Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna Preview

As our esteemed colleague SixShooter pointed out, the first Dungeon Siege game was the ultimate Diablo 2 killer (check out our review). (Oh man, I can already feel the fury of the Diablo 2 fanboys. - 2Lions) The game successfully delivered everything players ever wanted from a classic hack'n'slash RPG. Hardcore Dungeon Siege fans are most likely aware that Gas Power Games are working on the full sequel to the game. Microsoft and GPG wanted to make sure every detail was primed for Dungeon Siege II, so they signed up Mad Doc Software, creators of Star Trek Armada II and the Empire Earth expansion, to work on the expansion pack, entitled Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna. Although most of the work is currently being done by Mad Doc, a number of skilled artists and designers from GPG also offered their assistance. So, you can be sure the add-on will have all the flavors of the original.

The expansion pack takes place some time after the events in the first Dungeon Siege game. At the beginning of the game, players will get to go to the tropical island of Aranna. The first chapter of the game sees players traveling through a distant part of the Kingdom of Ehb (later on, your journey continues to the Island of the Utraeans). The main character is actually one of the remaining heroes who have guarded the village of Arhok for a long time. Your main quest throughout the game is to find out who's behind the mysterious disappearance of your parents some 20 year ago. Oh - and... uhm, while you're at it, you'll also have to stop a great evil known as the Shadowjumper from destroying the world with the powers of an ancient artifact, called the Staff of Stars (oh my, I didn't see that one coming).

Even though the action-packed gameplay of the original was much to the liking of all gamers, there were many complaints about the game's linear storyline - an aspect which unfortunately drained out some of the RPG fun. Now the game will allow players to go freely around every area. But, the developers also stressed that a linear structure of the game helps perpetuate an interesting and coherent story. So, they do not intend to divert from the original concept too much. This time players can revisit certain locations, in order to explore a number of new side areas; which may hold treasures that are vital to the main story.

Like in the previous game, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna allows you to play with a standard farm girl or farm boy. The difference is that this time you'll also be able to play as Najj, a new tough Half-giant character (Fee fi fo fum... he's 9 feet tall and likes to go to the mall! Fee fi fo fum!). As you pass along the regions of the Utraean empire, many of its residents will be inclined to join your party to help you on your quest. Most of the Utraeans inherited great magical powers from their ancestors, so various spells and enchantments are known to them. Other, slightly younger Utraeans, still prefer using their physical strengths, thus you may always use these skills in melee combat. Just so you know, to ensure the survival of your characters, improvements were added to the AI of your party members. This time, when a party member is in trouble and is separated from the group, his/her portrait will light up orange. In such emergencies, other characters now respond quicker than before and from a considerably longer range. These enhancements will be of great use when you're overwhelmed by foes.

Many of the new locals are going to be swarming with miscellaneous unpleasant creatures. There are two main species that usually dwell in the Utraean empire - the Zaurask and the Hassat. Both of these are not all too fond of humans. The Zaurask, in particular, are an extremely dangerous and cruel bunch. Although their favorite pastime is hunting down humans that dare to cross their territory, they also help ancient evils in their effort to unleash darkness and desolation upon the world. The Hassat, on the other hand, are less brutal, but have their own unique ways of fighting. They are actually two-footed cats created by the Utraeans as a labor force long ago. Eventually, The Hassat rose up to overthrow their masters and now they roam freely throughout the land. This race consists of skilled archers, mages, and melee fighters, all of which may prove to be challenging opponents in combat. On top of these unique races, players get to encounter a variety of additional opponents that have their own methods of attack. One particularly nasty group of foes is called the Skitterclaws; birdlike creatures that can form huge flocks around characters, which makes them very difficult to tackle. Next to those, you might run into some doppelgangers. These are extremely tricky, since they possess the ability to take on the shape and appearance of characters within your party (that includes copying the weapons and items they carry).

All in all, there will be over 100 new monsters to fight against, so it's safe to say you'll have your hands full. In case that's not enough for ya, the game brings along a host of new boss creatures into the picture, some of which are exceptionally huge. As you progress through the game, you get to fight an enormous spider-shaped Lost Queen (a creature that spawns various enemies from its enormous tail), a colossal Kraken, and, eventually the Shadowjumper, who receives additional assistance from his numerous followers.

The expansion pack also features an updated spell book. This includes the new Orb spell that encircles its caster, simultaneously allowing for powerful strikes at oncoming enemies. With such a spell by their side, mages will become even more powerful than before. If you prefer controlling mage characters, you may also get to use the all-new Transformation spell - another good way to eliminate baddies. Any mage using this spell, can change into a hideous monster and confront enemies effectively in close combat. Personally, I found Diminution to be a rather amusing addition to your spell book. This cool spell decreases the power of your opponents and shrinks them to half their size. At this point it was revealed that the Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna will include over 70 new spells for players to cast.

Along with the additional content, such as new spells, characters, monsters, items, and such, Mad Doc also worked on improving the interface, which will surely help players organize the heaps of things they collect throughout the game. A new button was added for redistributing potions through the inventories of your party members - simply click on the button and watch all mana potions go to your mage characters; while health potions are placed in the inventories of melee fighters. Cool! Wish I had that one when I played through Diablo... More upgrades have been included, such as the overhead world map that can be used to find out the progress of your character - you collect pieces of the map as you go along. These additions and changes are clearly an effective way of streamlining the gameplay.

Legends of Aranna will feature a few visual improvements, like new character and monster models, on top of a wide variety of new cool-looking spells. Also, the camera-control system was upgraded for the cut-scenes.

There's a rather cool addition incorporated to the multiplayer mode as well. On top of being able to import multiplayer characters from the original straight into the expansion, players can also use an all-new Multiplayer Save system, which saves your journal status before you exit a game (a feature that wasn't available in the previous game). So, if you happen to be playing with your friends you can easily continue where you left off.

Releasing an add-on was obviously a good move by MS. Its launch should create enough of a stir in the industry just in time for the sequel. You can expect Dungeon Siege II to arrive some time in 2004. But, for the time being, we turn our eyes to Legends of Aranna, which is due out this November and has an estimated retail price tag of $29.99 (U.S.).