /> meanwhile im already level 4 stupid you can only be barbarian! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/memad.gif" alt="" />



do you need to have played dungeon siege 1 to know the things for ds2?

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Übereil

i will rewrite it: meanwhile im already level 4, stupid you can only play as barbarian.


im talking about the diablo2 demo.

I'd just like to add one thing: you don't have to click-click-click to attack. You may also click and hold your mouse button to attack.
Also, you may activate the Dungeon Siege 1 auto-attack from the main menu.
Different skill combinations as well as different levels result in different classes.
For instance, a low-level Melee-only character will be a "Soldier". A higher level will be a "Warrior". A low-level Melee + Nature magic character is a "Friar". A higher level Melee + Nature magic is a "Druid".
Talk to the innkeeper to increase your party limit and get a pet as soon as you can in order to start feeding it.
Last advice: no matter how many healing potions you may have, do NOT sell any of those. Mana potions are the only exception: sell them if you have no spell casters in the group and you yourself have no wish to become a magician.

Hey i want to know something, this game Dungeon Siege 2, is at the stores already to buy? or its only the demo yet? Cause i didnt liked to much of the first one, i got the expansion but didnt liked to, but the number 2 looks nice with new races and other stuff.
Btw im keeping my eye open for NeverWinter Nights 2 in 2006.
And its a pity that the Jade Empire game is only for Xbox, anyone have any idea if will have a computer version for it?


Just saw is up to the stores today lol. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

dungeon siege2 is realesed today.

Yup, and I'm allredy downloading it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />...

Übereil

the demo or full version?

Well, since I've allready downloaded the demo... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

Übereil

Jade Empire was developed exclusively for Xbox. I assure you, it's control scheme wouldn't work well on PC.

allright, cause nobody replies in the other thread: is there someone who ever played champions (of norrath)2: return to arms???? whas it a good game?