Dungeon Siege 3

by Square Enix

Product Features

• For the first time, play DUNGEON SIEGE on high-def consoles
• Players will be able to adventure by themselves or with friends in co-op multiplayer
• Uncover a deep story that only Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment can deliver
• Pick from unique and highly customizable character classes with a wide range of abilities to choose from;
• Players will have weighty decisions to make that will impact their alliances, enemies and the culmination of the story

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002I0JJAW
• Item Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: June 21, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,113 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #7 in Video Games > PC Games > Action > Fighting

Product Description

Platform: PC | Edition: Standard

From the Manufacturer

For centuries legionnaires have protected the nation of Ehb until they were betrayed and all but driven to the brink of extinction. Now that evil has returned to Ehb the people turn to the few remaining Legionnaires for the protection of the past . As an heir to the legion will you accept this plea for help? How it will all be resolved is up to you!

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Dungeon Siege 3 is an Action RPG that seamlessly blends intuitive fast-paced gameplay, a robust RPG system featuring a large selection of abilities, loot galore and the depth of story Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment are known for creating. Players will be able to adventure by themselves, on the couch with friends, or online in a fully multiplayer experience.

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Lucas Montbarron
Lucas Montbarron is the son of the former Grand Master of the Legion. He is the last of a noble and respected line. Raised in a series of safehouses by families loyal to his father's memory, Lucas will not rest until the Legion is rebuilt, and his family's honor is restored. Lucas has been taught the art of combat in the ancient and deadly style of the Legion. Lucas is a skilled swordsman, and a master of two combat stances. He can fight with a sword and shield, which allows him to attack quickly, deal heavy damage, and interrupt and stun single targets. When outnumbered, he wields a massive two-handed sword. While slower to swing and less practical for one-on-one combat, it can strike multiple foes and knock them back, making it an ideal weapon for crowd control.




Anjali
Anjali is an archon - a legend, come to life. In the old stories, archons were spirits of fire, who served the long-lost creator gods. But Anjali was raised by friends of the Legion, and she does not know how she came to this world, or what happened to the others of her kind.

Anjali can shift freely between her human form and an incarnation of elemental fire. In human form, she fights with a staff or a spear, allowing her to fend off multiple attackers while leaping in and out of the fray. In her fiery incarnation, she can hurl bolts of flame at ranged targets, flood areas with heat and fire, or inflict searing wounds that injure her foes over time.




Katarina
Katarina is the daughter of a Legion commander and a Lescanzi witch. Her mother's people are nomads and wanderers, skilled in both warfare and magic, Katarina has been trained in their ways. At long range, she fights with ensorcelled bullets and deadly curses. When foes get close, they fare no better, as they come face-to-muzzle with her pistol and her shotgun – or perhaps the jaws of her faithful black hound. Katarina is mischievous and unpredictable, but she is also devoted to the Legion's cause...






Reinhart
Reinhart descended from a great line of Legion mages, but he spent most of his life in Stonebridge, studying magic at the Collegium. As a scholar of arcane magic, Reinhart bends the forces of creation and destruction to his will. He can channel Dynamic magic through his gauntlet, shocking or stunning his foes. Or he can use Entropic magic to warp time and space, destroying large numbers of enemies from afar. Reinhart is known for his unconventional thinking and innovative magical techniques...and for his eccentricity, too.

System Requirements   Minimum Specifications: OS: Win 7, Vista and XP Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz or equivalent RAM: 1.5 GB Hard Drive: 6 GB Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3870 or NVIDIA 9800 GT Additional Info: Unknown Product Description Torn asunder, the delicate balance of power between the kingdom of Ehb's powerful factions has fallen apart. As one of the few remaining members of the disgraced protectors of the land, the 10th Legion, it is up to you to rebuild the once great Legion and stop Ehb from falling into darkness. Joined by a group of unique companions, you will travel through the striking land of Ehb defeating all manner of villains and beasts through a combination of heroic abilities, screen shaking magic and pure cunning. DUNGEON SIEGE 3 seamlessly blends intuitive action gameplay, a robust RPG system featuring a large selection of abilities, an extensive multiplayer component and the depth of story Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment are known for creating. What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item? Dungeon Siege 3 [Download]  by Square-Enix 2.0 out of 5 stars (103) $17.76 Dungeon Siege 3 - Demo [Download]  by Square-Enix 2.4 out of 5 stars (23) $0.00 Titan Quest Gold (Titan Quest and Titan Quest Immortal Throne)  by THQ Windows XP 4.2 out of 5 stars (51) $6.75 Just Cause 2 [Download]  by Square-Enix 3.9 out of 5 stars (92) $11.79 › Explore similar items Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  dungeon siege(10) hack and slash(10) rpg(9) pc game(8) fantasy(7) adventure(5) steam(4) video games(3) action(2) action rpg(2) Agree with these tags? See all 12 tags... Your tags: Add your first tag Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags Like 1328142353 false 0 99 99 98 (99)   Customer Reviews 103 Reviews 5 star:  (8) 4 star:  (9) 3 star:  (11) 2 star:  (21) 1 star:  (54)           Average Customer Review 2.0 out of 5 stars (103 customer reviews)         Share your thoughts with other customers: Most Helpful Customer Reviews 191 of 219 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars JUST DO NOT CALL IT A DUNGEON SIEGE..., June 21, 2011 By  NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM) The original DUNGEON SIEGE was an unforgettable game that one can still greatly enjoy today. Its first sequel, DS2, was not as fun to play as it suffered from a number of issues yet it managed to retain the character of the series. Sadly this is not true for the third installment. A VAST SELECTION OF...FOUR PREMADE CHARACTERS This is the first thing that hits you. Unlike both previous DS games, DS3 offers only four characters: a Swordmaster (Lucas), a Gunslinger (Katarina), an Archon/Fire Elemental (Anjali) and a Mage (Reinhart). Can you change their gender? No. Can you alter their appearance? No. Can you personalize their stats? Since there are no stats, again: No. Choose the Swordmaster and after a while realize that he is exactly that: a Sword-only warrior. No bows, no crossbows, no slings, no range weapons whatsoever! Not only are the classes limited, the abilities available to each one of them are severely restricted as well! Now, when in a cRPG, I cannot identify with female heroes so the fact that in DS3 I cannot play a male gunslinger was major drawback. Such character restrictions are not only a major divergence from the DS tradition but also a serious flaw for any cRPG. KNOW BLIND TYPE, WILL PLAY. OTHERS MAY ONLY TRY Reeking of a hasty console port, the controls are a nightmare for the PC. You move with the W and S whereas you turn the camera with the A & D keys. You change your fighting stance with the Q button, you select your abilities with the number keys above whereas you block with the space-bar; you open your inventory with the F(?!) and your character page with the C key; and you need to keep hitting the E key every time you want to pick up or interact with something (more on this later). Did I mention the mouse so far? No. Since consoles cannot use a mouse, when it is eventually used (to attack) it feels like an...afterthought. Now, since I always play using the arrow keys and rebind keys around them to every other function, were these settings modifiable there were be no problem - but for some unfathomable reason they are not! Hence, more often than not, two-fingers-typist me kept opening the inventory instead of rotating the camera right or opening doors... Dungeon Siege series fans will remember that these are PC games - playable mostly with the mouse. Click on the character icon to open his inventory, click on the ground to move; click on a chest to open it. Since when did DS games require either a full keyboard or a ...gamepad! PIXEL HUNTING? IN 2011? HONESTLY? Approaching a container will pop an icon (an open hand or, quite redundantly in treasure chests, another...treasure chest). However, you cannot click on said icon to open the container. You have to hit E - and in order to do so your hero has to approach and step on the right spot. Now, you did all that, the container opens and the contained item(s) and gold drop on the floor. Can you click on them to pick it up? Strangely no. The gold is automatically picked up by walking over it (but not walking by it or even standing on it!). More often than not your companion will even oblige you and pick up (most of) the dropped gold. However, that does not happen for items. That makes sense, to avoid stuffing your inventory with items you would not want - until you realize that in order for the pickup-icon to appear over an item you have to, again, reposition your hero juuust right - and THEN you have to hit E once more. So, a game with awkward controls requires you to pixel-hunt to open chests and pick up loot from the floor. Come on, who thought of that one guys? And, to add insult to injury, items already explored (say, a note on the floor) do not hide once viewed but remain there to further confuse you. IMAGINE NO COMPANIONS...AND NO MULE TOO Playing a DS game always meant you would be managing up to 6 companions, at least one of them being a pack animal with a much larger inventory. Selecting and balancing your companions and then equipping them and setting their default spells or attacks was a great part of the fun. In this third installment there is no pack animal and you only get one companion at a time - and not all the time. The inventory is much larger now so I can understand why the pack animal could be omitted. And your hero (no matter his class) can transmute loot into gold so that covers a handy ability your party mage would have. However, such transmutation, for some reason, is only offered for some but not all of your unequipped items and can only be accessed by opening the Character(?) page and selecting the Items tab - but not the Inventory. Please read on. CAN THE VICTOR HANDLE THE SPOILS? DS3 has no unique items; it has no equipment sets either; and it has no locked levels that become available one by one - luring you to replay the game with higher level items. Here is another annoyance: items you cannot equip due to your class are automatically stored in your Items storage to either sell them later or transmute them into gold. So you can transmute items you cannot or do not want to use - strangely though, not all of them. Open a merchant's window (you talk to his...table, not the merchant) and the same thing happens there: you can sell items you cannot or do not want to use - but not all of them! As to the items available to buy, they are all there, regardless of class - and you have to be very careful to notice the class-compatibility! Otherwise you may end up spending all your gold on an item you cannot use. THE KINGDOM OF EHB NEVER LOOKED NICER. Because of the pre-release screenshots I had high expectations for this game - and to an extent they were justified. The environments, especially the exterior ones during daylight, are absolutely beautiful. I liked the dynamic shadows, the swinging lanterns and the swirling leaves; I enjoyed the zigzagging butterflies, the birds shying away and the dust stirred up by the hero's footsteps; and I stopped to take in the way flames dance and embers ride the thermals. Move indoors though and the level of graphical details seems to drop a couple of notches. Moreover, dungeons are also darker than necessary. Even after increasing the gamma, the indoor environments look less impressive than the exterior ones. Come to think of it, even the original DS had more atmospheric dungeons. So, the graphics overall are nice, not phenomenal but nice. Now, turn your hero around or (even worse) talk to a Non-Playing Character (NPC) and be further disappointed with how they look. Not even Barbara Walters uses so much soft-focus! WHERE EXACTLY SHOULD I BE LOOKING AT? The camera is just short of frustrating. Zoom all the way in and you are still looking at your hero from above, greatly reducing the drawing distance (for a game with such beautiful exterior environments, a major flaw). You cannot view from behind the hero, at shoulder height, like in Dragon Age: Origins. Zoom all the way out and you are still looking from an awkward angle, not exactly top-down and, although that was the zooming level I mostly used in the end, not exactly helpful either. In all fairness, the entire DS series more or less has the same issue - but since so much was taken out of the game was it not possible to improve on just this one? AND THE MUSIC PLAYED ON You know how Hemsey's Mind Heist (of Inception trailer fame) makes everything epic? Well, so did the main theme of the original DS (I still use it as a ringtone for a group in my phone). DS3 ...well, not so much. The music stays in the background and it subtly complements the action on screen. It does have its moments - but it does not give your sword swings that extra umph or make you brave it out and risk staying in the battle just a little longer. In fact, I loaded the game with the Main Theme of the original DS playing in the background and it was a big improvement! REMEMBER REMEMBER THE SAVES OF NOVEMBER DS3 has a save system that gave me some trouble at first - but that was my fault. The game will autosave at preset points which are usually spaced too far apart. Relay on them and, whenever your hero dies, you will find replaying from some point that seems ...months ago. However, in order to make a save, you need to step into the yellow smoke and press E to bring up the save page (the game pops up balloon icons everywhere yet nobody thought to give a hint of this?!). Do this often, especially in the beginning when your hero is still of low level and (if, like me, you just do not do defense), expect to die every couple of hours or so. You get 40 saves but you can overwrite older ones so there are plenty. OMINOUS STEAM OVER THE SWAMP You guessed it, DS3 comes with mandatory STEAM tie-in. With only rare notable exceptions I deduct a full star from my rating for such restrictive DRM schemes. This was not one of those exceptions. If STEAM is not important to you, feel free to adjust for this deduction. Otherwise, you have been warned. I cannot know whether OBSIDIAN aimed primarily to the console market to avoid competing with DIABLO III (rumored to be released in June but probably still months away) or it simply rushed its PC port for the same reason. In any case, this is a mediocre action cRPG at best in need of numerous patches. Replay the original DS, it is a much better game. Alternatively, wait for the price to match the product. 116 of 132 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Do not waste your money upon this game, June 21, 2011 By  Timothy H. Kepple "Lover of the esoteric" (Lander, WY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    = Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars  Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM) When I buy a PC game, I expect a PC game ... not a console game with the letters P and C slapped on it. If I want to play a game for a console, I'll buy a console- they're completely different gaming mechanisms. I've been looking forward to this game since it was announced; I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available on Amazon, based solely upon the continuation of the Dungeon Siege franchise; Dungeon Siege 1 is in my list of top-ten favorite computer games. I'm disappointed that this appears to be yet another game that builds its fanbase upon PC users, then panders to the lowest common denominator of consoles. I don't want to play a console game on my PC. If I did, I'd buy a CONSOLE. I don't want to have checkpoints; I don't want to have to play with a controller. I DO NOT HAVE A CONSOLE IN FRONT OF ME; I HAVE A PC. I'm tired of my game experience being limited to what an aging console is capable of accomplishing. I went into this game with an open mind, hoping I'd enjoy the experience. I spent the weekend playing through DS1 in anticipation. This did not happen. I can choose from ... four characters. I can't even pick a name. I can't customize them. I can't even tell what they are. My friend and I lasted 15 minutes in multiplayer before I shut the game off because I had motion sickness to the point I felt like vomiting. It's bad enough that both characters have to be on screen at the same time (On a PC?!) But when the other player moves, it move MY camera. Even when I'm trying to stand still and maneuver close enough to something that I can use the freakin' "action key" teh screen is swaying and churning like a boat at sea. The viewing angle is already exceedingly awkward. If at my native resolution of 1920x1080, when zoomed out as far as possible, I felt like I was playing on an 800x600 screen. Save points? Again- I AM NOT ON A CONSOLE. I have an ENTIRE 500GB hard drive for nothing but games. Save away! I don't mind! The game automatically activates your microphone if you have one plugged in. The music sounds like bad early German ambient electronica at the beginning of the game. So much so, that I'm not sure it was even playing correctly, as it mostly sounded like a collection of random beeps and feedback. I'm done with pre-orders before reviews are out. I'm tired of console ports that fail to live up to the PC's capabilities; I'm equally tired of reviewers glibly accepting this without calling game companies to task. And why is the game so ... French? I'm in the Kingdom of Ehb, yet everyone sounds like they spent the month in Paris. This is NOT Dungeon Siege. This is not even a PC game. And why do I need a Steam connection to play at home on my LAN? Thank you, Square Enix and Obsidian. I will not pre-order games ever again; I'm tired of being burnt by crap like this. EDITED TO ADD: One of the biggest problems with computer games is that they are non-returnable. You buy a game, it utterly sucks, and you're stuck with it. There is no way to get your money back; and therefore, no incentive for game companies to improve their products. 78 of 93 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Warning This Is Not Dungeon Siege, June 22, 2011 By  William A. W. (Oklahoma City, OK) - See all my reviews = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM) Before I explain why I am giving this game a 1, I will give you the pro's of the game first. 1. Good character development 2. Story Line. That is pretty much of all the pro's I can think of. The con's of the game. 1. This is not Dungeon Siege! The world is pretty much closed and you follow a predefined path. The world is not open like the other two Dungeon Siege games. It is pretty much linear. 2. It did not come with a manual. The site I was told I could download the manual, [...] gave me a 403 forbidden error. I even tried at Square Enix's site and got and error. 3. My registration for the game worked fine for steam, but my red registration card to register with Square Enix told me it had expired. Amazon delivered this game the day it was released to me. 4. I don't like having to use STEAM to play the game. Maybe i should have looked into this before purchase. 5. No Health Potions, Mana Potions. You just pick up little green or blue floating balls to refill. 6. You can start with a choice of 4 characters. You can not customize characters at all, or even name them. 7. The area's were you can walk are so small some combat is so hard you cant run to get away and fight a few at a time. 8. The world is dark. Never seems to be bright daylight. As stated above you spend most times in caves, dungeons ect. 9. I will admit I am not great at combat, but i get caught in small spaces so much I am constantly reloading. 10. You can only save at certain spots. 11. Although I have not beaten the game yet, it seems that a lot of people are finishing it in about 12-16 hours. 12. For the price they charged for this game, the content could have been a lot better. Instead they plan to make you purchase more content. With that being said, If you don't look at this game as a "Dungeon Siege Game" maybe you will like it. I am sorely disappointed, I will try to finish the game simply so I haven't wasted my money. 2115|R35B3FZG3BIW6;2115|R2AIZFNQGD2332;2115|R1PTNJYTUCYX7F;       Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the time to play I bought this solely because it was co-op and my wife enjoyed playing Champions Return to Arms. This is an incredibly boring game. Read more Published 2 days ago by D. Hafley 1.0 out of 5 stars This game lags bad! This game was a waste of money, I wish I hadn't bought it. It lags so bad it is just awful to play. I've tried in offline mode, doesn't make any difference. Read more Published 2 days ago by artsmith 3.0 out of 5 stars The game is fine I got this game when it was on sale. It's not the greatest game in the world, the game play is some what crap since it's really hard to control your camera and fight at the same... Read more Published 14 days ago by C. Chen 2.0 out of 5 stars it's better the previous this is nothing like Dungeon Siege... Very disappointed all the way around. I cannot stand the camera angles. try the demo before Published 20 days ago by Eduryas 4.0 out of 5 stars Nice game It's not the best game of the year, but I had over 20 hours of fun. Recommended! If you doubt about the purchase oif this game, you shouldnt. Published 20 days ago by Jevi 2.0 out of 5 stars If you had a cRPG and maybe even a hack n' slash in mind, pass... I, like it seems many others, decided to try this game based off of past experiences with the original Dungeon Siege. Read more Published 22 days ago by Ravenant211 4.0 out of 5 stars Fun combat and story, but a bit too linear. I don't know why people are giving this game extremely low reviews, it's really not that bad. The only problem with the game is simply replay value; however most games with high... Read more Published 26 days ago by Chase 1.0 out of 5 stars The game looks promising. If only I could play it. I bought this game hoping that the decent reviews it got from Gamestop and others would mean that I could enjoy it for some tme. Read more Published 29 days ago by Mark 4.0 out of 5 stars Great game if like ARPGs We had our eye on this game for some time as we are fans of action RPGs. While it is different from the previous Dungeon Siege games it turns out on its own it is a fun and well... Read more Published 1 month ago by K. Rhodes 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game, enjoy it for what it is not what you think it should be I bought this game a few days ago because it was so cheap, I never played the previous games in the Dungeon Siege franchise although I've been a long-time PC gamer and know some... Read more Published 1 month ago by chizow Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews Customer Discussions This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post Are they kidding with that last fight? *Spoilers* 2 Nov 16, 2011 Dungeon Siege 3 - BEST RPG 2011 Not for PC, but for XBOX 3 Nov 16, 2011 Boycott SE! 15 Sep 20, 2011 24$ on Impulse 9/17-9/18 0 Sep 17, 2011 Demo out , Any thoughts 43 Jun 30, 2011 lol I knew it 0 Jun 28, 2011 This Game Should Have Not Been Called Dungeon Siege 1 Jun 24, 2011 Steam offering Dungeon Siege 1 and 2 with preorder... 2 Jun 17, 2011 › See all 14 discussions...   Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post Video Games forum OT: What is Best in Life? 9045 1 minute ago Video Games forum Xbox Live Gold: The Indispensable Rip-off 305 2 minutes ago Video Games forum Which is your favorite Final Fantasy game and why? 154 3 minutes ago Video Games forum Kingdoms of Amalur Demo Impressions... 380 3 minutes ago Action Game forum Which video game do you think will be a good movie. 161 7 hours ago PC Game forum Why is Steam suddenly bad? 693 1 day ago Action Game forum is GTA 4 suitable for 15yr old? 126 1 day ago PC Game forum pc game info wanted 4 2 days ago Search Customer Discussions Only search this product's forum     Related forums Action Game forum  (181 discussions) fighting games forum (start the discussion) PC Game forum  (510 discussions) Video Games forum  (1023 discussions) Listmania! 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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

191 of 219 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars JUST DO NOT CALL IT A DUNGEON SIEGE..., June 21, 2011

By 

NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM)

The original DUNGEON SIEGE was an unforgettable game that one can still greatly enjoy today. Its first sequel, DS2, was not as fun to play as it suffered from a number of issues yet it managed to retain the character of the series. Sadly this is not true for the third installment.

A VAST SELECTION OF...FOUR PREMADE CHARACTERS
This is the first thing that hits you. Unlike both previous DS games, DS3 offers only four characters: a Swordmaster (Lucas), a Gunslinger (Katarina), an Archon/Fire Elemental (Anjali) and a Mage (Reinhart). Can you change their gender? No. Can you alter their appearance? No. Can you personalize their stats? Since there are no stats, again: No.
Choose the Swordmaster and after a while realize that he is exactly that: a Sword-only warrior. No bows, no crossbows, no slings, no range weapons whatsoever! Not only are the classes limited, the abilities available to each one of them are severely restricted as well!
Now, when in a cRPG, I cannot identify with female heroes so the fact that in DS3 I cannot play a male gunslinger was major drawback. Such character restrictions are not only a major divergence from the DS tradition but also a serious flaw for any cRPG.

KNOW BLIND TYPE, WILL PLAY. OTHERS MAY ONLY TRY
Reeking of a hasty console port, the controls are a nightmare for the PC. You move with the W and S whereas you turn the camera with the A & D keys. You change your fighting stance with the Q button, you select your abilities with the number keys above whereas you block with the space-bar; you open your inventory with the F(?!) and your character page with the C key; and you need to keep hitting the E key every time you want to pick up or interact with something (more on this later). Did I mention the mouse so far? No. Since consoles cannot use a mouse, when it is eventually used (to attack) it feels like an...afterthought.
Now, since I always play using the arrow keys and rebind keys around them to every other function, were these settings modifiable there were be no problem - but for some unfathomable reason they are not! Hence, more often than not, two-fingers-typist me kept opening the inventory instead of rotating the camera right or opening doors...
Dungeon Siege series fans will remember that these are PC games - playable mostly with the mouse. Click on the character icon to open his inventory, click on the ground to move; click on a chest to open it. Since when did DS games require either a full keyboard or a ...gamepad!

PIXEL HUNTING? IN 2011? HONESTLY?
Approaching a container will pop an icon (an open hand or, quite redundantly in treasure chests, another...treasure chest). However, you cannot click on said icon to open the container. You have to hit E - and in order to do so your hero has to approach and step on the right spot. Now, you did all that, the container opens and the contained item(s) and gold drop on the floor. Can you click on them to pick it up? Strangely no.
The gold is automatically picked up by walking over it (but not walking by it or even standing on it!). More often than not your companion will even oblige you and pick up (most of) the dropped gold. However, that does not happen for items.
That makes sense, to avoid stuffing your inventory with items you would not want - until you realize that in order for the pickup-icon to appear over an item you have to, again, reposition your hero juuust right - and THEN you have to hit E once more. So, a game with awkward controls requires you to pixel-hunt to open chests and pick up loot from the floor. Come on, who thought of that one guys?
And, to add insult to injury, items already explored (say, a note on the floor) do not hide once viewed but remain there to further confuse you.

IMAGINE NO COMPANIONS...AND NO MULE TOO
Playing a DS game always meant you would be managing up to 6 companions, at least one of them being a pack animal with a much larger inventory. Selecting and balancing your companions and then equipping them and setting their default spells or attacks was a great part of the fun. In this third installment there is no pack animal and you only get one companion at a time - and not all the time.
The inventory is much larger now so I can understand why the pack animal could be omitted. And your hero (no matter his class) can transmute loot into gold so that covers a handy ability your party mage would have. However, such transmutation, for some reason, is only offered for some but not all of your unequipped items and can only be accessed by opening the Character(?) page and selecting the Items tab - but not the Inventory. Please read on.

CAN THE VICTOR HANDLE THE SPOILS?
DS3 has no unique items; it has no equipment sets either; and it has no locked levels that become available one by one - luring you to replay the game with higher level items.
Here is another annoyance: items you cannot equip due to your class are automatically stored in your Items storage to either sell them later or transmute them into gold. So you can transmute items you cannot or do not want to use - strangely though, not all of them.
Open a merchant's window (you talk to his...table, not the merchant) and the same thing happens there: you can sell items you cannot or do not want to use - but not all of them! As to the items available to buy, they are all there, regardless of class - and you have to be very careful to notice the class-compatibility! Otherwise you may end up spending all your gold on an item you cannot use.

THE KINGDOM OF EHB NEVER LOOKED NICER.
Because of the pre-release screenshots I had high expectations for this game - and to an extent they were justified. The environments, especially the exterior ones during daylight, are absolutely beautiful. I liked the dynamic shadows, the swinging lanterns and the swirling leaves; I enjoyed the zigzagging butterflies, the birds shying away and the dust stirred up by the hero's footsteps; and I stopped to take in the way flames dance and embers ride the thermals.
Move indoors though and the level of graphical details seems to drop a couple of notches. Moreover, dungeons are also darker than necessary. Even after increasing the gamma, the indoor environments look less impressive than the exterior ones. Come to think of it, even the original DS had more atmospheric dungeons.
So, the graphics overall are nice, not phenomenal but nice. Now, turn your hero around or (even worse) talk to a Non-Playing Character (NPC) and be further disappointed with how they look. Not even Barbara Walters uses so much soft-focus!

WHERE EXACTLY SHOULD I BE LOOKING AT?
The camera is just short of frustrating. Zoom all the way in and you are still looking at your hero from above, greatly reducing the drawing distance (for a game with such beautiful exterior environments, a major flaw). You cannot view from behind the hero, at shoulder height, like in Dragon Age: Origins. Zoom all the way out and you are still looking from an awkward angle, not exactly top-down and, although that was the zooming level I mostly used in the end, not exactly helpful either.
In all fairness, the entire DS series more or less has the same issue - but since so much was taken out of the game was it not possible to improve on just this one?

AND THE MUSIC PLAYED ON
You know how Hemsey's Mind Heist (of Inception trailer fame) makes everything epic? Well, so did the main theme of the original DS (I still use it as a ringtone for a group in my phone). DS3 ...well, not so much. The music stays in the background and it subtly complements the action on screen. It does have its moments - but it does not give your sword swings that extra umph or make you brave it out and risk staying in the battle just a little longer.
In fact, I loaded the game with the Main Theme of the original DS playing in the background and it was a big improvement!

REMEMBER REMEMBER THE SAVES OF NOVEMBER
DS3 has a save system that gave me some trouble at first - but that was my fault. The game will autosave at preset points which are usually spaced too far apart. Relay on them and, whenever your hero dies, you will find replaying from some point that seems ...months ago.
However, in order to make a save, you need to step into the yellow smoke and press E to bring up the save page (the game pops up balloon icons everywhere yet nobody thought to give a hint of this?!). Do this often, especially in the beginning when your hero is still of low level and (if, like me, you just do not do defense), expect to die every couple of hours or so.
You get 40 saves but you can overwrite older ones so there are plenty.

OMINOUS STEAM OVER THE SWAMP
You guessed it, DS3 comes with mandatory STEAM tie-in. With only rare notable exceptions I deduct a full star from my rating for such restrictive DRM schemes. This was not one of those exceptions. If STEAM is not important to you, feel free to adjust for this deduction. Otherwise, you have been warned.

I cannot know whether OBSIDIAN aimed primarily to the console market to avoid competing with DIABLO III (rumored to be released in June but probably still months away) or it simply rushed its PC port for the same reason. In any case, this is a mediocre action cRPG at best in need of numerous patches.

Replay the original DS, it is a much better game.
Alternatively, wait for the price to match the product.

116 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not waste your money upon this game, June 21, 2011

By 

Timothy H. Kepple "Lover of the esoteric" (Lander, WY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM)

When I buy a PC game, I expect a PC game ... not a console game with the letters P and C slapped on it. If I want to play a game for a console, I'll buy a console- they're completely different gaming mechanisms.

I've been looking forward to this game since it was announced; I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available on Amazon, based solely upon the continuation of the Dungeon Siege franchise; Dungeon Siege 1 is in my list of top-ten favorite computer games.

I'm disappointed that this appears to be yet another game that builds its fanbase upon PC users, then panders to the lowest common denominator of consoles.

I don't want to play a console game on my PC. If I did, I'd buy a CONSOLE. I don't want to have checkpoints; I don't want to have to play with a controller. I DO NOT HAVE A CONSOLE IN FRONT OF ME; I HAVE A PC.

I'm tired of my game experience being limited to what an aging console is capable of accomplishing.

I went into this game with an open mind, hoping I'd enjoy the experience. I spent the weekend playing through DS1 in anticipation. This did not happen.

I can choose from ... four characters. I can't even pick a name. I can't customize them. I can't even tell what they are. My friend and I lasted 15 minutes in multiplayer before I shut the game off because I had motion sickness to the point I felt like vomiting. It's bad enough that both characters have to be on screen at the same time (On a PC?!) But when the other player moves, it move MY camera. Even when I'm trying to stand still and maneuver close enough to something that I can use the freakin' "action key" teh screen is swaying and churning like a boat at sea.

The viewing angle is already exceedingly awkward. If at my native resolution of 1920x1080, when zoomed out as far as possible, I felt like I was playing on an 800x600 screen.

Save points? Again- I AM NOT ON A CONSOLE. I have an ENTIRE 500GB hard drive for nothing but games. Save away! I don't mind!

The game automatically activates your microphone if you have one plugged in.

The music sounds like bad early German ambient electronica at the beginning of the game. So much so, that I'm not sure it was even playing correctly, as it mostly sounded like a collection of random beeps and feedback.

I'm done with pre-orders before reviews are out. I'm tired of console ports that fail to live up to the PC's capabilities; I'm equally tired of reviewers glibly accepting this without calling game companies to task.

And why is the game so ... French? I'm in the Kingdom of Ehb, yet everyone sounds like they spent the month in Paris.

This is NOT Dungeon Siege. This is not even a PC game.

And why do I need a Steam connection to play at home on my LAN?

Thank you, Square Enix and Obsidian. I will not pre-order games ever again; I'm tired of being burnt by crap like this.

EDITED TO ADD:

One of the biggest problems with computer games is that they are non-returnable. You buy a game, it utterly sucks, and you're stuck with it. There is no way to get your money back; and therefore, no incentive for game companies to improve their products.

78 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning This Is Not Dungeon Siege, June 22, 2011

By 

William A. W. (Oklahoma City, OK) - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dungeon Siege III (DVD-ROM)

Before I explain why I am giving this game a 1, I will give you the pro's of the game first.

1. Good character development
2. Story Line.

That is pretty much of all the pro's I can think of.

The con's of the game.

1. This is not Dungeon Siege! The world is pretty much closed and you follow a predefined path. The world is not open like the other two Dungeon Siege games. It is pretty much linear.
2. It did not come with a manual. The site I was told I could download the manual, [...] gave me a 403 forbidden error. I even tried at Square Enix's site and got and error.
3. My registration for the game worked fine for steam, but my red registration card to register with Square Enix told me it had expired. Amazon delivered this game the day it was released to me.
4. I don't like having to use STEAM to play the game. Maybe i should have looked into this before purchase.
5. No Health Potions, Mana Potions. You just pick up little green or blue floating balls to refill.
6. You can start with a choice of 4 characters. You can not customize characters at all, or even name them.
7. The area's were you can walk are so small some combat is so hard you cant run to get away and fight a few at a time.
8. The world is dark. Never seems to be bright daylight. As stated above you spend most times in caves, dungeons ect.
9. I will admit I am not great at combat, but i get caught in small spaces so much I am constantly reloading.
10. You can only save at certain spots.
11. Although I have not beaten the game yet, it seems that a lot of people are finishing it in about 12-16 hours.
12. For the price they charged for this game, the content could have been a lot better. Instead they plan to make you purchase more content.

With that being said, If you don't look at this game as a "Dungeon Siege Game" maybe you will like it. I am sorely disappointed, I will try to finish the game simply so I haven't wasted my money.

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