Dungeon Siege III

So, in the end, what we have is an exceptional local-multiplayer action RPG with a good story and great combat and production values, fused with some of the best-loved trappings of the hack-and-slash loot-grab genre.

An accessible and fun dungeon crawling romp, with or without friends.

Dungeon Siege III is a solid singleplayer action-RPG, but please forget the possibility to play with friends. There is no splitscreen or anything else to gives the player a feel of freedom. It's all up to the host. Everyone see what the host wants to see and you can only kill some monsters for nothing, because you are not playing with your character. You get a character which is automatically in range to the host with good equipment and everything. That is not funny. But the singleplayer campaign, the atmosphere and the sound effects are really great.

It's a love it or hate it game. If it doesn't click with you right away it probably won't at all. I just wish they had made some better decisions with the way that the co-op is handled.

A hearty fantasy banquet. Tuck in. [Aug 2011, p.104]

Dungeon Siege III ends up being a fantastic hack and slack adventure that nearly achieves brilliance if not for lack of post-game content and expansive multiplayer.

If Dungeon Siege III proved anything, it was that the isometric RPG Hack and Slash style is not dead, nor needs to be called Diablo to be fun.

If you are looking for something with a bit more depth, beefier online options and something to tax your brains, then the game might be worth a quick try, but Dungeon Siege 3 is not doing anything revolutionary for the ARPG genre.

Dungeon Siege 3 is a worthy successor to the Dungeon Siege Saga, and the legitimate heir to the Throne of Console Dungeon Crawlers. However, PC fanatics will feel as if they're playing a slightly dumped down version of the first two epic games of the franchise.

If you're looking for an exciting romp through impressive-looking dungeons where you smash monsters, get loot, use tactics to win, and level up a lot of fun abilities, then this game delivers that in a way that's more true to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance than it is to either the past Dungeon Siege games or the Diablo series. And if you want something with the kind of wide-open online play that lasts for years, well, you're better off saving your money and waiting for Diablo III.

Doesn't have the pomp and ceremony of a triple-A blockbuster RPG, but it does have charm, solid gameplay and a really fun co-op experience. If you love loot then you want to be part of this. [Issue#206, p.78]

It's a modernised take on dungeon crawling that brings a few new ideas to the series.

Boasts such good combat that it doesn't matter if the loot, traditionally the heart of these games, is disappointing. In fact, it's so good that I think I'm going to go back and play it right now.

The pacing takes a hit because I think the developers went a little overboard in terms of character depth, the camera can be problematic, and a few too many of the abilities seem pointless, but in the end, DSIII is a dungeon-crawling winner.

I recommend Dungeon Siege III to anyone that wants to connect with friends and kill a whole mess of monsters together. [July 2011, p.84]

As much as this review may come across as "negative", Dungeon Siege III is a fun and easy to pick up game and certainly the best technical effort from Obsidian Entertainment in recent memory. If there were more complaints than praise it's because I really wanted this new entry in the DS franchise to be the best Action-RPG cooperative offering it could have been.

Dungeon Siege III is a linear, solid good game when played in coop mode, but a little boring when played in single player mode.

If you like high-fantasy realms, but are willing to overlook alterations to what are ultimately some pretty arbitrary conventions concerning weapon types, and you have like-minded friends who'll play with you offline, Dungeon Siege III is definitely worth your time. If you're going to go it alone strictly for story and gameplay, then know that you've already played this game before in similar form, probably a dozen times.

A simple RPG that won't impress fans, but still delivers a fairly enjoyable experience to gamers.

So what you're essentially paying for in the difference is the graphical polish of the environments, a satisfactory storyline, and clean craftsmanship. If that sounds like a fine deal, then Dungeon Siege III is the right dungeon crawler for you.

Dungeon Siege III doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're into these sorts of D&D style, loot collecting, hack and slashers, then it's definitely worth a look. For me though, I ended up disappointed. While the game can be fun, the surprising linearity, terrible camera (both online and off), uninteresting (and seemingly uninterested) characters, and the lack of a New Game + mode made this dungeon crawler feel like a lost opportunity.

While Dungeon Siege III doesn't quite measure up to its predecessors, its streamlined approach is a solid and enjoyable Action-RPG.

Putting the number three behind the title should mean progression. Unfortunately, this feels more like a transgression.

It's an average action RPG, filled with cliches and some actually funny combat. The real shame goes on the coop mode, which could've been a great appealing factor, but goes totally wasted. Consider it only if you're looking for some single player, light RPG action.

It doesn't push the envelope aside from experimenting with gameplay but if you like this type of game you'll probably enjoy yourself as long as you speed through the story.

Although it misses a beat on one or two of the RPG genre's values, the rest is classic dungeon-crawling through and through. [Issue#111, p.106]

Dungeon Siege III isn't a bad game but you have to like the genre. If you like to explore a world and love to see your character grow, you will like this game. If you're looking for an RPG, there are better games available.

There aren't many games like this for consoles, so it shakily fills a niche that most certainly needed filling. [Aug 2011, p.82]

The game doesn't stand out in anything, except in its four-player cooperative mode.

Constructed off the standard model for dungeon crawling, Dungeon Siege III doesn't reinvent the crawl, it only provides a pleasant ride within its confined genre.

It's a game built from pluck and resourcefulness, in other words: thoughtful when it can afford to be and stoically reliable – for the most part – when it can't.

The best Dungeon Siege ever is a more of a compliment than you might think in this accessible and fun action role-player.

Although Dungeon Siege III can't be surely defined as a real "anti-Diablo", any fan of the genre looking forward to Blizzard's masterpiece should surely consider the possibility of killing some time wandering around the Kingdom of Ehb.

Despite a very simple story and a repetitive gameplay Dungeon Siege gives players a lot of funny elements to interact with, creating an addictive structure. Too bad for the poor Co-Op implementation.

Obsidian's attempt at adding story elements fails to impress this time -- which stands out even more due to how plenty of other RPGs (especially Obsidian's) pull off a much better narrative.

Dungeon Siege III is a decent game; it just let itself down by not living up to what it could have been and by making some sloppy mistakes and over generalization that took away from any individuality or change in experience from one play through to another.

Dungeon Siege III is a dungeon crawler with a boring loot table, poorly implemented multiplayer, and little lasting incentive to continue running around the world once the tedious story ends.

Dungeon Siege III is a fun but unambitious dungeon crawler that fails to live up to the games that came before it.

One of the most disappointing aspects of Dungeon Siege III is the seemingly pointless restrictions imposed on co-op play.

What really lets it down is the overwhelming sense of just being a visitor in someone else's game when you play online.

Not terrible, but there are many better dungeon-crawlers out there. [Aug 2011, p.86]

Dungeon Siege III falls victim to its lack of ambition.

Dungeon Siege III is a perfect example of an average game. Not quite pretty, but not ugly either, with a dull plot but one that is not as insipid as some others from poor JRPGs, and a wimpish gameplay that remains ok for the gamers that don't really want to be asked for too much effort. Multiplayer and liking of the global atmosphere will be the two decisive criteria in deciding whether you'll see a half-empty or half-full cup when contemplating DS3.

Despite having a compelling and entertaining multiplayer aspect, Dungeon Siege III falls a bit flat with its traditional, old and uninspired gameplay. A rather boring storyline and bad voice acting makes this game just another one in the bunch of failed challengers to the Diablo throne.

No real highlights and some terrible voice acting in this one. But at least some decent fights.

DS3 is an ambitious game, to be sure, and it brings a lot of nifty innovations to the action-RPG genre. In fact, it brings too darn many -- that is, it bites off more than its control system, or the average player, can chew.

By the end of the campaign we were satisfied with the admittedly-average story, but the stale combat and chaotic multiplayer that are supposed to sell this game just aren't built well enough. On the cheap, you could probably do worse than this, but we can say for a fact that you can do a hell of a lot better.

A sub par action rpg with lousy dialogue and too few skills and attacks. Fun with friends, but the cheap co-op mode only uses other players as guests.

Dungeon Siege III is an average game that could have been a lot better if it hadn't been for the stiff camera and voice acting, a lack of good loot and the unbalanced and differentiating difficulty curve. It does shine a little in local coop and I would mostly recommend it for someone who has some time to kill and a friend to play it with. This is however not the dungeon-crawler you are looking for if you want something to grind until Diablo III is released.

With a multiplayer option that is severely lacking in polish and depth, Dungeon Siege III sets itself as a mainly single player dungeon crawler. With a campaign that was over at around 11 hours and very little replay value, the game is very hard to recommend at a $60/£40 price.