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Dungeon Siege II: Broken World2K Secures Dungeon Siege
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Dungeon Siege II: Broken World Mini Review
Jon Wilcox
01/09/2006
Valdis may have been defeated, but as TVG discovers, the world of Aranna is far from peaceful...
Having bought the Dungeon Siege IP from Microsoft earlier in 2006, new owners 2K Games have wasted little time in making their multi-platform mark on the series with the upcoming release of the amusingly subtitled Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony for PSP. But before that, the publisher is taking care of some unfinished business on the PC, with the release of Broken World, the expansion pack to 2005's Dungeon Siege II.
Set twelve months after the events of Dungeon Siege II, which ended with the death of Valdia and a twist on M. Night Shyamalan proportions, Broken World sees players track down and hunt the Dark Wizard - the true manifestation of evil in the world of Aranna. With this being an expansion pack, don't expect too many deviations from its predecessor, but developers Gas Powered Games have at least tried to make sure that the story is strong enough to pull players through.
As with Dungeon Siege II, Broken World is filled with numerous side quests that pad the experience of the main quest for players. In fact it does feel a tad laden with secondary missions at times; within the first few minutes of the game starting, players can find themselves accepting around six side quests...talk about your character needing to get their priorities straight...that said, Broken World expands the Dungeon Siege II experience only by a further (short) ten hours.
Of course the main crux of Broken World remains the same; a dungeon crawling action-RPG where players are joined by a party of other likely heroes as they fight to banish evil. Typical of an expansion pack, the game does come with a number of tweaks and improvements to provide a more rounded experience - for instance, the interface has been changed so that four spells can now be accessed rather than the two of Dungeon Siege II - whilst the ability to create more powerful items with the new Reagent Recipes adds a level of further depth and discovery for gamers who like to search every nook and cranny of the gameworld. Two new pets, the Kohl Beast and the Pack Ram, are added to the menagerie, along with three new henchmen (though the likes of Lothar and Deru return for the expansion). Linking Broken World with Dungeon Siege II and Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony, players are able to play through the original DS2 adventure with their new expanded character, as well as unlock crossover items from within the forthcoming PSP story. The game also sees the return of a playable class sorely missed by fans in Dungeon Siege II - the Dwarves.
With a storyline which, for once, links well with the main game, the single biggest disappointment for Broken World is that it does feel like it could have been included as 'Act 4' in Dungeon Siege II. It's disappointing because it feels like the story was split almost as a money-spinning effort, especially considering the rather short length of the campaign - diehards will complete it in a day or two, something that is surely going to frustrate those wanting a more substantial return to Aranna. Yes, the addition of the dwarf race is sure to be welcomed by fans of the series, but overall the additions and tweaks are superficial and really only serve to smooth the experience for gamers rather than expand upon it.
Dungeon Siege II: Broken World at least serves as a conclusion following the revelations of DS2, and offers around ten-hours worth of gameplay - it is an expansion pack after all. Additions such as the re-emergence of the Dwarves as a playable character class will be welcomed by gamers disappointed by their omission in the main game, and the extra spell classes at least widen a player's armoury.
What Dungeon Siege II: Broken World does do, is establish its new presence under the 2K Games banner - something that the company is sure to persevere with - so don't be surprised to see Dungeon Siege III announced in the too distant future.
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Date Added:Sun 15th Oct 2006 09:30
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Date Added:Tue 10th Oct 2006 17:48
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Date Added:Sat 9th Sep 2006 01:25
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Date Added:Tue 5th Sep 2006 20:34
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