Dungeon Siege III is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. It was published by Square Enix for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows in June 2011. It is the third full and fifth overall release in the Dungeon Siege series of video games and the first since Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony in 2006. The game is set in the pseudo-medieval kingdom of Ehb, 150 years after the events of Dungeon Siege and follows descendants of survivors of the 10th Legion in their quest to reestablish their military force.
The game employs classical role-playing elements in a high fantasy setting. Players control one of four characters, with one of the other three either controlled by the computer or another player using multiplayer features. When playing in single-player mode, players can readily switch out the supporting character at any time but unlike previous games in the series, only one companion character can be in the game at one time. Dungeon Siege III features an extensive set of items such as armor, weapons and jewelry that can be used to influence the characters' abilities and traits with each character having their own unique set of clothing, armor and weapons.
Dungeon Siege III was announced in June 2010 as the first main entry in the series not to be developed by Gas Powered Games following a purchase of the rights to the series by Square Enix earlier that year. The game was instead developed by Obsidian Entertainment with Chris Taylor, the inventor of the Dungeon Siege franchise, serving as an adviser. The game received above-average reviews by critics who praised the game's mechanics and graphics, especially the character models. Opinions about the story, replay value and multiplayer system were mixed on the other hand.
Gameplay Dungeon Siege III is an action role-playing game that takes place in a fantasy medieval world with geographic variety in open and closed environments (dungeons). The game displays the game world from an isometric (top-down) perspective and uses a display engine that makes the entire experience seamless by constantly loading required game scenes in the background. This way, the game does not need any load screens often found in other games. The game also avoids using many cut scenes by having characters talk to each other while traveling.
The game features a control system created to accommodate the parallel release on consoles as well as on the PC. As such, unlike previous games in the series, Dungeon Siege III no longer features an automatic targeting system and point-and-click mechanics. Instead, the player moves their character using the keyboard or a controller and the screen will move to stay centered on the character. To fight, player have to point the character in the direction of the enemies they want to engage and press the attack button.
Players control one of four predefined characters chosen at the beginning of the game. The other three appear as non-player characters (NPCs). In single-player mode only one of computer-controlled NPCs accompanies the player character at any given time, although the active companion can be changed at any time. This distinguishes the game from previous Dungeon Siege titles, where multiple characters could be in the game at the same time. If either the player or their companion die, they can be revived by the surviving character. If both die, the game has to be restarted from the last location it was saved. The AI is programmed to effectively use a companion's skills to complement the player, such as by waiting for the right time to use abilities or only attempting to revive the player when no more enemies are in the area.
Each character has two fighting stances to handle different situations. For example, the character of Lucas can wield a two-handed sword to damage a lot of enemies at once but with less protection, or use a one-handed sword and shield to fight against single strong enemies or to block attacks. In addition, there are three different special abilities for each stance that require "focus", the game's equivalent to magic points, to use. The amount of focus required varies based on the ability used. Each of those abilities has an improved version available after meeting certain conditions, such as using the skill a certain number of times. There are also three different passive abilities (such as healing, increased armor etc.). The improved versions of the attack abilities and the passive abilities use a different system of power spheres. All improved and passive abilities will deplete such a sphere. Both the focus points and the spheres are refilled by fighting enemies. While amount of focus available will always be a maximum of 100%, the player will start with only one sphere and gain three additional ones at key points of the plot, regardless of their level or experience points. Additionally, players collect experience points for defeating enemies and completing quests which in turn increase the character's level. At each new level, the player can choose to improve one of ten different beneficial effects for the character, such as improved attacks, bonus effects when being hit etc.
On the console versions, a second player can control the companion character using a second controller at the same device. Additionally, using the online multiplayer feature, up to four players can play the campaign together, with the difficulty being adjusted accordingly. However, since players can join and leave at any time, the game will only save progress for the player who initiated the game, not the other players. If a player leave or goes inactive, the game's AI will take over. When multiple players play together, they can vote on which quests to accept or how to handle different story-related decisions. Throughout the game, the game asks the player to make decisions using a wheel-like interface reminiscent of the Mass Effect series that can affect events later in the game.
Each of the four characters features nine unique sets of equipment, meaning that (with the exception of rings) no piece of equipment can be used by any of the other characters. Items can be obtained as a reward for winning fights, looted from fallen enemies and bought with gold, the game's currency, from vendors, special non-player characters that can be found in various locations. Vendors will also buy excess gear from player. Additionally, the game features a "transmute item" option, allowing the player to transmute their items into gold instantly at any time, albeit for a lower amount than they would have received if sold to a vendor. Unlike other role-playing games, including previous Dungeon Siege titles, the game does not feature any items that allow instant regeneration of health, focus or power spheres such as "health potions". Instead, there are abilities characters can use to replenish health over time.
Synopsis
Setting and characters The game takes place in the fictional Kingdom of Ehb in a high fantasy world, roughly 150 years after the events of Dungeon Siege. 30 years before the events of Dungeon Siege III, the 10th Legion, a military force that provided stability and protection for the kingdom for 400 years, attempted to remove King Hendrick from the throne to replace him with his son. The mission went wrong and Hendrick was slain. His illegitimate daughter, Jeyne Kassynder, then rallied the people and the Azunite Church against the Legion. Following a long and brutal campaign, she managed to kill most of the Legion. The king and his family moved against Kassynder but were killed save for his daughter Roslyn, the legitimate heir. Rosyln was forced to flee into the mines with the remnant of her army. A small group of legionnaires remained, led by a man calling himself the Venerable Odo, a former Legion spy. He kept descendants of the Legion safe from Kassynder and, at the beginning of the game, calls them to meet in order to regroup the Legion.
The player can choose to play as one of four different characters:
Lucas Montbarron is the youngest son of Hugh Montbarron, the Grand Master of the 10th Legion at the time of their last fight against Jeyne Kassynder and a descendant of the first Lady Montbarron, the protagonist of Dungeon Siege. Lucas fights with a one-handed sword and shield or a two-handed sword. Anjali is an archon, a member of a servant race to the lost creator gods. As a mythical being, she can shift between human form and elemental fire form. Reinhart Manx is a descendant of Merik, the mage from Dungeon Siege. He is able to fight with magic at range and in close combat. Katarina is the illegitimate daughter of Hugh Montbarron and a Lescanzi witch. She fights with a long-range rifle or a pair of shotguns at close range. Rebecca Grant modeled for Katarina's character.
Depending on which character is chosen, the plot is subtly altered. The other three characters are later available as AI-controlled companions or can be controlled by other players using the multiplayer feature. As the game progresses and different quests are completed, the other three characters will first meet and then join the player character. Depending on which character was chosen, some events encounters might be subtly changed and the lines of dialogue are altered to fit the character's back-story; for example, while Lucas, Anjali and Reinhart will meet Katarina for the first time in the town of Raven's Rill helping them, players who chose to play as Katarina will meet a non-player character serving the same purpose.
Plot The player arrives to find the meeting place attacked by Kassynder's mercenaries. With the help of Marten Guiscard, another Legion descendant, the player tracks down Odo at a former Legion safehouse. After hearing what happened, the player is tasked with finding other survivors and information on the attacks. After fighting more of Kassynder's forces, the player travels to Stonebridge City to reopen the Legion's Grand Chapter-house there as a sign of their resurgence. On the way to Stonebridge they help a group of royalist soldiers fighting Kassynder.
After reopening the Stonebridge chapter-house, the player seeks to enlist the support of the royalists by aiding Queen Roslyn against Kassynder's assault on her position and the help of the City of Stonebridge by helping the city council. Their support ensured, the player attacks Kassynder's capital. After prevailing against Kassynder in battle, she is revealed to be an archon who was seeking to reawaken her long lost masters in the Rukkenvahl Forest, but only managed to create a mutant god. After it is defeated, Kassynder is captured alive in the forest. The player may then choose to either kill or spare Jeyne; if her life is spared, the player can decide to have her stand trial, deliver her to the Queen, exile her or ask for her help in rebuilding the kingdom. The game ends with Odo narrating the events that happen afterwards based on the player's choices in the game.
Development and release In 2010, Square Enix purchased the rights to the Dungeon Siege franchise from Gas Powered Games. Square Enix announced in June 2010 that they commissioned Obsidian Entertainment, which had previous experience creating role-playing games such as Neverwinter Nights 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, with developing Dungeon Siege III. Chris Taylor, the original creator of Dungeon Siege, served as an advisor during the development of the game. It is the third game in the series and the first main entry title not to be developed by Gas Powered Games (after Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna by Mad Doc Software and Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony by SuperVillain Studios). It was also the first major game of the series that was developed for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC while the first two entries were PC-exclusive.