The powerful factions of the kingdom of Ehb have fallen apart. As part of one of the few remaining powers, the 10^th Legion, players must fight for their fallen comrades and drive the darkness out of Ehb. Through intense battles, screen shaking magic and pure cunning, Dungeon Siege III pits players in the role of one of four different lead characters in this epic adventure. Does Obsidian Entertainment and Square Enix’s latest hack and slash RPG deliver?

The narrative in Dungeon Siege III is a pretty standard affair, and it really isn’t the driving force behind the game. Players will travel through the various environments of Ehb, gaining additional companions along the way. Dungeon Siege III progresses in a linear fashion: players will be assigned one main quest, and even though side quests can be taken along the way, they really don’t offer anything of value. Towns are riddled throughout the land of Ehb, but players aren’t able to freely explore – they’re stuck on a linear path through Dungeon Siege III’s story.

Dungeon Siege III is purely a hack and slash game. There will be dozens of enemies on screen during combat situations, and it’s up to the player to defeat them all with minimal companion support. The four main characters are pretty varied – there’s a swordsman, a mage, gunner, and elemental. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, making the game well balanced. For instance, during battles with a large number of enemies, the swordsman’s power attacks are most useful as they make contact with a wide radius of foes. The gunner suits players that like to stick back and pick off enemies from afar, while the mage and elemental specialize in non-traditional forms of combat.

There are some light RPG mechanics featured in Dungeon Siege III. Players will gain experience to level up through defeating enemies and completing quests, thus allowing them to increase their base statistics and unlock more powerful special attacks. There’s nothing too special about it, but leveling up does add another layer to Dungeon Siege III, which is very important considering the game’s shallow combat system of mashing the attack button.

The world of Ehb features many different environments and dungeons, and everything looks very nice – Dungeon Siege III also marks the first time the Dungeon Siege series is playable in HD. Thankfully, the camera in Dungeon Siege III is never an issue, since the game has a set camera similar to Neverwinter Nights. By pressing R3 players are able to zoom in or out, but in my experiences I found that having it zoomed out as far as possible gave me a better view of the field of combat.

An excellent touch to Dungeon Siege III is its online multiplayer component. Players are able to join up with others via online connection and form parties of up to four to complete quests from the main adventure. There’s a bevy of options available to players, including different characters to play as, but ultimately the host of the game room has the final say in what dialogue choices and quests are selected.

Dungeon Siege III was a lot of fun to play through, but there are some obvious flaws that really hold the game back. The linear nature of the game’s progression and lack of exploration definitely hinder the experience; however, the combat is top notch – even if it’s mostly button mashing – and the online multiplayer mode is very rewarding.

Score: 8.0/10

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