Dungeon Siege 2 Hands-On

I don't know about you - and, personally, I don't care - but I *love* RPGs (I love nachos -Ed). I think I can trace this passion back to my primary school days, when I would use every opportunity to dress up like a pirate, a crusader, or a mage (Primary school? Hell that describes most of my weekends -Ed). The outfit for these was practically the same - I would don my grandma's apron, pinch the soup ladle and hang it around my waist. If I wanted to be a pirate, I would also wear dangling earrings and frequently spit all around the house (Ick -Ed). I also had the habit of folding my socks so that they could resemble Robin Hood's shoes (don't ask why). The plastic sword was unavoidable in all my pretend adventures. Sure, I did not have a real costume, but I guess it's the thought that counts. *shrug*

Try to hold him still while I stuff him with arrows. I don't like them when they're moving this much.

Not feeding your iguana pet regularly may lead to unpredictable results.

I'm glad, though, I don't have to do that anymore. Those dangling earrings, I must admit, really were a pain in the neck. (Then I would have to assume you were wearing them incorrectly -Ed) There is also the fact that in a game I am able to wield a weapon I would not even be capable of holding up in real life. Dungeon Siege 2 proves the point perfectly.

We received a preview build of the sequel to one of the most popular action RPGs (6 hours of playtime in all) and we have found so far that it brings engaging game play; with several playable races, as well as a Tolkinesque story of loyalty, treason, and an evil power that is awakened once again and must be defeated at all costs. At first you are only a pawn in a larger game with very high stakes. And by 'high' I mean you will have to risk your own life many times in order to make your way out the mess you've gotten yourself into. You start off as a mercenary for the tyrant Valdis, fighting alongside your childhood friend Drevin, but things do not go as you planned and your dishonorable alliance with the bad guys eventually puts you in prison. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In a change from the original game, when you start the single-player campaign, you are asked to choose between four playable races. These are human, dryad, elf, and half-giant. The Dryads are female (WOOHOO!!! -Ed), the half-giants are male, while if you opt to play a human or elf character, you may choose to make them either male or female. I decided for a human male as I was pretty much tired of always playing an elven character in other games. Every race has their own advantages and disadvantages, so humans make for good warriors, just as half-giants, which are obviously the strongest and the sturdiest race in the game. They can also boast quick health regeneration. On the other hand, dryads are somewhat weaker but they in turn excel in nature magic and are very skillful archers. Finally, elves make excellent swordsman and have proven to be very good in combat magic.

After I created my character, I was asked to pick the difficulty level. There are three levels in all: the Mercenary, the Veteran, and the Elite, which are intended for characters levels 0-39, 40-69, and 70-100, respectively. In order to have the Veteran and the Elite level unlocked, you must first complete the game at the first difficulty level.

I will not provide any details about the story, as it involves subjects familiar to all those who have read at least one epic fantasy novel. Suffice it to say, the game takes place 100 years after the events in the original Dungeon Siege. The game, which plays on the continent of Aranna, begins in a war camp, where the player is sent off to battle with his friend Drevin. The first chapter of the game serves as an introduction to the environments and game controls and options. After I formally asked Drevin to join me in my quest, we embarked on our journey and started getting familiar with basic combat options, the inventory system, as well as the spells and special powers.

The game took things slowly, allowing me to come to terms with the options at my own pace. The game controls are simple and typical for a hack-and-slash RPG such as Dungeon Siege and if you have played the first game, they will be immediately familiar to you. The left mouse button is used for moving and interacting with objects and people, while the right button serves for hitting things (and people) hard, and eventually killing them (that is the fun part). Commonly used specialties or items (such as mana or health potions) are mapped to keyboard shortcuts and they appear as icons in a bar at the bottom part of the screen, which also holds a small map in its right corner. Finally, the scroll button allows you to zoom in and out, so that you may have a better view of the battlefield.

The graphics in Dungeon Siege 2 seemed really great to me. Even though the sequel is powered by a heavily modified version of the old code, the rather venerable 3D engine is by no means showing its age. Clearly, the overall number of polygons has been bumped up considerably, and the designers have included such features as advanced shader effects and soft shadows, which help make the game look ... well, up to today's graphics standards. The game was rich in detail, and it also featured some neat special effects, with some great looking spells. All characters seemed nicely rendered and highly detailed, and the same goes for the many creatures I met on my way through the unforgiving world of Aranna. Every monster is clearly recognizable from a distance, even when you fully zoom out. Knowing who I was fighting at all times put me more at ease in the frenzy of combat. The monsters also had a small bar which informed me about their health status, as well as their weaknesses, which I found very useful.

Now back to the game. The interface in the game is very simple and intuitive. Party member icons are displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. Choosing a character is as easy as clicking on them in the play screen or by choosing their corresponding icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. By double-clicking on the character icon you enter the character screen, where the basic info about the character is displayed. You may enter the inventory and equip your character with the items you've collected by killing folks, breaking barrels, or buying from a merchant (trading things between party members is also possible). The Spellbook screen allows you to assign different spells to your library and use them in battle, while the Specialties screen is presented in a 'class tree' where you gain levels in different abilities and spend experience points on new skills. The character development system is done in a somewhat similar fashion to what we've seen in Diablo 2 and more recently World of WarCraft, as it allows for further skill specialization through a screen that resembles the WoW talent tree. As you would expect, character development in the sequel is made that much more complex with the possibility of making highly specialized characters, with their own distinct advantages and abilities.

The four main character classes are melee, ranged, combat magic, and nature magic, just like in the original game. You may also choose to improve your abilities in different classes, but I preferred sticking to a single class for achieving the best results. As I've always fancied the idea of killing people from afar, without their dirty hands, fangs, or paws touching me (Same here. Unless I'm paying for it -Ed), I chose to be a bowman, deciding to specialize in bows, crossbows, and throwing weapons. I'm telling you, there's no other pleasure like watching some poor wretch climb up a hill, trying to devour me, and then killing them with several quick shots from a distance, smiling as they crumple at my feet like a pile of shit (If that's fun to you, Christmas at your house must be a real treat -Ed).