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Diablo-Lite

» Pros

» Cons

-Linear, but in a bad way
-No plot. I swear. None at all.
-No replay value whatsoever
-Nothing New

» Review

Diablo Lite. That's the best way I can put it. I know Americans love Lite beer, (god knows why - here in Canada we drink the real stuff) but Lite computer games?

Dungeon Siege plays as a glossed up, free-from-story, more-rpg type game. It's not as "hard-core" as Baldur's Gate, nor is it bound to a clear-cut good-vs-evil story as in Diablo I/II. Instead, the game is pretty much free from all constraints, plot or otherwise.

There is no plot.

They'd *really* like you to believe there is, but other than a few tidbits here and there, there's nothing to get you interested in the universe.

There is no replayability.

Well, perhaps if you want to try *ever* character class-combination available, but it's always the same campaign, on the same map. The Diablo series overcame this by having random-generated maps - the reason I still play it religiously.

There is however, freedom.

Don't like a quest? Don't do it. You don't have to complete anything in this game. Since it is linear, and you need nothing to keep walking in a bloody straight line, it's theoretically possible to run from start to finish without doing a damn thing. In a way, this is liberating after the "kill-this-to-get-this-to-go-here" mentality of so many similar games. It also however makes the game utterly pointless, with no sense of accomplishment as a result.

That being said, the graphics and animations are first rate. They make Diablo I/II look like something rendered on an Atari. I often just took in the view by scanning around some of the more appealing areas. Combat is likewise a visual feast - each weapon often appears differently when equipped - wield the Mighty Hammer of Smiting, and you'll bloody well see it.

The single player campaign is gigantic, and the multiplayer campaign is even larger. Unable, or unwilling to make a random-generated map like Diablo I/II, it is hard not to feel cheated by the uni-directional, "one-play-you're-done" game. I think many of us have been spoiled by the Diablo series where random terrain served to keep us always guessing what was around the next brand new corner.

At any rate - the game is fun. Undeniably so. But with little combat involvement, it's possible to just walk your characters into the midst of an enemy mob and just let them sort the nasty buisness out themselves. Pretty, but dull after the first 8 hours.

I always found myself waiting for some critical plot element to develop...for some mischievious goblin to keep popping up...to see even ONE character who actually *had* a character...well, I didn't get any of that, and I suppose I'm a little dissapointed.

All on its own, the game is entertaining - even for Diablo fans. But I feel it doesn't offer enough to truly have any replayability - the thing I judge all my games by.