Dungeon Siege 3 - Preview Roundup

Here are three new articles on Dungeon Siege 3, from the recent press event.

A sample from Joystiq:

I was told that the current build of the game didn't let you respec characters at all, because Obsidian wants to make sure you really identify with the character you choose. The game's story plays a part in that as well. "The game sort of reacts to who you are in specific strategic locations," says creative lead George Ziets. "Lucas is descended from the old Legion, son of the old Grand Master. Arjalis is an Arkon, like Dungeon Siege's version of an angel, and she has this mysterious backstory. So at certain points in the game, that becomes an issue based on who you run into. Someone knows Lucas' family, so they'll respond differently to him than they would to someone else." While there's not a full morality system in the game, there are a few choices to make, and a few consequences to deal with as well, though Ziets declined to say more for now.

Taylor says that old-school PC players will appreciate that Obsidian hasn't dumbed-down the interface completely on that platform. "That's something we're starting to tackle right now," he says, "in terms of the control inputs and things like that. I think people will find that it plays very much like a PC game when we're done with the pass."

Previewers like Shacknews are still praising the visuals:

The game looks very good in action, and each area that I saw - from outdoor town and forest areas, to caves and dungeons - utilized a rich color palette and light sources to great effect. The hand-painted fire effects and crackling embers I saw when making my way through a burning estate looked great, and the same sort of care extended to the effects for spells and abilities. Though I only fought a handful of enemy types in the game's opening areas, it didn't feel as though more variety was needed.

AtomicGamer on general gameplay:

That being said, the gamepad scheme made Dungeon Siege 3 feel a hell of a lot like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, which for those of us fond of that game’s light-hearted action, is easily a close second to a mouse-based scheme. But no matter what controls you use, it’s important to point out that this is not a brainless action game containing only a smidge of RPG sprinkled in; there are a ton of loot choices to make, and your character will be juggling which proficiencies to drop points into every level - and when you do, it comes at the cost of choosing other ones. Then there are quite a few talents for each character, which you’ll also get to drop a point in each time you level up, and these bestow passive bonuses on your character. Toss in the ability to have one of these four characters as a permanent companion on your single player campaign - and the ability to fully control their equipment, proficiencies, and talents as well - and we’ve got a pretty deep game for what, on the surface, might look like just another Diablo clone.