System Requirements Windows 98/Me/2000/XP 333MHz Processor 128MB RAM 1.5GB hard drive space! 8MB video card 56K modem for online play (only play with broadband!)
Story
The evil Shadow Jumper has been held captive for many, many years. He has broken free and vows revenge on the Utraeans who imprisoned him. Of course, his method of revenge puts the whole world in danger. So like your famous ancestors, you will embark on a journey to stop this evil villain. You?ll meet many along the way to help you out on this adventure.
What is in this expansion?
This expansion pack includes the full version of Dungeon Siege and an additional 20 hours of game play with the Legends of Aranna storyline. Unfortunately you need to start with a brand new human character, but you can import your previous characters in multiplayer games. The game boasts of new races, which there are, but you can only play as the new half-giant. The new, intelligent Utraeans are only available as single player allies. There have been some welcome improvements in storage. After exploring all these dungeons we need more room to put our loot! Players can now carry one backpack which is a must have in this game. They are fairly priced at $600, but for $1000 you can get a Tragg. A Tragg is a dinosaur looking pack animal that carries almost as much as a mule but fights a lot better. I didn?t bother getting a Tragg, as I just equipped all of my party members with a backpack and that did the job. Like the original, you are limited to a total of eight people in your party. Just like the original Dungeon Siege, the pack animals are only available in single player games.
Improved interface
The expansion pack has some nifty interface improvements. The potion distribute button is great. This feature automatically distributes more manna to mages and health potions to fighters. It does a pretty good job at re-arranging the items when you are stuffing your nearly full backpack. This is a great time saver indeed! My favorite tweak is that weapons and magic now display the average amount of damage dealt in 10 seconds. This is a great help when deciding what to equip. My only gripe on the interface is that some of the treasure chests would not allow my characters to open them, or it took some maneuvering from different angles to get to them.
New weapons, spells and armor
This expansion is bound to please melee, range and mages alike. There are great armor/weapon sets that get better as you complete the set. There are tons of new weapons like Sais, Claws, imbued weapons/staffs, Napalm and Gas guns, and more. There is even decent armor for mages and ranged fighters too! Mages will enjoy the new orb spells, which can help power up and protect lower level mages. There are many new summon and transform into creature spells too. One of the cooler new spells is called Clone where the caster clones them self for a limited amount of time.
What kind of new enemies are there?
Along your journey you?ll encounter many big bugs. You will see humongous spiders, huge scorpions and wicked huge mosquitoes. You?ll battle many walking cats called Hassats, lizard men called Zaurask, Alligator beings known as Droc and huge monkey men too. One of the more unique enemies is called a Doppleganger, which clones one of your party members and you have to fight them. (Not good when they clone four of my tough half-giant.) Finally, you?ll encounter many mini-bosses, which will drop some real good loot when you defeat them.
How hard are they?
This game is surprisingly easy. To be quite honest I really didn?t notice much of a difference between the normal and the hard difficulty levels. The original game, when set to hard, is HARD, but not so much so in the expansion. One thing worth mentioning: when you hit an explosive barrel in this game, you take no damage. Perhaps a patch will address these issues, we?ll see.
What kind of quests will I go on?
Apart from the main quest of stopping the Shadow Jumper you will be asked to do many other tasks of varying difficulty. There are eighteen quests in all. You?ll be asked to do things from ridding an area of bad guys to reuniting a father and son who parted on bitter terms. Overall the game play is significantly shorter than the original Dungeon Siege. This expansion only has four chapters compared to nine from DS.
Appropriate?
You?ll be hacking and slashing your way across this island. So yes, there is violence. However you can disable the blood and dismemberment, which is good. There is magic use but it?s not forced on you. There is some minor language. There is a mention of the Utraeans paying for the sins of their past so there is a concept of right and wrong. One of the quests has you purify a well for some ritual, but you don?t see anything.
Final Thoughts
The graphics and music of the expansion are still great. Although the game engine is starting to show it?s age, the characters and world are very detailed and are good to look at. The characters still reflect each change in armor and weaponry. The music and sound effects won?t disappoint either. Some of the enemies have creepy noises and the bosses verbally taunt you as you come closer to them. The game play formula is still the same and a tad repetitive at times. You are walking around smashing pottery more than fighting or story telling. Many of the maps are linear and when you do explore a little around the sides you?ll find the good treasure chests. Make sure you find the Disco Easter Egg. The price tag of $30 is a great deal for the original game plus the expansion. But it?s a little pricey for those who already own the game to justify twenty hours of game play. It?s simple fun, but addicting nonetheless. I?ll still stick with my level sixty-three character from my original Dungeon Siege for online play, as my Aranna character only got to level thirty.
