Dungeon Siege II Previews

Both eToyChest and Gamebiz have whipped up hands-on previews of Gas Powered Games’ Dungeon Siege sequel. A snip from eToyChest’s article:

This time out players have more options available to them when creating their avatar. Instead of simple, boring humans, players now have three additional races from which to to choose. Elves are the magical authorities of the bunch, possessing a naturally elevated intelligence. Dryads, on the other hand, are quick, dexterous, and possesses an acute skill with the bow. Then there are the half-giants slow, powerful, and lovable. However, no matter what race is chosen, players can easily customize their character to suit their particular style of play. In fact, it is this natural customization that is arguably Dungeon Siege II’s greatest asset. Instead of simply going up levels and getting generally more powerful, characters only progress in areas which are practiced. For example, if a character cuts through wave after wave of imps with his or her sward, then that character’s melee level will eventually increase, and new and more powerful hand-to-hand skills will become available. However, this single-minded progression comes at the cost of other disciplines, such as magic use. Players may instead opt to change their method of attack from time to time, slaying a throng of creatures with a sword, and then readying a favorite fireball to deal with the next volley of oncoming traffic.

And a snip from Gamebiz’s article:

Unlike other RPG games which require you to read through pages of text dialogue between characters, Dungeon Siege II uses an in game cinematic dialogue between your party members. The characters bring the world to life and will immerse you in the adventure. There are characters you come across who will make appearances throughout the game. Each character has their own personality that change as the story progresses and banter with each other.