Reviews

[MonkeyLungs]

I haven't. I don't know whether it's actually good or not. However, by going on what people say the only bad thing about multiplayer seems to be the camera's distance to the ground. Everything else appears to work well.

 

Edit: I read it! Hah!

 

That's all people say? I'll leave the verdict on that up to the people. I can name way more things than the distance of the camera from the ground wrong with MP.

[Cyn!c]

I find all of these arguments very interesting. I was pretty angry at Bioware for DA2, so I've been on the other side of the fence as well. I see some key differences between the situations, an IP purchase by Square Enix and a new developer in the form of Obsidian being two of them.

 

I will say, that anyone who states DA2 is a better game than DS3 is just wrong. Opinions and Internet lulz aside, there comes a point where you just have to face the fact that there's something funny in the water.

 

Obsidian have succeeded in making me interested in a very generic mundane world simply due to their art direction and strength of writing. I'm not close to finishing the game, but I've been enthralled by the lore and dialogues with Odo and The Radiant. The soundtrack so far has been brilliant, melancholy, moody and immersive. Not standard fantasy fare which is so refreshing. The combat mechanics are addictive and well thought out. On hardcore, managing stances and working out strategies for tough fights is essential. There are tons of ways to build a character, that people aren't seeing this complexity is very weird to me.

 

I also don't get the complaints about loot. I've been excited every time I've opened a chest, hoping to see that green or blue text to pop up, and then quickly rummaging to find out what I got.

 

The engine has it's issues, the multiplayer with 4 chars is, most likely, a mess. But the game underneath these issues is very nice.

 

This is not 9/10 or 10/10 material. It's a solid 8 or 7 at the least. In my opinion anything lower than this is simply a reflection on the reviewer not taking the time to actual appreciate what the game is.

[Pidesco]

I haven't. I don't know whether it's actually good or not. However, by going on what people say the only bad thing about multiplayer seems to be the camera's distance to the ground. Everything else appears to work well.

 

Edit: I read it! Hah!

 

That's all people say? I'll leave the verdict on that up to the people. I can name way more things than the distance of the camera from the ground wrong with MP.

 

That's not all people say, that's all they say that's a valid criticism of the multiplayer beyond I want this game to be Sacred 2/Diablo/Dungeon Siege. You might as well argue that because MMORPGs are huge successes, all RPGs must have the similar multiplayer focus.

[DatMeg]

In the end I'm willing to wait out a patch or two and see what comes of the game before I put it away for good.

 

What I would like to see:

-Multiplayer reworked for PC

-A Modkit/Toolkit so I could alter the game to my tastes, thus less complaints, etc

What I wish I could see:

-Character Customization

-Reworking of the cutscenes

[Matt-C]

I think the following comment from the IGN review:

 

"Dungeon Siege III is a dungeon crawler with a boring loot table, poorly implemented multiplayer, and little lasting incentive to continue running around the world once the tedious story ends. "

 

and from the Gamespot review:

 

"Dungeon Siege III is a fun but unambitious dungeon crawler that fails to live up to the games that came before it."

 

Pretty much sum up my thoughts about the game. Although everyone here told me to wait to the game is released / wait for the reviews / etc... I kind of feel sorry for the devs, it's gotta be pretty depressing to see something they have worked so hard on get absolutely destroyed by the media / long terms series fans.

[pmp10]

This is not 9/10 or 10/10 material. It's a solid 8 or 7 at the least. In my opinion anything lower than this is simply a reflection on the reviewer not taking the time to actual appreciate what the game is.

So how much time dose one need to spend on a game to fully appreciate it?

Because this looks like a codexian "you haven't played it enough to judge it" argument.

If someone has spent enough time to experience 70-90% content of a game I don't see why wouldn't their opinion matter.

It's their description of objective facts that can be put into question.

[GreasyDogMeat]

I'd have to say this is one of the better Diablo style RPGs I've played for two primary reasons.

-Combat is fun. It isn't a 'click/mash A-button fest'. You have to swap styles and use an actual bit of strategy. Something rather pathetic about the originals was the engage button where the party would rush off and decimate the enemy with minimal to no input from the player.

-There is actual story and dialogue to break up the combat from time to time.

 

It has its flaws, like the extreme linear levels (50 ft wide paths?) but so far flaws have been outweighed by the pros.

[kev556]

I'd have to say this is one of the better Diablo style RPGs I've played for two primary reasons.

-Combat is fun. It isn't a 'click/mash A-button fest'. You have to swap styles and use an actual bit of strategy. Something rather pathetic about the originals was the engage button where the party would rush off and decimate the enemy with minimal to no input from the player.

-There is actual story and dialogue to break up the combat from time to time.

 

It has its flaws, like the extreme linear levels (50 ft wide paths?) but so far flaws have been outweighed by the pros.

 

I think the Key binding issue is a big thumb to the PC players. Yes a patch is coming out but it should have been done that way from the beginning. People are saying to use a game controller.....haven't used one in ages for my PC and I do use a game pad as a companion to my mouse but even it needs mapping. Controls and gameplay should be intuitive. The way it is setup now I have to use my game pad, mouse AND keyboard to get all the elements. Not too happy with the game and those that are happy with a SOLID 6 or 7 game after paying $50 are just making themselves feel better about spending the money.

 

I am taking it back tomorrow to hopefully get store credit, I just find it annoying that they take an established game series and try to "reboot it" because that is the thing to do. I get it fine but address everything that is need for both console AND PC, otherwise it seems rushed and you just expected the other community (PC Gamers) to settle for it but then announce patches when all the backlash comes out. Seeing a lot of "nub" users in the forums over these types of problems.

 

But for those of you that are fine with it, enjoy the game utlimately it's your money and you are the one that has to be happy with it.

[GreasyDogMeat]

I think the Key binding issue is a big thumb to the PC players. Yes a patch is coming out but it should have been done that way from the beginning. People are saying to use a game controller.....haven't used one in ages for my PC and I do use a game pad as a companion to my mouse but even it needs mapping. Controls and gameplay should be intuitive. The way it is setup now I have to use my game pad, mouse AND keyboard to get all the elements. Not too happy with the game and those that are happy with a SOLID 6 or 7 game after paying $50 are just making themselves feel better about spending the money.

 

I am taking it back tomorrow to hopefully get store credit, I just find it annoying that they take an established game series and try to "reboot it" because that is the thing to do. I get it fine but address everything that is need for both console AND PC, otherwise it seems rushed and you just expected the other community (PC Gamers) to settle for it but then announce patches when all the backlash comes out. Seeing a lot of "nub" users in the forums over these types of problems.

 

But for those of you that are fine with it, enjoy the game utlimately it's your money and you are the one that has to be happy with it.

I had tried the demo on both PC and 360 and I could tell this would be one of the few games that would be superior to play on 360. The camera was second nature on the controller, but incredibly awkward with mouse and keyboard.

 

I haven't beaten the game yet and don't want to rate it yet, but I've been enjoying it so far. The combat system is the best I've seen in this genre of game and really helps fix the normal drag these games suffer. I've been playing the original Dungeon Siege in prep for this games release and the game was a real chore at times to continue. Things of course can change. I was excited, hopeful and having a good time for the first third of Dragon Age 2 until the game took a nose dive. Truly a game that deserved to be in the 6 range.

 

How do you take back a PC game for store credit anyway?

[MonkeyLungs]

I haven't. I don't know whether it's actually good or not. However, by going on what people say the only bad thing about multiplayer seems to be the camera's distance to the ground. Everything else appears to work well.

 

Edit: I read it! Hah!

 

That's all people say? I'll leave the verdict on that up to the people. I can name way more things than the distance of the camera from the ground wrong with MP.

 

That's not all people say, that's all they say that's a valid criticism of the multiplayer beyond I want this game to be Sacred 2/Diablo/Dungeon Siege. You might as well argue that because MMORPGs are huge successes, all RPGs must have the similar multiplayer focus.

 

This is absolutley disnengenous and intellectual dishonest comment.

[Ntrance]

http://www.destructoid.com/review-dungeon-...ii-203895.phtml

 

This review pretty much sums up how I feel about the game. I really like the play-style and combat style. I don't even mind the ultra-simplified skill trees and character progression.

 

BUT

 

"With better co-op, this could have been a truly great experience, but it's still highly enjoyable, and you can't demand much more than that."

 

Hell I'd even quit complaining if you would just eliminate shared screen. I could even understand if you made it so people couldn't go further than a certain distance from eachother so people can't run off and do their own thing. But shared screen is just unbelievably bad.

[greylord]

Golly, yes! How could a small and insignificant publisher like Square Enix possibly deal out enough bribe money in time to appease the boundless appetites of big, corporate video game journalists, surely obsessed with destroying what reputation Obsidian has left with their acrid, depreciative Dungeon Siege III reviews? You, to have unthreaded their dark scheme so skillfully, are a single bastion of light in a sea of infinite darkness.

 

I kneel in awe before you, sir.

 

Uhmmmm, Square Enix may be a well known publisher but you can't really suspect them of giving out bribe money. Their recent games aren't exactly known for scoring too high. Also, yes. There are journalists that have a personal feud against Obsidian as evidenced by a recent escapist article.

 

I'm not suspecting them of giving bribe money. I'm saying they probably have the means to, just like EA. I also don't automatically suspect EA of dealing out bribe money if their games happen to score a little higher. An 8.0 from Gamespot compared to the 9.5 Origins got from Kevin VanOrd is hardly flattering for Dragon Age 2.

 

What is this 'evidence'? Why would anyone 'have it out for Obsidian' in the first place? Sounds absolutely ridculous.

[sarcasm] [saying to make a point, not that it's real]

 

Probably because they paid us 5,000 USD in bonus goodies as compliments for "incentives" to aid us in our review of DA2, and SE sent nothing. There's no sense in fighting the system.

[/sarcasm] [/saying to make a point, not that it's real]

 

More on the point [but still simply stating things to make a point, not that I'm an actual professional reviewer that's going to state something like that and get reamed about it like the PR firm did]

 

Guess which game got the honest review, and which one got the...let's praise it to high hell so they actually send us a preview copy of ME3 review?

 

For an FF game by SE, sure it will get a good review in hopes that the next FF game will be given to the company for a good review. I haven't even finished DS3 yet, but guess what, it's review was already written (not by me, obviously) BEFORE it was even released...and for some games these reviews are written in part before the review copies are even recieved. For Nier or other SE games...there's no real big incentive to give it a gushing review...so it gets handed off to the kid in the corner office who we hope can do a halfway decent job.

 

They can and will yank all previews, interviews, and other perks if they don't like how you review their game...if you hadn't realized it yet...someone else stated it much more clearly recently. Many reviews are honest reviews...others are simply part of the entire PR machine...and a mighty PR machine it is. You're probably better trusting user reviews than "professional"reviews...though here's something else to think about...the "professional" reviews sometimes are done by those whose only merits are that we hired them to bring us coffee in the morning, but overall they have no qualifications other than...we don't need someone to really focus on this review so we can get a head jump on the previews of the next game...so hand it to them so we can get to work on the real money makers.

 

What are the real money makers...unless you are the first one to release a game review (which are getting earlier and earlier...many are from prebuilds occasionally, even, just so they can be the first)...reviews aren't where the money makers are. People pay for access for other items, or click on a website to see previews and other items of the next big thing that they think will be the next great game on their list.

 

A Diablo 3 Preview will be a bigger source of people wanting access to it (either via web, magazine article or other) than a review of DS3 at this point. So will a preview of ME3. If BW was to release Dragon Age 3 tomorrow to everyone surprise, as long as it wasn't a buggy piece of a game that would destroy your computer it would probably be at a minimum a 7.5, more likely an 8...even if we really didn't think it that great. Even if it had a computer destroying bug...it would be at least a 6...

 

Why?

 

Because you/the website/magazine needs the next big preview for ME3....because that's going to bring in the money...and it's all about the money.

 

If another expansion for WoW was dropped on us tomorrow out of nowhere...it would rate at a minimum a 7.5, and probably an 8. Hopefully it would even get in the mid 8-9 range. Why? Because we want that next preview for Diablo 3...that's where the hot money is coming from next (though news of a sudden WoW expansion release is pretty hot as well...the news...not the review...could generate some nice cash)...and if we thrash Blizzards game and burn bridges...they may not like us enough to give us that exclusive we want.

 

From what I'm seeing on DS3 so far, many PC users do NOT like DS3. They don't like how the keys work with the mouse synergy. They do not like how MP works.

 

To contrast that, it's doing better in the console arena IMO, thus far. Probably reviews are more honest than they were for DA2, at least what the "professional" reviewer thinks...who in this case just happens to be the coffee boy from the corner office. You should have seen his face, he was pretty elated we were giving him something like this to do for once. On the otherhand the editor (who scratches all my work out as well and rewrites half of it) wasn't to thrilled to edit it and send it back for a rewrite 12 times over.

 

[/but still simply stating things to make a point, not that I'm an actual professional reviewer that's going to state something like that and get reamed about it like the PR firm did]

[Matt-C]

Finished the game with all characters, got all achievements... I honestly had no motivation to play after the first playthrough other than to get the remaining achievements. Honestly what else is there to do in this game? I suppose I'll add my two cents about the game overall:

 

Story

This was suppose to be one of the strong points? It's incredibly boring and very predictable. The NPC's standing still and having absolutely no kind of physical reaction to anything that is going on doesn't help either. Deciding whether a NPC lives or dies makes no difference in their response, it's better to close your eyes and imagine how they would be responding. For one of the elements that this game was supposed to be focusing on it certainly didn't deliver. I can barely tell the difference between this story centric game and one that is not, other than the excessive amount of extremely bland and boring dialogue.

 

Combat - 3/10

This is actually quite enjoyable to start off with. However as soon as you progress through the game it becomes very boring due to the complete lack of skills. Late game rather than being excited about a new powerful ability you have unlocked... you are simply unlocking abilities that you decided to skip for another earlier on. The boss fights I do admit were decent, it was good that it wasn't a button mash fest. I liked learning the boss fights.

 

Loot - 2/10

Again this is another thing that was enjoyable in the first hour or two of the game, however got boring extremely quickly. The loot table is terrible, the items are not interesting, and they barely have any effect on your character anyway. I think one review put it best, you end up feeling like you are simply a garbage collector. You purchase the best loot in the game two seconds before it's over... No item sets, no socketing, no crafting, no enchanting... The original had a far better loot table, should of just copied and pasted that, I would of been happy and new players wouldn't know it's simply been copied and pasted.

 

Singleplayer - 1/10

The AI partner is terrible, stands in fire and dies over and over. It ends up just being a revive fest of a game. The game is over quicker than it began at 9 hours. This would be an acceptable game length for a FPS, however RPG's are generally expected to provide a lot longer.

 

Replayability - 0/10

See other points.

 

Multiplayer - 0/10

This was what captured me in the original. I played it's multiplayer component for years. While enjoyable for a bit with my brother couch co-op, but as soon as another person joined it was complete chaos. You pretty much have to all be on a mic with the host telling everyone which way he is going other wise it turns into a teleporting mess with the screen then refocusing and most times losing track were you actually are. So essentially it becomes a 2 player multiplayer because anything more is a complete headache, down from the original which was 8 player.

 

Note: The scale I have used is an actual scale and not an inflated scale that most review sites use were 6/10 = bad.

Note 2: The above is primarily based with separating DS3 from it's predecessors and judging it as a completely new I.P. with only a few references to the original.

Note 3: I also played this on Xbox 360, if I had played on PC I probably would have been a lot harsher.

 

General Criticism (mainly comparison of lacking features compared to the original)

- Only 4 player Co-op compared to 8 player Multiplayer (Co-op or PVP) of the original

- Extremely narrow corridor world, makes the Kingdom of Ehb out to be a joke, compared to the lush vast terrain that I remember it to be.

- No real interaction with any NPCS other then quest givers.

- Typically only one type of shop, a general store...

- No ability to go into buildings in towns

- Towns in general are just a joke (see above points).

- The references to the original like the mule, heroes' crypt etc, rather than paying a nice homage, it only further reminded me what this game is lacking.

- No New Game+

- Terrible camera

- Barely noticeable visual changes for loot

- No secret level (can't believe they didn't go with this running tradition of Dungeon Siege)

- No Dragon Wing (one of my favourite weapons out of all RPGs, I spent hundreds of dungeon crawls to get one with the best stats possible!)

- No Dragons (seriously?)

- No variety when it comes to summonable companions (The original had tons, this has two)

- Only one campaign (The original had two, one for the main story, one for multiplayer).

- etc

 

This time last year I was really looking forward to 2011 after both this and Mortal Kombat were announced. I think the first blow was Mortal Kombat being banned in my country... I ended up importing it for less than half the price I would of had to pay here though. Mortal Kombat got pretty much everything right, it was everything I expected for a continuation of the series (in a reboot sort of way). There are a few things I disagreed with Mortal Kombat 2011, but they pretty much come down to costume design of my favourite character (Reptile), that was my only issue with the entire game, otherwise a perfect game!

 

Dungeon Siege 3 on the other hand disappointed me in every single way, rather than going back to the roots of the original like MK2011 did, DS3 went off on some bizarre path and completely destroyed what Dungeon Siege is. It annoys me quite a bit how wrong Obsidian got this (from looking at reviews and feedback in forums it seems the only people that think this is average to decent are ones that never played DS1). I keep hearing from the developers "we didn't want to be Diablo"... yeah that's well and good but you could of just gone for "being Dungeon Siege" rather than random game with the Dungeon Siege name slapped on it... you know there were games before DS3, this wasn't a completely new IP. I know you tried hard Obsidian, and I thank you for attempting to revive this series, but you really screwed it up. Maybe if you could go back in time and do it all again, first reach out to the DS community, and ask them what they loved about DS, rather than making assumptions of what we wanted in a sequel.

 

I understand that there was a lot wrong with the original DS when comparing it to other games, but it got a lot right, and it ended up building quite a great community. I formed quite a number of new friendships because of that game, this I will form none. I guess now it's the GPG era of DS and the Obsidian era of DS because the two really don't mesh, and for the most part they don't attract a playerbase remotely close to each other. I think the big gaming sites like IGN/Gamespot have got their reviews fairly correct, and accurately reflect a lot of my opinions about this game. Those reviews are also going to hurt sales quite a lot too, compared to the original DS that got 85 on IGN (DS3 got 65).

 

 

In the end DS1 = played many years after release

DS3 = completely finished with the game in less than a week.

 

I suppose it's off to get store credit on this one tomorrow

[pmp10]

For an FF game by SE, sure it will get a good review in hopes that the next FF game will be given to the company for a good review.

If that is the case how can you explain FF XIV?

Recognizable brand name and the usual publisher didn't save it from poor critical reception.

 

And gaming industry has seen it's fair share of high budget - high profile screw ups.

Even back when Daikatana was coming people were still willing to criticize it regardless of weather they will lose the rights to a doom 3 preview simply because upsetting your regular audience with such practices is not worth the short term boost a couple of previews may bring.

[sorophx]

Finished the game with all characters, got all achievements...

heh, you really liked the game, didn't you

[Flouride]

And gaming industry has seen it's fair share of high budget - high profile screw ups.

Even back when Daikatana was coming people were still willing to criticize it regardless of weather they will lose the rights to a doom 3 preview simply because upsetting your regular audience with such practices is not worth the short term boost a couple of previews may bring.

 

How are Daikatana and Doom 3 related? Other was published by Eidos and the other by Activision. Made by Ion Storm and by ID Software.

[pmp10]

And gaming industry has seen it's fair share of high budget - high profile screw ups.

Even back when Daikatana was coming people were still willing to criticize it regardless of weather they will lose the rights to a doom 3 preview simply because upsetting your regular audience with such practices is not worth the short term boost a couple of previews may bring.

 

How are Daikatana and Doom 3 related? Other was published by Eidos and the other by Activision. Made by Ion Storm and by ID Software.

I meant hypothetical doom 3 that would be just as big as the first one.

That well could have been the case for all anyone knew when they decided to tell John Romero that Daikatana is not even a good game let alone a masterpiece.

[Flouride]

I meant hypothetical doom 3 that would be just as big as the first one.

That well could have been the case for all anyone knew when they decided to tell John Romero that Daikatana is not even a good game let alone a masterpiece.

I don't think Romero had any "street cred" left after the whole Daikatana fiasco. It was pretty obvious that talent behind Doom 1&2 was John Carmack etc. at ID. Hence it's pretty easy to tear him apart.

[funcroc]

OXM US review: 8.5

VideoGamer review: 8/10

Joystiq review: 3.5/5

[funcroc]

EGMi: 8.0

DSIII is a fantastic step forward for the franchise, and Obsidian's signature development style really breathes new life into the Kingdom of Ehb and the lore surrounding the 10th Legion. They've managed to turn a fighting-first, story-second series into a far more engaging experience.

[Flouride]

OXM US review: 8.5

VideoGamer review: 8/10

Joystiq review: 3.5/5

 

Impossible, American reviews that didn't seem to dislike the game.

[Bendu]

Was the AtomicGamer review already posted?

[Oner]

OXM US review: 8.5

VideoGamer review: 8/10

Joystiq review: 3.5/5

 

Impossible, American reviews that didn't seem to dislike the game.

Mind blowing, I know.

[funcroc]

Ripten: 8.0

[rafoca]

GAMESRADAR bashed DS3 co-op mode too

 

http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/dungeon-...23942665020/p-2