14 DAY TRIAL // 
It's been years since Diablo II & Lord Of Destruction messed up our PCs and our lives and still no new game managed to come even close to the "oldies". If you're already fed up with single or multi-player Diablo, but still feel sometimes like playing a RPG, then you should definitely taste some Dungeon Siege II between two rounds on Battle Net.
So get some mates and go fight!
Unlike any other RPG that struggles to undertake Diablo II through various innovations, Dungeon Siege II has no intention to go where no one has gone before. Actually, it assumes quite bravely the gender clich? established by Blizzard's legendary game.
Even if the game lasts for about 60 to 80 hours, it won't take you more than 10 to realize that the Gas Powered Game people are Diablo fans. Still there are some things they didn't agree with and decided to change.
The biggest difference between the two versions is the option for party members. Diablo II was kind of egocentric, relying on Superman qualities of a single character while Dungeon Siege II encourages team work
For starters, there will be only two characters taking the adventurous path of fantasy land, but various other characters will join them along the way, adding up to a six party in the end of the game. But this may come as a disadvantage as the gameplay doesn't allow you to control more than one character at a time. Fortunately, the switch of characters is extremely simple, so that shouldn't give you any serious headaches.
So far so good but the trouble begins when you gather a more than three party. You are likely to realize that sometimes it's easier to kill the beasts than to control your own team. Dungeon Siege II tries to simplify things even more with the autopilot character control option. That's not good news for those who tend to treat their team mates as some luggage in a station because they were used to take all the credits on their own in Diablo. They are most certainly to be slaughtered. Like it or not, you will depend on every character and won't be able to accomplish certain missions unless you cooperate.
Some levels might give you the familiar feeling of subway crowds on rush hour, because you'll be facing about two dozen characters plus your team mates.
The advantage is that you don't have such a hard time killing monsters. Actually, they are so easy to slaughter that you might even get bored at some point. Makes no sense elaborating an attack strategy, because the enemy it's not as aggressive as expected and quite dumb, to be honest, which lowers the value of the game.
Let's explore and solve!
The story isn't the best this game has to offer, but still is interesting enough to convince you to play. If you had too much Quake, than Dungeon will almost certainly disappoint you, because just following the story will get you nowhere.
Side-Quests don't exactly change the course of action, but they are important for allowing you to explore the universe and enjoy some of the stories. You might even be a little amused at some point. Another Diablo thing would be the valuable objects hunt. Ok, you may start the journey as a fighting hero, but we all know in the end it will come to gathering precious unique objects that could save your life and your career. Another cool thing is that you can sell them for big money, to buy new weapons or armors. But you shouldn't get too excited about gathering lots of money, because you have nothing to spend it on. The dieing monsters are the best providers of gear and other necessary stuff in Dungeon Siege II.
The Diablo players are sure to recognize the classification system of armors and weapons, even if they named and colored them different in Dungeon. But they are now identified as they hit the ground, so that should spare you the waste of time and money for finding a wise guy to sell you the attributes of the weapons. Gear is one aspect you're not going to complain about.
Let me evolve as I please!
One big distinction between Diablo and Dungeon Siege II is the way characters evolve. Diablo gave you no choice but to choose from the beginning who you want to be; Dungeon Siege II allows you to decide whomever you want to become based on how you handle the character.
Do you find pleasure in staring straight into the white (or some other color, depends on the level) eyes of the dieing monster?Choose the Fighter. Don't like bloody situations? You should definitely be a Ranger. Do you like to handle potions, lightings, fireballs and more other magic stuff? You're a natural born Combat Mage or Nature Mage. Each and every one of the characters evolves differently and you'd better get yourself one of each type to make your life easier.
The Skills system it's quite flexible. Feel free to innovate and experiment, but you should know that it doesn't take more than 3 or 4 strokes to sit the monsters on their lower back.
The Devil is in details!
In case you have just bought yourself a brand new Nvidia or ATI video card to enjoy impeccable graphics, hold your horses and run another game.
Dungeon Siege II has no brilliant graphics. Actually, the characters, especially the side ones look like Gas Powered Game People applied some serious budget cuts on them. The main heroes are ok, but on some levels they look kind of hazy too.
What about the levels? They are large and develop a believable fantasy land when put together, still the Dungeon Siege II levels tend to appear kind of plate and, for that matter, a little boring. The sound aspect seems to have been handled by two different teams. The soundtrack is interesting, suggestive and does influence the atmosphere of the game. As for the voices, they sound like amatory work If you're a "click&kill" player, you won't pay to much attention to what characters have to say so you won't care about the voices that much. And speaking of "clicks", you should invest into a better mouse for playing Dungeon Siege II, for in 10 hours you'll be the "click masters".
When adventure enters the gaming network
Like any other self-conscientious RPG, Dungeon Siege II has also a multiplayer component. Every player has under control two team members. You can import the ones from single-player mode, that's why you should spend some time slaughtering monsters before entering the multi-player adventure. Altogether, Dungeon Siege II isn't so bad after all, though it doesn't reach the standard set by Diablo. Even graphics could have bee better, the adventures and the evolution evolution of characters are enough reasons for you to dedicate to Dungeon Siege II a few days of your gaming time.
Graphics: 8 Audio: 8 Gameplay: 9 Concept: 8 General impression: 9
SOFTPEDIA MARK: 8.5
SCREENSHOTS
