System Requirements CPU: 1GHz RAM: 256MB HDD: 4GB of free space OS: Windows XP Video: ATI 7000/Nvidia GeForce or better Internet: Broadband required for online play ESRB: Rated Mature for blood, gore, violence
Story:
Broken World takes place right after the defeat of Valdis at the end of Dungeon Siege 2. Don’t you hate trying to do something with good intentions but wind up making the situation worse? Sure enough, that’s what happens in this game. Many towns and people’s lives are ruined after the fall of Valids. Now you have to right the wrongs and regain the trust of the townspeople. There’s a rogue mage going around and corrupting people, so you must find the root of this evil and put an end to it.
What’s new in this expansion?
In order to play this expansion pack you’ll need to have Dungeon siege 2 installed on your system. This game is intended for higher-level characters. You can either import your old party from Dungeon Siege 2 or you can start with some pre-generated level 39 characters. (If you use the pre-generated characters prepare to die often since the beasts in the wild are very tough!) In this expansion you can now play as a dwarf, and there are a couple of new classes such as a Fist of Stone Fighter and a Blood Assassin. If you like to have a pet in your party there are a couple of new pets to choose from as well. There’s a Pack Ram and a Kohl Beast.
How big can my party be?
The number of people in your party depends on the level of difficulty of the game. You have to start off as a mercenary and in order to get to the next level you have to beat the game at the previous level. Although you can have up to six party members you can only have four as a mercenary. Pets are also available in this game. They will grow with you and have special abilities. It’s a good idea to keep a balanced party since a particular class can only unlock certain rooms. If you ever disband someone from your party you can retrieve them again from any inn. The party members are more interactive and many have their own side quests you can unlock. One drawback to the party members is that often when I would come across people willing to join my group, my current party members were a few levels above them and not worth trading out. Needless to say I kept my original DS:2 crew throughout the game.
Enemies
There are lots of new enemies to be reckoned with. It can be especially painful if they swarm you. There are lots of mini-bosses with a golden circle around them. The mini-bosses usually drop some good loot. The bosses are pretty challenging; fortunately there’s a teleporter right before them allowing you to restock on health and mana potions and restart close by if you need to. The final boss I beat on my first try. It was a very close call and it was down to my archer and me and all our health potions were gone.
Multiplayer
I’m using a Linux router, which is pretty forgiving and let me join multiplayer games without a problem. You can still go back and play regular DS:2 games.
Game Play
This expansion is fun and it’s challenging enough. It basically adds a new chapter with a few acts to complete. I feel like I definitely got my money’s worth. There are lots of side quests you can go back and do. When you beat the game you can go back to all the villages but the dialogue doesn’t change. The actual fighting is click and kill and you have to hold down your mouse to keep attacking. Fortunately there are some DS1 options you can set to auto attack etc. The game save system is a bit limiting. You have only one save and a backup. That’s it. The story and character immersion is great.
Sound
Just the like the original the sound does not disappoint. The voice acting is great and the music is just as good. You get to hear the familiar theme occasionally. The monsters have their own sounds and the magic spells sound good too.
Graphics
The graphics are the same as DS:2. The only things different are new monsters to fight. The detail on them is pretty good as usual. The new levels look nice but are a bit linear, as there’s not an open world to explore.
Stability
I did not experience any glitches in this game. It ran flawlessly.
Controls/Interface
I still like the DS:1 continuous attack feature as it sure saves a lot on the clicking. The interface has a little bit of a learning curve but it’s easy to use for the most part. Game Play score 39/50
Appropriateness
Just like the other Dungeon Siege titles, there’s lots of blood and violence which cannot be disabled. There’s some minor language too. Magic is pretty much impossible to avoid. It doesn’t have to be your character that uses the magic but it will be used on you. There are incantation shrines where you can chant phrases and temporarily gain or raise powers. I’m happy to report that there are no occult symbols used in this game. Finally the woman’s armor is a bit tight fitting, but at least it covers the stomach area.
