Now then, on to the bad: The UI can be hard to control. Whenever you are in a tight area, the camera wants to move into a safe position, so as soon as you move the mouse away from the edge of the screen, the camera "bobs up" to look down at your character(s). This can really throw off your ability to manage the character(s). Also, the excitement of doing something new is often tainted by the fact that it's a thin modification of the previous steps. I like the cut-scenes and the puzzles, I just wish there were more of them.

Ok, so the good: The AI players make life a lot easier, and once you get the hang of managing the AI's settings this game can be a joy. Also, there are tons of ways to play and strategies that you can use. The magic system alone lets you play the game in dozens of different ways. The weapons and armor are just complex enough (just a bit more than Diablo) to make you think about how you want to equip your characters. It's often a hard choice, and I like that in a video game.... your milage may vary. Creatures have various advantages and disadvantages over you, and you need to figure out each one to know how to attack. Overall, it's a very good game, but not one for people who just want to plow forward and finish in a few days (you could, but you would miss a lot and the game would not be as fun).

PS: This review is actually for the basic game, not the expansion, but I'm mostly responding to other points that people have made that are the same for either or both.


Pretty and boring   June 16, 2004
Dungeon Siege: LoA is a standalone sequel to Microsoft's popular crawler. It includes both LoA and the original for a very low price that is more than reasonable. By itself, LoA utilizes the same beautiful graphics engine made popular in the first game with some 'useful' additions. The inclusion of set items, imbued items, and individual spell hotkeys greatly enhance play over the original, but the 'enhanced' AI actually takes away from the gameplay. Now when one person in your party gets attacked, the entire party will follow. Great for defending mules, bad when you want to keep formation.
It's entirely possible to now play nearly the entire game on autopilot; the only interaction between the player and the game world being recruiting more party members or picking up your loot.

As far as Dungeon Crawlers go, this one is somehow lacking. The story is immensly weak, and as such, leaves little incentive to finish the game. Multiplayer is much the same, with the tedium broken by the incursion of special online maps and, of course, people to play with.

LoA's saving grace, however, is its ability to be easily modded. There are some exquisite mods that can be downloaded that cater to the single player and the multi-player alike. Had Gas-powered Games not included this feature, odds are Dungeon Siege wouldn't have lasted to see this sequel.

If you have and enjoy Dungeon Siege, you have to ask yourself if the relatively useless set items and new item mods are worth sinking in your hard-earned money to the game. If you are new to the series, at least this game includes the original so you'll be getting two campaigns that will provide a few hours of playtime. Just make sure to check out some fan-site and pick yourself up a good mod to further your investment.


Nice hack-n-slash   June 5, 2004
This game is worth the low amount of money that it costs. Dungeon Siege is a dungeon-crawling (hence the title) hack-n-slash game like Diablo II, but the 3D enginge and party system is pretty nice. The game isn't as engrossing as Diablo II, with no arrows (bows just shoot), no skill system, a kind of weak magic system, and an "eh" storyline. However, the game is still pretty entertaining, and since the expansion pack includes the original, for only around $20, it's really worth a look. If you like games such as Diablo II, Lionheart, and Icewind Dale, check this game out. Just beware it isn't as engrossing or impressive as those other hack-n-slashers.


What a joke   June 3, 2004
I spent like 20 hours or something obscene and finally got a pack mule. Then some guy came by and said "nice donkey" and KILLED it.

It was boring just getting to that point, but after that happened, the game was pretty pointless. What a waste of time. It would be like building a stack of cards, only to have some guy walk by, smash it, then you start over.

Summary of the game - kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.....(many moons later)....kill, kill, kill, ending (all with a crappy interface).

If you ordered this, mark the box return to sender and get your money back.