Space Siege

Although the first half of the game falls into a lull of mundane and repetitive baddies, it definitely becomes more interesting, difficult and intense toward the closing acts. But dont' expect brilliant innovation. [Oct 2008, p.58]

It's definitely action-packed, especially when playing with friends. It's just a damn-shame that Chris Taylor and his cronies at Gas Powered Games didn't get with the times and mix in a proper action-focused control scheme.

Space Siege may be for those more hard core fans that know that not every addition to a series is going to be a slam dunk blast of an adventure.

For the most part it’s an enjoyable if unremarkable shooter, where satisfying gunplay and alien carnage struggle to overcome a shallow plot and quirky controls.

Strange mouse controls blows a hole, very monotonous gameplay sinks Space Siege. Come on, Chris Taylor. [Sept 2008]

This is a good game for a once through, but lacks any long term re-play value and lacks what made the Dungeon Siege titles so great and full of amazing gameplay. The online side of Space Siege is very well done but like the Single Player it lacks that certain something which makes it a great and worth while game.

While the visuals don't exactly push the envelope, the audio is one of the better aspects of the game.

Worth trying for people who haven’t played many RPG’s.

Not in the slightest bit innovative, but a great hack-and-slash nonetheless. [Issue#12, p.64]

Diverting enough, especially for four players, but not outstanding. [Nov 2008, p.83]

Action-packed gameplay, a linear plot, controls that need getting used to, an interesting human/machine-system and a single agonizing mistake: No Lootsystem as we know and love it and Item-Drops as well as Levels per se are non-existent. Space Siege isn’t bad, but compared to forthcoming Space-Games, it’s an appetizer at best. [Issue#15]

You're a soldier, fighting aliens and robots - as long as you manage to stay awake. The new game made by Chris Taylor fails because of its pointless story and that's not even the biggest problem of Space Siege. Uninspired levels, boring missions and the same opponents over and over again don't offer enough variety. It still has a certain appeal and would be worth 15 Euros, but definitely not 50 Euros.

It's not perfect but Space Siege is a lot of fun once you get into the game.

Gas Powered Games' latest release disappoints in its attempt to transfer the Siege Dungeon style to space. This is a video game that does not stand out for good or for bad in any particular aspect. The only elements that save it from mediocrity are the length and some good conceptual decisions. Unfortunately, Space Siege doesn´t have any depth to it, neither does it work as a role game or as an action game; turning quickly into a Hack and Slash shooter, repetitive and outlandish.

A big disappointment after a promising preview. Far too simplistic and generic to hold anyone's attention for any length of time. [Oct 2008, p.104]

Space Siege has quite some problems. Controls are confusing, story is linear, sceneries are overly repetitive and the choices we make have little to no impact on character development.

The combat looks bright and colorful on the surface and there is no shortage of menacing enemies and massive explosions, but the AI doesn't provide any real tactical challenge, the layout of the levels and missions is remarkably linear, and the range of abilities and weapons is too limited.

The lack of atmosphere, tension, and urgency doesn't help either, especially since the player is supposed to feel like humanity is on its last leg.

Space Siege is genuinely fun for a while, but at some point in the dozen-or-so-hour campaign it became more tedious than entertaining, and I just wished there was more depth in the mechanics to hold my interest.

It’s perfectly functional, neatly presented, and consistently enjoyable to play, but there’s nothing here to make it particularly memorable or great. [Oct 2008, p.106]

While Space Siege is by no means bad, it is a very typical and uninspired video game.

Space Siege is a mediocre game, trying to fool the audience with its high price of admission, which is completely unjustified compared to what you actually get in the package.

No one can hear you clicking in space… Missed opportunity to create a successful action paced sci-fi. Space Siege is more Dungeon Siege II mod than anything else. There are lots of nice flying and exploding barrels but playability itself is a bit “wearing” and you can beat the whole game in three afternoons of lazy playing. [Sept 2008]

I'd stay away from it unless the very idea of an isometric hack n' slash in space seems too good to be true. [Oct 2008, p.111]

It's not quite worth the effort to chuck Space Siege out the airlock, but its extraneous mass that could be put to better use.

Neither fish nor fowl, this game fails on both counts, with character development not deep enough for a roleplayer and controls too clumsy for an action gamer. The presentation is at times truly stunning, but the dumbing down went too far. [Oct 2008]

Intellectually barren space RPG. [Oct 2008, p.80]

Space Siege isn't a bad game; it's just a very ordinary one with an inordinately large amount of squandered potential. [Oct 2008, p.58]

What the developers tried to do is wrap "Dungeon Siege" into a sci-fi package resembling "Mass Effect" and have failed miserably at it. While it certainly lacks the depth and epic atmosphere of "Mass Effect" and similar top releases, it also doesn't live up to the rich content and immersive settings of the "Dungeon Siege" games.

This one may prove to be an appealing bargain bin title for a few hours of entertaining destruction, but only Diablo fans will feel truly at home, and they have other choices that they'll probably enjoy more.

The most remarkable thing about Space Siege is just how utterly unremarkable it is.

It lacks depth, offers minimal incentive to continue playing past the first hour or two, and doesn't do anything with its online offerings that could convince you to neglect the countless other games that offer far richer multiplayer experiences. There's no reason to pick this one up unless you're desperate for something in the space milieu.

While riddled with design disasters, "Too Human" seems like an action-RPG holy grail by comparison to this startling mess. Better yet, play "Shadowgrounds: Survivor" instead of the both of 'em.

Saving the human race shouldn't be so tedious.

Space Siege is an outerspace Dungeon Siege clone. In short: there is a spaceship cramped with aliens and your the cleaning guy. With Chris 'Supreme Commander' Taylor behind te wheel Space Siege sounds promising. Unfortunatly Space Siege gives little satisfaction. All the necessary ingredients for a decent RPG are there, but there is no chef to make a nice meal out of it.

Overall, Space Siege is a game with a catalogue of both major and minor flaws, sloppy, derivative or rushed design, which is uncharacteristic of a developer with this pedigree. Whether you judge it as an RPG or as a third-person action game, Space Siege fails to pass muster, yet despite all the flaws, the game is hard to utterly condemn.

It does have that 'just once more go' addictive quality to it, buried somewhere deep beneath its many flaws - a trait that all hack and slash action games seem to have regardless of their quality - but beyond that there's very little here to recommend.

If the developers had really looked hard at what they’d made, they would have found they’d committed that cardinal sin; to make a game that just isn’t fun. [Nov 2008, p.53]

I'm sure no one deliberately went out to create such a boring experience with depressing backdrops and uninteresting characters, but that's exactly what has happened.

Unfortunately, Gas Powered Games forget all the elements that make the games in this genre so damn fun and addictive. It's really a shame because had they done it right, it would have made the wait for Diablo III that much more bearable. But as it stands, this is without a doubt the worst addition to the Siege series yet.

A wholly unoriginal creation burdened by memories attached to the good ideas it’s imitating, and made worse by the sloppy execution of basic mechanics. [Oct 2008, p.100]

Give this game a miss, and get your EXP-grinding gums around Dungeon Siege 2.