Customer Reviews

Dungeon Siege III

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am a Dungeon Siege fan through and through. I am also a PC gamer, not a console gamer. DS 3 is neither a Dungeon Siege game or a PC game.
When I buy an RPG for PC I expect an engaging, immersive world with highly customizable characters and equipment that can be used to explore unique areas with parties of at least 4 or more heroes/henchmen. This game has NONE of that. It is obviously an attempt to release an RPG simultaneously on both the PC and console. In order to accomplish this the game must work on the console's limited controller structure. By doing this you remove all the functionality of the PC's mouse and keyboard input devices.
I am extremely disappointed in this release. I'm out $50 after playing the game for about 10 minutes. Other reviewers have gone into much more detail about the poor control structure of this game. Please read those reviews and make an informed choice before deciding whether to buy or not.

Very dissapointed beat the game in about 12 hours of gameplay. Not at all what I expected in the Dungeon Siege franchise. I guess it just boils down to is, it's cross platform now and what has been a PC title with some complexity and replayability has been overly simplified so it can be played on consoles. You can't even map ablities to new keys, you are stuck with the default and have to play the game like you're using a controller but with your keyboard and mouse. Good thing there's a complete lack of abilities in the game, that all your attacks can be used with the 1, 2, and 3 keys. Anyways skip the PC version, Dungeon Siege is an oversimplified console game now with a party size of 2 and very little content and no replayability.

Also, the last boss fight for me was bugged and there is no way for the player to lose, you just automatically win.

There's an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Dungeon Siege 1 was brilliant in that it was a simple hack and slash game, with tons of loot in an open world (as in it didn't feel cramped and completely linear). Character customization was through the roof. Game play could last for days, weeks, months... hell I still play it from time to time. I won't ramble on with it, but moving on to the sequels, it seems that they keep changing and adding new ideas which completely broke away from what the original was all about.

Dungeon Siege 3 is a monstrosity if compared to its predecessors. This is a completely unrelated game with its own mechanics and should not bear the name of Dungeon Siege. The Dungeon Siege series was a PC exclusive game, till now and this shows the full force of it. This was blatantly made for the console with the PC as a mere afterthought.

Character Customization:
There is none. Zero. Nada. Zip. You have four characters to choose from and they are all pre-made and stuck in their specific field. Want a warrior that can shoot spells or used ranged weaponry? Nope, sorry. You cannot change your characters name, you cannot customize your characters appearance, you cannot change how your character plays. The only thing that CAN be customized is talents as you level. Even though by the end of the game, you will have ALL of the talents for your specific class, throwing decisions and builds out the window.

Multiplayer:
One of the key aspects of this game was cooperative multiplayer. Here's how it works. One player creates a game and can set it to Offline (default), Private, or Public. With Private, you can invite friends to join or Public random people can join in. The player that created the game can keep any loot or xp they acquire throughout the game. Any players that joined, choose a pre-made character to "help" the main character (eg the person that created the game). Secondary characters do NOT keep ANYTHING from their multiplayer session. All players must remain on screen at all times or you cannot move anywhere. If a player tries to run away, the camera will skew to such a degree so that you are always facing the other players and will hit an invisible wall. Does this sound fun? Absolutely not. Massive restriction here.

Controls/Camera:
This was the worst of it I think. I mentioned the camera in multiplayer above. On top of that, it's restricted to a near top/down view, hindering view distance and visibility. I felt like I was stuck in a resolution of 800x600 while in multiplayer. Single player camera seems to play out differently, and I did not have much of an issue with it besides the control interface. Movement is solely with the ASWD keys (no point in click found in the previous titles). There is NO keyboard customization in this game. NONE. What game does NOT allow keyboard configurations?!

DRM:
This game makes use of Steamworks as its DRM of choice. While I have no issue with it, as I make extensive use of Steam, others may. If you do not want to be forced into using Steam, do NOT buy this game (although I wouldn't recommend this game regardless).

Stay far and clear of this title. If I could get a refund for this, I would do it in a heartbeat. Game completion time is less then 15 hours, not worth the price tag. Re-playability is none.

At the end of the day I found Dungeon Siege 3 to be enjoyable on some levels, but I feel as though releasing this game under the Dungeon Siege banner may have been a bit misleading to loyal DS fans. I get the feeling that the game was titled more out of a desire to hook into an established customer base for use as a marketing tool than being titled out of any true relation to the Dungeon Siege series.

I found the control setup and overall feel of the gameplay to be very familiar. In fact it reminded me of another Square Enix title, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Both titles feel very similar to each other in terms of gameplay, style, and mechanics. DS3 did not remind me of DS1 or DS2, so loyal fans beware.

In the past the Dungeon Siege series has been a PC exclusive. The third installment marks the first time that the series has gone multi-platform, making an appearance on consoles. The control mechanisms and even the HUD suggest that this game was designed primarily for play on consoles with the PC as an afterthought, so much so that I would not recommend getting this game unless you have a 360 controller (or equivalent). The controls are very cumbersome on a keyboard/mouse setup.

This game seeks to fill the action RPG void but places a stronger focus on the action. Most RPG elements have been significantly reduced in scope, at least when compared to typical PC action RPGs. There are really only a small handful of active skills to select and a very limited variety in items/drops. I suspect the limited choices are due to making the game more console friendly, where the inclusion of full skill trees wouldn't have mapped well to a controller.

In some small way the simplistic nature could be viewed as an asset, I found myself "just playing the game" as opposed to overanalyzing potential character builds. In fact this game doesn't allow you to save up unused skill points; the game simply halts and forces you to spend points before you are allowed to continue. Again, this design choice points away from action RPG and more toward pure action and significantly reduces the replay value.

Each of the four character classes has two "stances" for combat. An example for the ranger class is a ranged stance to slowly dish out high damage at distance vs a close quarters stance for dealing less damage but quicker and at a reduced range. The skills you are able to use change depending on which stance is taken.
The quantity of available skills leaves much to be desired. Even with the limited number of skills I found myself exclusively using only one skill and ignoring the others. Most skills simply aren't useful at all.

There are no potions; DS3 opts for using health and mana orbs that are randomly dropped by enemies.

This game is very linear. While other DS games haven't exactly offered open ended exploration, I found that the bulk of the game was limited to very narrow corridors with little to no open space. You'll be walking down a lot of long narrow paths.

You are allowed one PC controlled party member in the single player campaign. The party member may be swapped out at any time. There are three choices of party members, namely any one of the three character classes you didn't pick as the main character.

As of yet I haven't played multiplayer, but I hear that multiplayer aspects haven't been implemented very well. Hopefully other reviews will elaborate on multiplayer.

I've found the game to be compelling and fun and I imagine I'll eventually do a few play-throughs but expectations will play a large role in determining whether you will enjoy the game. In this regard Square Enix has set themselves up for some backlash from the PC gamer community. "Dungeon Siege" carries a whole set of expectations along with it and those expectations simply weren't met. They would have been better off going with a different title. The good news is that a free demo is available, and it will give you a good indication as to whether you will enjoy the game.

One final note... while fun in its own unique way I feel as though the simplistic nature of the game warrants a lower initial price point. A true Dungeon Siege sequel with all the depth and trimmings would have warranted the higher price, but this game definitely has an Xbox live feel and should have been priced accordingly.

Edit: A few important things I haven't seen mentioned yet.
- There's no ability to start the game over at a higher difficulty with an established character. You will be starting over every time you replay.
- During the course of the game you will acquire all available skills. This removes decisions and builds from the equation; since one ranged character will have the exact same skill set as all others. There is some choice in that each skill has one of two "synergies" but the synergies offer little customization and the overall skill is the exact same.

The synergies only represent slight tweaks to percentage chance to burn, stun, etc. and don't make a significant impact. This really, really impacts the replay value. You won't go back to try a different build because there are none to be had and you'll likely get your fill of the three remaining classes you didn't select because they make up your party. At this point I don't really see myself replaying the game with each of the 4 character classes. I'll likely only play twice so I can see all four characters in action (player controlled and PC controlled ally).

Did I go back in time 3 months, because this must be April Fool's Day. I thought after the Fall Out New Vegas fiasco, Obsidian would get their act together and create something a lot more engaging. Instead this game makes New Vegas look like the Mona Lisa of RPG's.

This game may be playable on a console, but on a PC every thing from movement to looting is mind boggingly ridiculous. And based on the other reviews, it doesn't seem too good on the consoles either. Key strokes to loot? Why not just go full out 90's and make every action type based? "Equip Shotgun of Mercy." "Point gun at head." "Pull trigger."

Well, another $50 bucks wasted. And because of Steam, I guess I can't even sell it. Thanks game developers for shoving another heaping pile into the mouths of your loyal sheeple yet
again. Anyone want a shiny frisbee? I will never pre-order another game again. Be warned.

I read the reviews here and various other locations and waited for the release before considering buy this game. Luckily, there is a demo version that you can try and I did. All the reviews are correct. DS3 isn't anywhere close to the previous two. Controls are a joke. Obsidian did to the DS3 what EA did to the Command & Conquer 4, totally FUBARed it. I would definitely try the demo before wasting $50. I'll wait til this hits under $20 like I did before wasting $20 on C&C4. It will be there in about 4-6 months when it doesn't sell unless the company can seriously patch this game to be more like a PC game and follow the DS series.