Dungeon Siege 2 - Why so unpopular?

[leptomeninges]

I have been playing Dungeon Siege 2 recently and was *very* surprised what a good game it is. Admittedly, it has a real hack and slash, Diablo feel to it, but the graphics and gameplay are quite good. Many of the zones have a lot of atmosphere and the music is quite nice.

I have been thinking about why this game fell into the discount bin so quickly and came up with these reasons:

1. No difficulty slider. This would have been so easy to implement and would have added *so* much for veteran gamers. This also would have forced gamers to implement more strategy to their play. The mechanics are there, but the game is so easy, you just point and click mindlessly.

2. Terrible voice acting. And writing for that matter. I mean, I thought it was really bad. The first couple companions you get made me want to gouge my eyes out.

3. The WOW effect.

Anyone else play the game? Any thoughts?

[Thoran]

I finished it... it was ok, a lot like the origonal with updated graphics. It was never as fun to play muliplayer as D2, they just couldn't get the recipe right for some reason.

[Amphetamine Machine]

It was a sequel they didn't need and nobody asked for.

[Hivetyrant]

Originally posted by Amphetamine Machine: It was a sequel they didn't need and nobody asked for.

Perfect, couldn't have said it better myself

[Albromor]

I actually enjoyed the game. The graphics were good and it did have a better plot than the first by far. As to why it fell to the bargain bin isn't easy to say. Perhaps people are saying "enough" of this type of RPG -- at least for now.

[Luvian]

It was a good hack and slash engine, but I thought the "dungeons" were too long. I usually got sick of them before I was halfway trough. I would have enjoyed shorter ones more.

[ 10-07-2006, 12:13 AM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

[leptomeninges]

Not to beat a dead horse, but let me throw out one final set of thoughts on this game:

I played DS 1 and hated it. (This is part of the reason why I am only playing DS 2 now, far after release). DS 2 imho is a vastly superior game.

While DS 2 intends to be multiplayer, it really can only be engaging as a single player game. The strategy (as much as exists in the game) only comes to play when building and controlling an entire party as an organic unit. Controlling only one character and waiting on his 60 second cooldowns would drive me batty.

And finally, again, I've been surprised at how there is essentially no community for this game. It is difficult to find forums with much intelligent activity anywhere. No modding community. A *lot* of work clearly went into this game. Many aspects of it are really outstanding. It just seems like a shame and a waste.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Shouldn't this thread be in Miscellaneous Games (RPG or not)? I'm just wondering 'cos when I posted my question about a book it was moved to Books, Movies & TV Show Discussions.

[Sir Krustin]

I never played DS2 because DS1 bored me to death after spending the first half of the game clicking my way to victory.

The most interesting part of the game was adjusting the party's resources at the town. I never fisnished it.