The placeholder quest in the E3 demo of the game is called Find the Source of Evil in the Crypt. Naturally, you do this by taking quests from townsfolk and bashing up skeletons and giant spiders in misty forests and dank cellars. A once-great land, the kingdom of Ehb, has fallen into fractious in-fighting, and it's up to you as a member of the disgraced 10th Legion to restore order and people's faith. The game's setting and art style are pretty generic. If you're no fan of fantasy cliché, however, you might want to look away (unlikely as it is that you clicked on an article about a game called Dungeon Siege III in the first place). Square Enix has only released concept art so far no idea why, because the game looks lovely in the flesh. In other words, if you're one of the many who are disappointed that there are no plans for a console version of Diablo III - or impatient for the presumably distant release of Blizzard's game - then you should be paying very close attention. Instead of simply plugging new content into an existing framework, Dungeon Siege III is being built from the groud up in Obsidian's own engine, brought to consoles for the first time, and gently remodelled as a pretty, punchy and immediate co-operative action-RPG in the classical style. It's also in a different style to the studio's previous work. But it shouldn't be mistaken for the cut-and-shut sequels, no matter how well-welded, Obsidian's done before. Gas Powered Games is the role-model in this case, with boss Chris Taylor overseeing this third instalment in his series of straight dungeon-crawlers, to be published by Square Enix - the Japanese giant's first Western RPG.
But after last week, you have to ask if that's such a sad fate after all - because Fallout: New Vegas, in which Obsidian stands in for Bethesda, and Dungeon Siege III were easily two of the best RPGs on show at E3 2010. With its Aliens RPG lost in space and rough diamond Alpha Protocol meeting a mixed reception, things don't seem likely to change for the Californian outfit. Born from the ashes of the famous Black Isle Studios, it made its name as a capable understudy for BioWare on Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2 - and perhaps unfortunately, that name stuck. Poor old Obsidian Entertainment seems to be fated to ride the coat-tails of others in the North American RPG scene.
0 kommentar(er)
