Genre: Hack ‘n Slash ‘n Loot

Release Date: 2011 

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher: Square Enix

Story:

Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far away… This is a tale of revenge on an epic scale. It’s been many years, and payback is long overdue… Let’s kick to Kingdom come all those who have betrayed us, the Church of Azunite and the mindless mob who torched our chapterhouses and slaughtered our brethren! Along the way, a few pesky goblins and would be sorcerers will get their comeuppance as well. Send whole armies against us, the sons and daughters of the 10th Legion of Ehb will prevail!

Playability: Cakewalk

The story is long and epic, but if you’re patient, you’ll complete your quest in due time. On easy mode, Dungeon Siege III is very accessible to old video gamers. The puzzles are straightforward, and the main quest items are clearly indicated on the mini-map (annoyingly there is no maxi-map). It’s one of those games where reading the manual won’t make much of a difference. A few tutorials would have been helpful but everything is pretty much self-explanatory. Basically, you click’n slash, and occasionally you use keyboard shortcuts to pull a lever or summon a flaming dog…

Annoyance: Nagging bard

There are plenty of beacons where you can save progress, especially right before you encounter a big nasty monster boss. The inventory system is also a breeze: you can transmogrify your unwanted items into gold right away. And if you hover over an inventory item, you get a comparison of the statistics with the item currently equipped. Camera control is the main annoyance as it is a bit awkward. You are allowed only a zoom out and a zoom in, nothing in between. The camera rotates but does not pan, which means that you always have the feeling that you are looking down at your feet or a few meters ahead of your party. It’s a shame as you can’t take in the view of the amazing scenery or look out for approaching enemies.

Beauty: Polished beauties

Dungeon Siege III has beautiful landscapes and vistas. The colors, lights and shadows, and the artwork are generally great. The dialogue cut scenes are a bit stiff, but the female protagonists are well endowed and appropriately enticing without appearing too vulgar… The music is epic but not intrusive. The voice acting is professional but not Oscar winning either.

The Old Video Gamer’s Prattle: Good adventures 7/10

Dungeon Siege III is an epic hack ‘n slash with a fairly linear script and good looking artwork. It will take an old video gamer a few weeks to complete at a leisurely pace. Progress is as easy and rewarding as digging up loot in darkly lit corridors. Better camera control and more endearing characters would have made the game great, but at current prices it is a bargain.