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.

Graphics
Akella is using it’s new STORM 2 engine for Sea Dogs II and if you want to judge 3D renders then you can say it’s looking great. However final judgment should be made when actual in-game screen shots are taken. STORM 2 does come with some nice features though since it has everything the original had and much more. There won’t be anymore clumsy animations because STORM 2 is equipped with a skeletal animation system and Akella is doing all the character animations via motion capture. They also promise that STORM 2 will render the sea with greater physics and precision than the original and that should be something to set your eyes on. True color textures, improved lighting system and much higher polygon counts will all help to immerse you in the Sea Dogs II game world. Soon as Akella releases in-game screen shots, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile you can drool over the pre-rendered screens.

Gameplay
One of the biggest improvements in my opinion over the original is the ability to explore the islands instead of only being able to explore the small towns. The towns are placed realistically so you’ll actually be able to sneak into enemy towns to finish up a quest or kill an important person. The Islands themselves are vast landscapes composed of tropical jungles, sandy shores or Rocky Mountains. You’ll be able to blockade an Island to weaken its defenses however by doing so you take the risk of being destroyed by a powerful fleet sent to help the Island. Players will also be allowed to take slaves and hold them for ransom to accumulate wealth. Sea Dogs II features an enhanced version of it’s economic system and allows players to command a squadron of four ships, which means you’ll be able to carry and sell much more cargo than before. The game takes place thirty years after the original however it does take place in the same area. However there are now more Islands than in the original. Twenty-five Islands now make up the archipelago and each with a town, five of them being completely new. One-hundred-fifty different characters, fifty historically accurate ships to control with six different types of cannons to install on these and twenty-six different goods to trade. The game will only have one story line; however it will be very detailed and doesn’t depend on your nation of choice any longer. Also included is a system that automatically creates smaller quest for the player that doesn’t interfere with the main story. Sea Dogs 2 does go deeper into each element of game play than the original, however it doesn’t go very far as Akella feels that would scare away a lot of casual gamers with too much complexity. For instance you can now create your own character for playing the game, to further enhance the role-playing element. This character can be male or female and be customized further with a specialty which will affect their skill growth. Players will also be able to manage a party of four members, allowing you to manage their experience points and control their evolution. Another cool feature Akella includes in Sea Dogs II is the ability to switch between a more simulations oriented sailing system that allows you to control each sail individually or you can choose to have all of that handled for you. This game is destined to steal many hours of my time!

Final thoughts
Wow, this game looks like it’s going to be one of the most diverse games to ever hit the market. I believe it’s similar to Black and White because of the way it combines different genres of gaming. Akella impressed me with the original Sea Dogs and it’s looking to impress me much more so with the sequel. Sea Dogs II has all the elements to be a smash hit and I’m really hoping it will be or my hopes will be crushed.

Gameplay
When you start Zoo Tycoon you can choose between two game modes, free play and scenario based. If you’re just starting out and don’t know much, scenario is the way to go since it offers tutorials that will help you learn the ropes. In the free play mode there are few rules and you can start with certain amount cash which you can lower or raise to your liking. To begin with, you need to make an exhibit so people will have a reason to visit your Zoo. To build an exhibit, you need to build an enclosure that is strong enough for whatever type of animal you will be putting in it. For instance, you can’t use a weak chain link fence for an African Elephant; you would have to use cement. Once you create the enclosure, you need to adopt an animal to place inside it. There are many types of animals at this point; however there should be more once the game is released. Ranging from Giraffes to Crocodiles, you have a wide variety to choose from. You will have to put money into research before you can adopt more exotic types of animals such as a black leopard. Now that you have an animal inside your enclosure, you must make that enclosure suitable for the animal or else it will become unhappy. Unhappy animals make unhappy guest and that is always a bad thing. Not to mention the Zoo board will shut your park down! So you have to put in the right type of terrain and in some cases, insert more animals to make the animal happy. Be wary of putting animals inside that may not get along too well. They will at least become miserable and occasionally even kill each other! If you put the enclosure too close to a busy path, the animal will become unhappy due to all the noise, I assume. It’s a very difficult balancing act and takes a while to master, if you ever master it that is. What increases the challenge even further is the fact that while you need to keep your animals happy, your guest are complaining that they are hungry, thirsty and are issuing various other complaints. This challenge is actually great fun and makes the game very interesting. Exhibits aren’t the only thing you can build inside your park of course. There are many different types of shops, scenery and entertainment structures you can build to please your guest and make money in the process. If you love animals, Zoo Tycoon will probably appeal to you. If you love the challenge of making your animals and guest happy and to make money at the same time, Zoo Tycoon will appeal to you. If both of those statements apply to you, Zoo Tycoo is what you’ve been waiting for!

Graphics
Zoo Tycoon doesn’t have leading edge graphics which isn’t a big surprise for this genre of games. The graphics are nice for this genre however. Objects and terrain are detailed enough to please and the game runs smoothly on my system which is a higher end PC. I haven’t tested it on a lower end PC yet so I can’t comment too much on performance. I imagine it should run well on at least mid level PCs however. Animations for animals and other objects are good but nothing special. The fights between animals are similar to Tom and Jerry cartoon fights, where dust covers the two fighting until it’s over. So there is no need to worry about your child playing Zoo Tycoon.

Final Words
Microsoft is a proven publisher of quality games and Blue Fang Games is no slouch either. They’ve impressed me with Zoo Tycoon in this early build and I’m looking forward to release. With so many dismal Rollercoaster Tycoon clones, Zoo Tycoon provides a breath of fresh air into the genre. Look for Zoo Tycoon on store shelves this fall.