Game News Dungeon Siege II website is open for business

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Dungeon Siege 2; Gas Powered Games

Just like the title says. <a href=http://www.gaspowered.com/ds2/news.php>Click here</a> if you don't believe me.
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<blockquote><b>Elite Battle Party</b> - Players must choose battle comrades carefully to build a party of up to six members. Parties can be honed over time using an all-new character development system filled with new skills and specialties.
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<b>Hero Powers</b> - As the stakes have increased, so have the party's abilities. Each class now has access to unique Heroic Powers that are capable of turning the tide of battle, but they require wisdom and strategic timing to use properly.
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<b>Powerful and Unusual Allies</b> - The packmule was only the beginning. Players can now choose from a number of exotic creatures with special abilities that adventure and grow alongside players.
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<b>Tactical Gameplay</b> - Players will face-off against opponents whose power and tactical prowess will rival their own. Passive gameplay stile will no longer suffice. As a result of the new tactical system introduced in "Dungeon Siege II," players will be able to develop and use different tactics based on their skills and abilities.
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<b>Interactive World</b> - The world of "Dungeon Siege II" is brimming with activity. From pitched battles raging around players as they adventure through the world, to special environments that players can turn to their tactical advantage in the heat of battle - players will do well to pay heed to the world around them.
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<b>Jaw-dropping Special Effects</b> - The new SFX engine in "Dungeon Siege II" takes visual special effects to the next level for everything from the environmental atmosphere to dazzling spell effects, creating an engrossing and immersive gaming experience.
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<b>Cinematic Storytelling</b> - "Dungeon Siege II" introduces a new Flick authoring system providing a new level of in-engine cinematic storytelling that keeps players in the game world instead of pulling them away from it. New story-driven quests provide a deeper adventure that evolves with players as they complete quests and missions. </blockquote> Check the site for more info, art, and screenshots.
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[Whipporowill]

Hey... look at this. They actually seem to have learned something from the original DS, wooot?!

1. Interesting tactical party-based combat that doesn’t play itself for you

Party-based combat is the heart of the Dungeon Siege franchise, and we intent to keep it as such. That being said, as much fun as some of the classic fantasy hack & slash games are, we recognize that players don’t want to sit back and watch their characters fight for them any more than they want to have to manage boring repetitive combat with little to no tactical choices that allow them to exercise their brain. One of our main goals for DS2 was to provide the player with more interesting choices and tools to manage combat and to put these tools in the hands of the player this time. Regretfully, some of you may have to say goodbye to the days of sitting back and watching the battle unfold while occasionally pressing the “drink health potion” button.

 

[Balthus]

Passive gameplay stile will no longer suffice. As a result of the new tactical system introduced in "Dungeon Siege II," players will be able to develop and use different tactics based on their skills and abilities.

Well, that sure sounds better, but I'm still skeptical as to what all of this will amount to.

 

[Rosh]

"Regretfully, some of you may have to say goodbye to the days of sitting back and watching the battle unfold while occasionally pressing the “drink health potion” button."

Which loosely translates to:

"We liked that kindof automated Diablo gameplay, but we're taking more and more fire because the game is bland enough to possibly indicate a crappy sequel."

Let's hope they stick to the following:

"Passive gameplay stile will no longer suffice."

Here's another amusing bit:

"That being said, as much fun as some of the classic fantasy hack & slash games are, we recognize that players don’t want to sit back and watch their characters fight for them any more than they want to have to manage boring repetitive combat with little to no tactical choices that allow them to exercise their brain. "

So...classic fantasy hack & slash = BioWare?

What I find even more funny is that the site seems to have changed a bit since the news item. This is what I see on the Features page:

http://www.gaspowered.com/ds2/game.php? ... s&sub=game

Elite Battle Party - Players must choose battle comrades carefully to build a party of up to six members. Parties can be honed over time using an all-new character development system filled with new skills and specialties.

Hero Powers - As the stakes have increased, so have the party's abilities. Each class now has access to unique Heroic Powers that are capable of turning the tide of battle, but they require wisdom and strategic timing to use properly.

Powerful and Unusual Allies - The packmule was only the beginning. Players can now choose from a number of exotic creatures with special abilities that adventure and grow alongside players.

More Dangerous Enemies - Players will face-off against opponents whose power and tactical prowess will rival their own. The enemies in "Dungeon Siege II" will have all-new powers and abilities. As a result of the new Coach AI technology introduced in "Dungeon Siege II," enemies are full of surprises.

Interactive World - The world of "Dungeon Siege II" is brimming with activity. From pitched battles raging around players as they adventure through the world, to special environments that players can turn to their tactical advantage in the heat of battle - players will do well to pay heed to the world around them.

Jaw-dropping Special Effects - The new SFX engine in "Dungeon Siege II" takes visual special effects to the next level for everything from the environmental atmosphere to dazzling spell effects, creating an engrossing and immersive gaming experience.

Cinematic Storytelling - "Dungeon Siege II" introduces a new Flick authoring system providing a new level of in-engine cinematic storytelling that keeps players in the game world instead of pulling them away from it. New story-driven quests provide a deeper adventure that evolves with players as they complete quests and missions.

It seems that the "Tactical Gameplay" wasn't somethingthey wanted after all. I think they took it out in favor of point 4:

4. Awesome loot

Oh, it’s ALL about the loot. Playing a game where you get a lot of random loot drops is much like going to Las Vegas and playing on a slot machine. How fun would that be if every time you played, you only won 1 or 2 coins? That’d get pretty boring pretty fast if you ask me. People pull the lever hoping for that big jackpot, and if they never feel like they’re going to get it, they’ll stop playing.

 

[Araanor]

What the fuck, chuck?

It will be interesting to see what this "strategic" and "tactical" amounts to.

 

[Whipporowill]

Amateurs! You don't change a list of features ON-FUCKING-LINE... that's why you always do offline checks before posting important stuff. I can't believe these guys get paid... someone shoot their web monkey. Fast.

 

[Rosh]

Well, I suppose they thought they would scare away the dim bulbs that bought the game for the mindless play if they had it sounding too difficult and requiring some thinking to play, and changed it. Most munchkins like that don't bother with the dev diaries, but instead goto the features page and jerk off.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Actually, that was my idea of a joke. I modified "More Dangerous Enemies", thinking that you guys would figure this one out right away. In my defense, the original feature list was too boring.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Oh, it’s ALL about the loot. Playing a game where you get a lot of random loot drops is much like going to Las Vegas and playing on a slot machine.

Except what i earn in the slot machine doesn't become redundant a few moments after i get it, while loot does.

 

[Malak]

Is it unfair of me to not care in the slightest of what these guys are doing with their sequel? I can't think of a worse RPG than dungeon siege...

 

[Rosh]

Actually, that was my idea of a joke. I modified "More Dangerous Enemies", thinking that you guys would figure this one out right away. In my defense, the original feature list was too boring.

Argh! *flays Vault Dweller with rusty can lids*

 

[HanoverF]

You shoulda known, it has VD's "stile" pasted all over it