Dungeon Siege II: Broken World Review
04 September 2006 | By Evangeline Grace Agujo
Good, but not good enough is all what I could say about the game
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| By the power of Gray Skull! | My, oh my, what scary creatures are you guys! |
The quest begins a year after the catastrophe, in the mystical land where all creatures are starting over. Just when you thought that things are going to be a bit peaceful now that Validis is dead, another nemesis enters into the picture: a sorcerer whom you thought was banished in the earlier chapters of the game comes up with a ridiculous idea of world peace through total and absolute destruction. The crazy old mage is just using the “altruistic” intentions; apparently wants to take over everything, so he calls on the dark forces of Lord Zaramoth to make this plan possible…and you know that this absurd plan has got to be stopped so you brace yourself for the adventure.
Dungeon Siege II: Broken World also features a new race in the roster or mystical creatures lineup: the dwarves. The race is a playable character which can be created, or you may opt to use the default one. Being a dwarf doesn’t guarantee anything special, although this character can be used in Dungeon Siege II; it would only feel a bit weird playing as a dwarf in the previous game as there are no other characters of the same race. But if being a dwarf does not make you excited, then maybe the new classes will. Classes of the Blood Assasin and the Fist of Stone are added to the lineup of classes in the game. These two hybrid classes creates more impact in the game by way of their combination of exceptional magic and combat skills that generates unique abilities. The Blood Assassin is a good choice for doing long-ranging carnage, which makes the class more valuable. Magic is used in an amazing way in this class: you get to set you enemy’s blood on fire, mark them to be more vulnerable to damage during combat or simply do the economics of magic by being able to alternate between spells and bows to save up on mana potion supply. The other class, Fist of Stone, is the more versatile kind: they are able to do both magic and melee combat. This class also possesses the ability to be more self-sufficient than any of the others. They have magic to draw geologic power for better defense and for causing tremors to inflict damage to nearby enemies. Both of these classes can also be played on the Dungeon Siege II game.
Difficulty level of the game is quite high that those who love challenges will be more appreciative of the gameplay. Importing your best Dungeon Siege II characters will give you an edge in this game. With possible difficulties such as 60,000 hit point monster, you’ll be thankful of your previous game investments; an entry level character just won’t do the trick, but it gives you the chance to play as the new dwarfen character or adapt the new classes. As this game offers a challenge, players are also made to be thinking more of strategy rather than haphazard hack n’ slashing. Outfitting your character correctly by using the appropriate one makes the difficulty more manageable by minimizing their weak points and capitalizing on their strengths. Preparations before each battle are important for you to be able to get advance faster in the game. Activating your moves and abilities during fights can be helpful, though the usual keypad-mashing action still takes the cake. Special effects brought by the spells and combat are made more intense than the already overwhelming Dungeon Siege II effects. For example, a caster from your group does his thing and then suddenly the fantastic show of blasts, forcewaves, firebolts and a host of others makes everything quite barely visible, this is especially hard for those who play as dwarfs as they have to keep tabs on how their little self is doing. Plain melee inflictions can be mistaken for a too-bright light show.
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| Looks like this came out of a mummy scare film | We're gonna take over the world!! |
As for the battlegrounds, more dungeons have been introduced – but some of them seem to be repetitive, just placing on a new format every time and they are noticeably smaller and quite more generic (or boring) than the previous Dungeon Sieges. Game bosses are not that redeeming as well. With the 6 fights in the game, you get to only fight with three of them so this is really a repetitive thing. The main enemy boss does not help as well: the main villain seems to be haphazardly developed – monsters seem to be scarier and tougher. Hacking through an enemy is relatively easy, but the game usually spills the gamer with a great lot of these monsters that you’d wonder if the game was set in super-duper-ultra hard mode. The amount of characters onscreen also add to the confusion, so focusing skills are necessary. Also, some enemies are very small that you won’t be able to detect them unless you’re A.I. force allies come attacking. Checking out your enemies will have you wonder at these guys: frogs spitting fireballs, stick figures with flaming heads, little leaves that are actually monsters, even dryads that harm you with a bladed chain.
Graphics-wise, balance of great and ho-hum can be found. Graphics can be a bit too blocky in close-up mode and textures may seem too flat. This may be attributed its engine which is rapidly aging. But the environment / atmosphere is good enough to take your breath away in some scenery.
Audio is a also a good thing for this game, the sound effects of battle fare enough to make you feel that you are into the game. Voice-over seems to have been planned carefully on this game, which is why this is one of the most lauded aspects. Soundtracks for atmosphere music are quite subdues but are appropriate in terms of battling action.
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| Bad, bad beetle! | The battle of the Green Fairy! |
Good, but not good enough is all what I could say about the game. The limited storyline and minimal additions placed was more appropriate for a chapter rather than a game expansion pack.
Top gaming moment: In fighting off enemies, casting magic spells or doing combat brings more gory parts where you get to kill them and have them soak in their fountain of blood with guts spilling all over the place.
TOP GAME MOMENT
is a world marred by severe destruction. In the process of picking up the pieces, new challenges await the hero; thus opening a new chapter for another quest.
