YANSWATHT Dungeon Siege 3

[CPA]

Yet Another Not Sure Why All The Hate Thread, this time for Dungeon Siege 3. This title got pounded, particularly by user reviews and I'm not exactly sure why. Yes, I know most complain about the clunky keyboard/mouse controls, but I just use a controller - problem solved.

I've played about 10 hours now and I'm actually enjoying it.

Pros:
- Not one crash, bug or slowdown
- controls well with a controller
- There are some decisions that seem to make a difference in game
- Character acting is good.
- Story is bearable, even somewhat interesting
- Combat is good with different attacks - with my current character I can go melee or change into a fire wielder that allows ranged combat
- Lots of ability/skill decisions
- Lots of loot/different type of loot
- Side quests that you can do or not, your choosing
- Graphics are good and if it's a little too dark for you, you can brighten things up pretty easily
- many different enemies - some pretty dang tough even on normal difficulty
- Loot is easily seen and grabbed, with gold pickup just a matter of walking over it


Yes, there are some things that could be better.

Cons:
- Pretty linear, but so was DS1, as I recall
- Not sure how some of the enchantments or skills work or work together and the Help section isn't always straight forward.
- Inventory/Item handling takes a little to get used to

A lot of this game, I believe, stays true to what I remember DS1 was like, and DS1 was pretty well received. So, not sure why so many folks hate it. Picked it up during the Steam $24 sale that included DS1 and DS2.

 

[Worthington]

Have you tried the Co-Op? It's terrible. I agree that single player was fairly enjoyable though.

 

[gothamhunter]

You don't hit the main problem.

DS games are considered MP games. Have you read up on how the MP works in this game?

Player 1 hosts a game.
Player 2-4 join hosts game, but as pre-created characters that get no loot, no xp, no nothin!

So basically, playing with your friend(s) will never happen, because no one wants to be that pre-created character.

This single, gigantic issue, turned be off from the game, because I wouldn't even really want to play it by myself.

 

[CPA]

You don't hit the main problem.

DS games are considered MP games. Have you read up on how the MP works in this game?

Player 1 hosts a game.
Player 2-4 join hosts game, but as pre-created characters that get no loot, no xp, no nothin!

So basically, playing with your friend(s) will never happen, because no one wants to be that pre-created character.

This single, gigantic issue, turned be off from the game, because I wouldn't even really want to play it by myself.

hmmmm. I never considered DS1 a multi-player game. Seriously didn't recognize that was an issue. I can certainly see how that would be an issue.

In the single-player game, I just view the CPU player as an NPC, similar to Baldur's Gate party-members. I understand that I can't control the second player, but so far the CPU has done a decent job managing him, even grabbing loot when I am not close or forget.

 

[KaOTiK]

I enjoyed DS3 quite a bit as well. It was my first DS game I played so that probably had something to do with it from what others have said.

 

[KidNiki1]

i'm not sure what you mean about pre-created...i played co-op mode with several friends and was always able to select which character i wanted to play. i also got loot from drops. (maybe i am misunderstanding you)

i played co-op with some friends just fine. we werent trying to be all hardcore about the game tho and mostly were just playing to hang out and have fun. the group mechanics left a little to be desired but imho it was a good time.
i guess it depends on if you can have fun with your friends regardless of a few drawbacks or if you get so focused on how the game doesnt work the way you think it should that you cant just chill with friends and have fun. for some people it makes it unplayable, and i get that, but for me, it was a fun way to game with some friends.

 

[gothamhunter]

i'm not sure what you mean about pre-created...i played co-op mode with several friends and was always able to select which character i wanted to play. i also got loot from drops. (maybe i am misunderstanding you)

i played co-op with some friends just fine. we werent trying to be all hardcore about the game tho and mostly were just playing to hang out and have fun. the group mechanics left a little to be desired but imho it was a good time.
i guess it depends on if you can have fun with your friends regardless of a few drawbacks or if you get so focused on how the game doesnt work the way you think it should that you cant just chill with friends and have fun. for some people it makes it unplayable, and i get that, but for me, it was a fun way to game with some friends.

What I meant was, if you are player 1 and you're using your character, player two (friend who joins you) can't use his/her character. I'm sure playing together is fun, but it's awful they didn't let you use your own character. They just got lazy about fully implementing co-op.

 

[KidNiki1]

What I meant was, if you are player 1 and you're using your character, player two (friend who joins you) can't use his/her character. I'm sure playing together is fun, but it's awful they didn't let you use your own character. They just got lazy about fully implementing co-op.

oh oh, i get ya.
i never really had a character i was just playing on single player mode with, but yes, every time we played i basically had to start over with a 'new' character. on the plus side, a few times i joined some buddies who had been playing a while and so my character was automatically leveled up to that level. just had to pick my skills etc and go.

 

[darkewaffle]

Me and a few friends picked it up during the Steam sale and have been enjoying co-op thoroughly, my biggest complaint is the camera staying locked on all party members at all times (and it can't zoom out far enough for my preference) but they did a good job of implementing auto-AI when someone is in a menu so you don't get stuck waiting for them as well as a "Take A Break" feature so you can go AFK and your party can keep moving no problem.

We did have some problems getting it to work with Ventrilo but we did get it to work after enabling "Direct Input" (something like that) in our Vent clients.

Some of the fights are pretty tough and enemies dish out a lot of damage, it plays a little like an action game at times with the amount of ducking and dodging needed in some situations. I think the auto-aim is a bit too 'strong' but it doesn't really take away from much.

Conversations in multiplayer is actually a pretty cool implementation, I think the host still decides which path to take but each other member can 'vote' and arguing about what to say was amusing

I understand why people want to use their own characters but personally I don't see the need. It's a co-op game, not an MMO. Plus as it is if you just play with the same host it amounts to the same thing anyway, if you each always play the same character what difference is there? Sure you can't carry your gear back with you, but even if you could what are you going to do with it? Are you really going to play the single player at the same time? Join other games and rush people through the story? It's not Diablo, and I think trying to treat it as such is missing the point. I think they made the reasonable decision of not making 'gear' the selling point of a single player game, which is senseless to me.

 

[mirandu04]

for me it was a disapointment just because it was so different to the other games in the series. except that it was a very nice game

 

[pontifex]

for me it was a disapointment just because it was so different to the other games in the series. except that it was a very nice game

it amazes me how people bitch about games being too much like previous versions (CoD series for example) but then they bitch when a game does make changes.

Can the devs ever win? Not on AT at least.

 

[Red Storm]

it amazes me how people bitch about games being too much like previous versions (CoD series for example) but then they bitch when a game does make changes.

Can the devs ever win? Not on AT at least.

First off taking one person's opinion and using it as some sort of universal gamer opinion doesn't prove anything. Second, there is a pretty clear difference between CoD's annual releases (aka milk that cash cow as hard as possible) and other games that are in development for multiple years.

Not that I think any of the Dungeon Siege games have been good, just pointing out a difference.

 

[CPA]

it amazes me how people bitch about games being too much like previous versions (CoD series for example) but then they bitch when a game does make changes.

Can the devs ever win? Not on AT at least.

lol, thinking the same thing.

Serious Sam 3 is suffering the same fate from the "experts" - "Nothing new"..."Graphics changed too much"..."OMG IRON SITES"...."OMG not enough new weapons"....and on, and on, and on.

 

[WT]

Its on my Steam wish list. I played the hell outta both previous games, but due to the negative reviews I gave this one a pass until now. Hoping to get it on the Steam December sale.

 

[pontifex]

First off taking one person's opinion and using it as some sort of universal gamer opinion doesn't prove anything. Second, there is a pretty clear difference between CoD's annual releases (aka milk that cash cow as hard as possible) and other games that are in development for multiple years.

Not that I think any of the Dungeon Siege games have been good, just pointing out a difference.

it's not just 1 person's comment. It's a trend I see on these forums a lot.

 

[Rhezuss]

This game is certainly on my "grab when it's under 15 bucks" list...pretty much like Dead Island. In a few weeks, when the Steam big sale will fire off, i'll be roaming the place for a good price on DS3 and DI.

 

[skace]

lol, thinking the same thing.

Serious Sam 3 is suffering the same fate from the "experts" - "Nothing new"..."Graphics changed too much"..."OMG IRON SITES"...."OMG not enough new weapons"....and on, and on, and on.

Well, I should withhold my judgement of Serious Sam 3 since I haven't completed it yet. However I am working my way through it and I will admit that something feels off. Certainly, we could all sit around and discuss what we think it is (iron sites, too much changed, nothing changed, graphics too different, weapons aren't cool enough, etc). Those topics are fun to discuss, but the crux of the matter is that multiple people playing the game are able to sit down and go "huh, not as fun" and that is certainly a valid view point.

I think one of the things that is really slowing the pace of Serious Sam 3 for me is the sledgehammer and it's integral nature in finding secrets / etc. The sledgehammer has 2 modes, combat and non combat. When you are outside of combat it is incredibly sluggish, probably how it would be in real life, but it makes for an extremely slow experience which is off-pace for Serious Sam.

Oh and more on-topic, Dungeon Siege 3 is ok. In fact, at times, the game can shine a bit and the increased difficulty is impressive for a top down RPG if at times unfair. However, the environments are odd to me, they seem very small in scope, like single hallway affairs - almost as if purposefully designed for folks with ADD. The multiplayer is certainly botched and the game will ultimately come up as unmemorable. The 13 year old me certainly loves what they did with the female character designs though.