Introduction
Dungeon Siege is classified as an RPG but it certainly has elements from the action and adventure genre. It’s innovative character creation process and it’s gorgeous graphics make for a very unique experience. This game doesn’t look to be another Baldur’s Gate clone or a Diablo II look alike, no sir! Hopefully Gas Powered Games can deliver what I and others expect of this title.

Character Creation
This is perhaps the most innovative and interesting technology that the game possesses. When you create your character you’re allowed to pick your gender, name and of course a pair of pants. Dungeon Siege doesn’t allow you to pick any skills or be a certain class from the start. Instead it allows you to develop into whatever you want from the very start of the game. You can dabble a bit in magic, beat down some enemies with an Ax or imitate cupid and let the arrows fly. The game’s skill system is pretty basic since it only has four skills, which are combat magic, melee weapons, ranged weapons and nature magic. If say you choose to be a melee fighter, you wont need to train any additional skills such as Ax or Sword since the skills works the same on all melee weapons. As you use whatever skill you wish your ability increases in that particular skill. I’m guessing most experienced players will be more specialized and not diversify while beginners will do just the opposite. This system seems interesting and quite fun in theory, however I’ll reserve my judgment until I can play a full released version since it may not work so well in practice.

Graphics
Dungeon Siege sure does look great. Textures and models look fantastic thus far. Trees and bushes are especially notable. Their leaves sway back and forth in the wind and each bush has separate leaves, not just a texture with leaves stuck on one big polygon. The landscape is vivid and realistic. The character models are composed of almost 1000 polygons so they are detailed and sharp looking as well. One fantastic feature is that the transitions between dungeons and the landscape aren’t noticeable at all! You’ll go down into a dungeon and there wont be any noticeable transition and the dungeon’s inhabitants will be able to follow you out. Overall I’m very impressed with the game’s graphic splendor so far.

Gameplay
You’ll be able to control up to eight party members, however you’ll start with only one, yourself. You’ll be able to add new party members as the story line progresses and through various quest. There are basically three differently levels of gameplay. The easiest is to follow the story line and not diverge into smaller, less important quest. Now the second level is to diverge into smaller quest and puzzles but not go deeper into those still which would be the most difficult and third level of gameplay. By doing this, Gas Powered Games will hope to cater to the novice gamer as well as the hardcore gamers. The character creation system echoes this same line of thought. Like other RPGs, you’ll focus somewhat on killing baddies and developing your character(s). As you gain experience you can spend it on any of the four skills that exist.

Siege Editor
Siege Editor is a set of tools that lets you take complete control of the game itself. You can create new spells, dungeons, characters and even entire worlds. Players will also be able to post their works on the Internet for other players to download and enjoy. Very cool!

Multiplayer
Players will have the option of Co-op multiplayer play with their friends, via LAN or an in-game match making browser. The developers have hinted at creating worlds just for multiplayer play. One focusing on outdoor exploring and another for dungeon crawling. Nothing has been set in stone though. With Siege Editor discussed earlier, this could get very interesting indeed.

Final Thoughts
Dungeon Siege looks to be a very entertaining game. It will appeal to the side of me that likes to start up a game and have some quick fun and also the side of me that likes to get in depth with an RPG and explore the entire game thoroughly. I’m betting this title will sell very well since it appeals to such a broad audience.