Dungeon Siege II is a fun ARPG that takes its lore seriously, sprinkling lore into almost anything it can. The love for the world and hope for setting up future installments in the universe is clearly shown, even if the future installment disregarded almost all of it to return to the more contained landscape of Ehb.
For those who love the gameplay of the first game, this is an excellent sequel that improves upon nearly every aspect, with beautiful locales that shine despite the relatively low polygon count (by modern standards) and a rewarding selection of abilities and skills to annihilate all of Aranna with.
However, the game’s age is keenly felt more than 15 years later, as its serious issues with modern Windows compatibility and atrocious display resolution are serious hurdles to enjoying the detailed world beyond the start screen.
Additionally, despite the enjoyable combat and varied world, some gameplay depth is sacrificed in order to smooth over repeated playthroughs and to uncomplicate combat. A limited rotation of spells available over campaigns is the same with only the stats changed—Embers I is fun to play with, but Embers III later on loses its luster quickly.
However, the varied character selection and pets available allow for several unique playthroughs that allow for most players to have fun through the three main difficulty settings (which, frustratingly, are locked behind previous completions of the 30-hour campaign). While the base combat experience and wide selection of gear is not much affected in replays due to how varied the enemies and non-spell armaments are across the gameworld, the decent selection of side-quests is not as fun the second or third time around (though some good writing and voice acting in certain quests do alleviate this occasionally—Taar’s Investigation is a personal favorite).
While the lore, combat, and world are clearly crafted with love and the main gameplay loop is clearly satisfying, the age of the game prevents it from being as enjoyable as it was on release. Ultimately, Dungeon Siege II is still supremely fun to play, especially as a return trip after enjoying it back in the mid-00’s, even with the hassle to get it working the first time.
For those who love the gameplay of the first game, this is an excellent sequel that improves upon nearly every aspect, with beautiful locales that shine despite the relatively low polygon count (by modern standards) and a rewarding selection of abilities and skills to annihilate all of Aranna with.
However, the game’s age is keenly felt more than 15 years later, as its serious issues with modern Windows compatibility and atrocious display resolution are serious hurdles to enjoying the detailed world beyond the start screen.
Additionally, despite the enjoyable combat and varied world, some gameplay depth is sacrificed in order to smooth over repeated playthroughs and to uncomplicate combat. A limited rotation of spells available over campaigns is the same with only the stats changed—Embers I is fun to play with, but Embers III later on loses its luster quickly.
However, the varied character selection and pets available allow for several unique playthroughs that allow for most players to have fun through the three main difficulty settings (which, frustratingly, are locked behind previous completions of the 30-hour campaign). While the base combat experience and wide selection of gear is not much affected in replays due to how varied the enemies and non-spell armaments are across the gameworld, the decent selection of side-quests is not as fun the second or third time around (though some good writing and voice acting in certain quests do alleviate this occasionally—Taar’s Investigation is a personal favorite).
While the lore, combat, and world are clearly crafted with love and the main gameplay loop is clearly satisfying, the age of the game prevents it from being as enjoyable as it was on release. Ultimately, Dungeon Siege II is still supremely fun to play, especially as a return trip after enjoying it back in the mid-00’s, even with the hassle to get it working the first time.