Dungeon Siege II Previews

[GameBanshee News]

Three more online previews have been conjured up for Gas Powered Games' Dungeon Siege II, all of which are based on a recent press copy of the game. The first is at Gaming Horizon:

As you progress in the game your character will obviously be reaching higher skill levels. In order to make your man, or woman, into a God, you’ll need to up his/her abilities. To do this, there are separate skill trees provided for each of the combat styles. When you reach a new level, you are awarded one point to spend in whichever skill you wish your character to be a master at. You will also be able to use some enchanted items that you pick up which require a specific level in one of the combat styles (noted in your “paper doll” inventory). “But, what exactly are these trees you mentioned for?” you ask? Well, there is one for melee, ranged, combat magic, and nature magic. And, seeing as how there is a lot of stuff to spend your one point a level on, I suggest not trying to be a master of all abilities. But, don’t get too excited with all of the skills that you’ll be feeding these points to - all of them are passive. Well, I guess you could get all excited about doing 10% more damage with your arrows, but only once in a while will you actually get a new power that you can use to attack someone with (seven for each combat style).

The second is at 3DAccelerated:

The graphics in this game are vivid and colorful as they have improved greatly from Dungeon Siege. You will find yourself in awe as some of the scenes in the game. But like I said developers did not try to have one aspect of the game to outshine another to create a more balanced experience. The environments are all easily distinguishable and clear, so you won’t grow tired of seeing the same types of scenes over and over like in some games. The sound aspect to this game has also been improved to add in all the sounds you’d expect from a game such as this. From the ambient noises to the clang of your weapon, everything is clear and realistic, just like the graphics. But just like any role playing game, the music and sounds only add to the gaming experience and are not meant to be strengths.

And the third is at GameDAILY:

Part of this game's appeal is its simplicity. While there are certainly lots of weapons in the game and magic spells to use, the combat system is by no means complex. You merely walk up to a monster and repeatedly click the right mouse button until it dies. To heal yourself you press H and to drink mana you press M, and if you come to a container or door you right or left click respectively, so most of the time you'll be playing with a single hand, which certainly makes diving into a bowl of pretzels a whole lot easier. Also, since you have full control over your party and can switch to any of them on the fly, you'll be able to test them out and enjoy their combat styles. What's also cool are the mirror formation orders, where you can instruct them to go after the same monster you're battling, which is a great way to concentrate attacks.