The spell
casters in Dungeon Siege II will have a wide assortment of
different spells to choose from. For example, nature mages
will be able to command plants to come out of the ground and
subdue and/or attack enemies. Just like in the original
game, magicians will also be able to summon creatures that
will help the party for a certain period of time before
needing to use the spell again. When battles get intense,
take into consideration that certain monsters actually
attack whichever party members casting healing spells.
The quest
system has been upgraded this time around, to ensure that
players always have something to do during the game. The
quest system will show why the Non-Playing Characters (NPCs)
are in town, and the NPCs will also give out quests. In the
beta, certain parts of the town were made inaccessible in
the beginning until specific quests were completed.
Although this is meant to add to the gaming experience,
there will most likely be a number of people that won't like
this modification.
NPCs with
colored exclamation points over their heads have quests for
venturers. NPCs with colored marks have a new quest to hand
out. The NPCs that have gray question marks over their
heads also have new quest information to give out, but may
be waiting for players to complete a previous quest.
Monster AI
has been much improved in Dungeon Siege II. Some packs of
enemies are organized and will actually ambush players in
certain spots. I found interesting that some groups of
monsters actually have a commanding boss that keeps ranged
spell casters or archers in the back and melee fighters in
the front. If a player runs through the lines, the monsters
will re-organize themselves to make sure that their
commander is protected. It is recommended to try and slay
the commanding monsters, because they sometimes have the
ability to heal other minions.
Those of
you wanting to know what happens when a player dies… Before
a character is officially killed, it will be knocked
unconscious for several seconds and then will be revived.
After being knocked unconscious once, death may happen
quickly. If one of the party members is still alive, that
character has the potential to use the resurrect spell and
bring slain players back to life. If everybody in the party
is dead, there are two options, and both aren't very
enjoyable. The option that most people will probably like
is to re-spawn in the nearest town with no equipment and
25-percent of your gold gone and venture back to your
corpses. The second option is to have a member of the Guild
of Death necromancer return all of your equipment, but he
will take 100% of your gold.
An issue in
Dungeon Siege that actually caused quite a few headaches was
promptly fixed in DS II. With a party of three or more
people, it was sometimes hard to transport them using an
elevator or any other transportation device. This time
around, players can actually click on the lever first and
then the entire party will automatically get onto the
transporter before it leaves the platform. This will ensure
that part of the party isn't left behind, which is
especially dangerous in combat situations.
The game
will, of course, have single player capabilities. Players
will also be able to import characters and play them
online. For multiplayer action, Dungeon Siege II can be
played over a LAN, on the Internet or by connecting to
Gamespy. It is possible to level up characters in a LAN
game and then export them to use them online.
Here's a
few game tips:
Be
careful not to aimlessly run into a pack of monsters.
It sounds like common sense for RPG players, but it is
fairly easy to end up having to elude four or five
monsters.
The
game has quite a few secrets, so spend some time
venturing off the paths.
Speaking with the NPCs is very important, because many
of them give out quests.
Don't
forget to periodically
hit the "tab" button and check the map.
If gold isn't a necessity,
feed old items to the pet.
Final Thoughts
Dungeon
Siege II looks to be another great game from Gas Powered
Games. A lot of the issues and problems from the first game
seem to be gone, and many good additions have been made in
the process as well. The engine looks better, there are new
and exciting spells and the enemy AI has been greatly
improved. I am certainly looking forward playing the final
game once it has been released.
Gamers can
expect to see Dungeon Siege II arrive on store shelves later
this summer. To download and test the Dungeon Siege II
beta, head over to
FilePlanet.
