Inspired by posts from gamers on Twitter, I sat down and came up with a list of five game series that I really enjoyed enough so that another entry in the series would be a must-buy. I’m considering a series as more than one game that shares a title, so even a two game collection would be a series (say, for instance, Red Dead Redemption). RDR isn’t on the list, though, but it’s close.
Number five on the list is Dungeon Siege. Dungeon Siege in almost all its incarnations is a party-based isometric dungeon crawler that subverted the Baldur’s Gate/Diablo formulas by giving you almost complete control over not only your own character, but up to eight other characters, each with their own personalities and storylines. The party abilities could be tuned for specific bosses or to support each other with synergies, such as freezing mobs before shattering them with a punishing melee attack.
You start out as a farmer (in some versions your name is literally Farmer) of either gender. After the destruction of your village, you and your mule are thrust into a world of war and ruin as your tale of revenge crosses over a hundred hours of gameplay.
Your mule is your only constant friend in your adventure. He is there to carry your loot and help out in the fighting with a well-placed kick or two. The Torchlight series took this idea and ran with it, but it started here.
Since party members you are not specifically controlling go ahead and fight on their own, Dungeon Siege was slammed for being an autobattle game. Dungeon Siege II took that to heart and required more clicking to get your companions to fight. Dungeon Siege III… we don’t talk about Dungeon Siege III.
Because DS3 got rid of your companions. Instead, you have one companion (chosen from a pool of two if I remember right), and I don’t remember if they even autobattled. DS3 was intended to be played by you and one other person, but this is not why I played the series.
I played for the sensation of being an integral member of a large team, all fighting against overwhelming odds for a great cause. No other game has given me the same excitement, though at least one other game on this list came close.
I’ve just re-downloaded the game. Once I’ve patched it for modern graphics cards, I think I’ll play the original one more time.