It’s not often that overhead action-rpgs grace consoles, let alone any that have captured a large demographic. Obsidian Entertainment, fresh off the release of Fallout: New Vegas are hard at work on Dungeon Siege III, which aims to revitalize this uncommon genre. All has been quiet with the Dungeon Siege franchise since Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games launched DS II in 2006. In the world of Ehb, 100 years has and the Legion sparsely populates the regions as most remaining members have been hunted and killed by Jeyne Kassynder. All that remains is a small group of legionnaires who have been summoned by Odo at the Montbarren Estate in a final attempt to retake what was once theirs. This is where our story begins with one of the four available characters in DS III begin their story, only two of which have been announced, Lucas Montbarren, a warrior by nature and Anjali, a mage oriented in the art of the flame. Depending on your choice of character at the game’s beginnings, you’ll be treated to a beautiful hand-drawn intro that delves into that specific characters back-story. Lucas, battle-hardened and living a life on the run, has been summoned to convene at a meeting with the few living Legionnaires in the land of Ehb. Anjali, one of the last remaining members of her mythological species on the other hand, was found in a basket by Odo and raised in the ways of her kind to the best of Odo’s abilities.
Once arriving at the estate, the scene doesn’t bode well for your hero. It becomes quickly evident that the meeting has been harshly interrupted by a group of Lescanzi mercenaries who have made quick work of the participants of said meeting. Taking up the mantle of Lucas, I began my exploration of the mansion which acts as an area to learn the basics of combat. Going into DS III, I was a bit on edge with the belief that combat would be of a complicated nature, especially in the transition from a keyboard to a controller. I was completely wrong (naturally) and was quickly taken aback by the ease of which I could flip between the three stances available to Lucas. As a well-trained swordsman, I could send forth a flurry of attacks from the one-handed stance, devastating blows via the two-handed stance, or the defensive stance used for blocking and other defensive abilities such as healing. If you go with Anjali, you can get up close in combat using her staff, or stay at a distance in her flame-form and attack using fireballs. Most of what I played also had me paired up with an AI-controlled partner who adapted their combat style based off of currently equipped armor and how I was tailoring their skilltree. If you go down in a blaze of glory, the AI would run over and revive me without the need of any items or use of focus. The ability to resuscitate an ally without having to fumble with item menus felt key, as opposed to the game holding your hand. The partner will be absolutely necessary as you turn up the difficulty from the forgiving “Casual” mode to the tactics-driven “Hardcore” difficulty.
You know what’s not in DS III? Potions, and I couldn’t love Obsidian anymore for the exclusion of such a cumbersome item as health potions. Each character is completely capable of healing themselves using the focus meter that can be regenerated by using standard attacks. Using abilities or the act of blocking drains the focus bar. The tier of building focus and health makes each player self-sufficient, so you have to play out your fights in a strategic manner doling out damage while being sure to back up and heal after you’ve landed some attacks. While Lucas may have the ability to heal, at his lower levels, healing is a regenerative process rather than an instant boost your health, which will urge you to play cautiously until you’ve regained a bit of your hp. However, once you level up your character, you’ll be able to delve into the lovely, navigable menus system to spend some of those hard earned talent points on various proficiencies, along with building your character-specific stances. The beginning of the leveling process has you spend a point on boosting an attribute of your stances, such as special effects added to your abilities. Once you’ve begun branching towards your favored stance, you can add a point to a skill-tree that boosts stats such as critical hits, loot drops, and other stat boosters. The process is absolutely painless and far from overwhelming. Obsidian made it clear that no matter what path you take in choosing how to level proficiencies, there’s really no wrong way of building your character. That being said, you can make a much stronger character if you carefully pick and choose focused attributes rather than pursuing a scatter-shot approach. I was of course dying to see how the most addictive portion of any rpg would play out in DS III, which we all know as “loot.” equipment can be dropped by enemies or found in treasure chests throughout each environment.
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