Support NeoGAF

[ethelred]

Anything I should snag on the DS?

I'm not sure. You and I have pretty different tastes. If it's a good game, you'd like Tactical Assault... but I think we're both waiting for some actual play-tested impressions on that one, no? Other than that, who knows? I've been enjoying the recent glut of RPGs, but I don't think they're your thing.

 

[chespace]

I'm not sure. You and I have pretty different tastes. If it's a good game, you'd like Tactical Assault... but I think we're both waiting for some actual play-tested impressions on that one, no? Other than that, who knows? I've been enjoying the recent glut of RPGs, but I don't think they're your thing.

Well, which RPGs? Last one I tried to get into was Valkyrie Profile on PSP and that just went nowhere. I'm currently playing FFXII and loving it.

Last DS game I got into was.... Age of Empires or NSMB. The only DS game I want to get but haven't yet is DQ slime tank battle rpg thing.

 

[ethelred]

Well, which RPGs? Last one I tried to get into was Valkyrie Profile on PSP and that just went nowhere. I'm currently playing FFXII and loving it.

Last DS game I got into was.... Age of Empires or NSMB. The only DS game I want to get but haven't yet is DQ slime tank battle rpg thing.

Really? Didn't like Valkyrie Profile? That's quite a bit surprising -- I'd label it as one of the genre's highlights. What turned you off on it?

Rocket Slime is great fun... a fine example of a sum being greater than its individual parts. Somehow 2D Zelda-style adventuring + dual-screened tank battles + superbly funny and punny writing + slimes = a great game. Who'd think? Aside from that, I loved Contact, while readily admitting that it's most assuredly not for everyone, having seemingly been made to cater to fans of Earthbound and Akitoshi Kawazu's SaGa games. Bought Magical Vacation 2 and Children of Mana... but I haven't put extensive time into them. I, too, have been sidetracked by the awesomeness of FFXII and that's limited my play time on both portables.

Maybe you should put some of those big Microsoft bucks to good use and bite the bullet here, Che -- buy both versions of Tactical Assault and let us know if either one or both are any good, and which is better.

Anyway, you guys have convinced me to give Dungeon Siege a go, so I'll pick it up this week with FFV.

On Spectral Souls... probably not a good idea. I got screamed at to not buy it when I mentioned that I intended to do so.

 

[NomarTyme]

Well, which RPGs? Last one I tried to get into was Valkyrie Profile on PSP and that just went nowhere. I'm currently playing FFXII and loving it.

Last DS game I got into was.... Age of Empires or NSMB. The only DS game I want to get but haven't yet is DQ slime tank battle rpg thing.

Get this game, loads of fun! My favorite DS game this year so far.

 

[quetz67]

Diablo is 5 years older than Dungeon Siege

I am really hyped for this after reading the review, especially about the visually rich overworld. I kind of forgive Untold Legends the generic design of the dungeons, but it made the overworld feel dead.

I love games like Titan Quest or Sacred with lots of detail and stuff going on, I hope this comes close.

 

[jarosh]

so, is this game noob friendly? i'm kinda interested actually.
do you have to be a hardcore dungeon crawler/dungeon siege dude?

 

[madmook]

do you have to be a hardcore dungeon crawler/dungeon siege dude?

I don't think so. As long as you're a basic fan of "pick character, raid dungeons, kill monsters, grab loot, raise level, repeat" then you'll get some enjoyment out of this.

 

[chespace]

Just grabbed this game and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror tonight on PSP.

I sat at a bar while waiting for the wife to get out of pottery class and put about 1.5 hours into DS: TOA -- awesome game so far!

It feels rough in a lot of areas but the core mechanic -- that of fighting, looting, upgrading is so good I really can't complain. This game is totally Diablo.

I was THIS close to getting Killzone: Liberation but decided to wait. The box art and the screens on the back of box just looked so shitty. I am, however, really looking forward to Syphon Filter though.

Gaaah, and then there's Gears of War to play with everyone this week... and FFXII.... IT BEGINS... GAMING HELL.

Oh, and almost picked up Star Trek on DS along with Rocket Slime. Passed on both. As EGM once said... "TOO MANY GAMES!"

 

[slidewinder]

I put some more time into this yesterday and today and made it into Act 2. Toward the beginning of that act, the game seemed to switch to some kind of turbo-XP mode, where every five or so kills would give me a level. Maybe just a way to make sure you're ready to take on the quests there (and I probably wouldn't have been, coming in it at level 25 or so for a bunch of 32-40+ quests), but it was surprising.

My character's a warlord, now with berserker as his hero class, which is fairly cool. Favorite abilities are leap attack for a quick close-the-gap stun, and the area of effect stun if there's too much to handle. I've been loading up on equipment that adds to damage above all else, and that makes up a big part of my DPS, with a couple pieces of armor having stats like "adds 20-220 arcane damage." I'm dual wielding, as that seems to gain double the benefit from such equipment on regular swings, although the special attacks hit for less than they would with a big two-hander.

Earlier in the game, around level twelve or so, I was having a rough time with some of the quests, having to hack at monsters for what seemed like forever while they took off a good chunk of my life with each of their swipes. I think I was under-leveled a little then, but I came across some gloves and a hat that added quite a bit of damage and started having a much easier time.

I've run across a bug a few times where an enemy, generally stuck on a corner or something, becomes untargettable and invincible until he gets unstuck. The follower AI is pretty terrible, the mage follower wasting mana casting fireballs at walls, the healer preferring to cast offensive spells instead of her heal when I'm getting a beatdown, the fighter charging off to engage a totally different group of monsters when I'm in the thick of others. Mine die a lot, and I've mostly given up resurrecting them on the spot, just switching to a new one until I portal back to res them all at the healer.

Definitely lacking polish, but still as good a cop of Diablo as I've played in a while. The loot system in particular is wayyyyyy better than that in the Untold Legends games, which is really what keeps these games going for me.

 

[chespace]

I put some more time into this yesterday and today and made it into Act 2. Toward the beginning of that act, the game seemed to switch to some kind of turbo-XP mode, where every five or so kills would give me a level. Maybe just a way to make sure you're ready to take on the quests there (and I probably wouldn't have been, coming in it at level 25 or so for a bunch of 32-40+ quests), but it was surprising.

My character's a warlord, now with berserker as his hero class, which is fairly cool. Favorite abilities are leap attack for a quick close-the-gap stun, and the area of effect stun if there's too much to handle. I've been loading up on equipment that adds to damage above all else, and that makes up a big part of my DPS, with a couple pieces of armor having stats like "adds 20-220 arcane damage." I'm dual wielding, as that seems to gain double the benefit from such equipment on regular swings, although the special attacks hit for less than they would with a big two-hander.

Earlier in the game, around level twelve or so, I was having a rough time with some of the quests, having to hack at monsters for what seemed like forever while they took off a good chunk of my life with each of their swipes. I think I was under-leveled a little then, but I came across some gloves and a hat that added quite a bit of damage and started having a much easier time.

I've run across a bug a few times where an enemy, generally stuck on a corner or something, becomes untargettable and invincible until he gets unstuck. The follower AI is pretty terrible, the mage follower wasting mana casting fireballs at walls, the healer preferring to cast offensive spells instead of her heal when I'm getting a beatdown, the fighter charging off to engage a totally different group of monsters when I'm in the thick of others. Mine die a lot, and I've mostly given up resurrecting them on the spot, just switching to a new one until I portal back to res them all at the healer.

Definitely lacking polish, but still as good a cop of Diablo as I've played in a while. The loot system in particular is wayyyyyy better than that in the Untold Legends games, which is really what keeps these games going for me.

Hey, thanks for the impressions. This really makes me want to play this game right now. I've promised myself that, as this is a PSP game, I won't play this game or the system unless I'm out of the house, or lying in bed about to crash out. Primetime gaming is reserved for console experiences (Gears, FFXII). Still, the fact that I want to actually stop playing FFXII and Gears just to grind in this game says good things about DS: TOA. Mostly I think because the loot is so awesome. Just in the second dungeon I was finding crazy ass armor and weapons.

Too bad about the summon AI though. I'm playing as a battle mage with a stone golem. He's not the most proactive familiar, but I like shooting enemies as they approach, and then running behind my golem and letting him beat them down. I'm only around level 6 or so right now (just started this game like 1.5 hours ago).

If you're on the fence about DS:TOA and like a good Diablo clone, this is (so far) the game for you.

 

[Mejilan]

Damnit. I knew I should have gotten DS2 and this instead of Gears of War...

 

[chespace]

Damnit. I knew I should have gotten DS2 and this instead of Gears of War...

lol, you totally F'ed up on that one.

I bought both.

 

[Mejilan]

Ah well, DS2 and DS ToA will still be there once the dust (in my bank accounts) settles next month, after the Wii and PS3 hit.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

The first Dungeon Siege was amazing, just the entire game blew me away.

the second one and the expansions...eh not so much

 

[NomarTyme]

6.8

Throne of Agony gets the basics of a good dungeon crawler right, but an oversimplification of the gameplay and some annoying bugs drag it down.

The Good: Lengthy campaign with plenty of enemies to kill and loot to plunder; beautiful symphonic score; smooth, responsive controls.

The Bad: Myriad of bugs and glitches slow down the quick pace of the combat; limited multiplayer with no online play; simplified hack-and-slash gameplay gets tedious quickly.


http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/dungeonsiegethroneofagony/review.html?sid=6161248

 

[Mejilan]

Oooouuuuuch!

 

[slidewinder]

Good review, and that seems like a pretty fair score to me, all things considered. This is the best game of this sort on a portable that I know of, but it definitely has plenty of flaws.

 

[ethelred]

6.8? Yikes. I had been planning on grabbing this tomorrow with FFV, but I dunno now.

 

[chespace]

6.8? Yikes. I had been planning on grabbing this tomorrow with FFV, but I dunno now.

I'd pick it up anyways. It's a really fun romp, and the equipment and leveling is simply addictive.

 

[kaching]

I started playing this one last night. I like the comic-book style intro sequence, and everything seems well organized in terms of inventory, attributes, quest logs and so forth. Outside of the load times between areas everything runs pretty smoothly at this point. The action is solid though I wonder a bit about how having unlimited ammo for missile weapons will play out in the long run.

 

[Mejilan]

What firmware does this require? Depending on the answer, I'll be able to ahh... speed up those load times. Depending on THAT, I'll buy it sooner rather than later.

 

[kaching]

Musashi mentioned 2.71 on the first page.

 

[Mejilan]

Excellent! Thank you.

 

[Mashing]

Can anyone give me some examples of the loot you can find? My problem with the dungeon siege games on PC is that they pale in comparison to the item system in the Diablo games. Not nearly enough variety/powerful equipment to be found.

 

[Mejilan]

Got it today as a birthday gift. I've only played it for about half an hour, but it (so far) CRUSHES those Unspeakable Legends games. I think I'm going to be VERY happy with this one.

 

[Mejilan]

Good lord, the load times are abysmal. I'll have to do something about that, I think.

 

[Tain]

This is the best game of this sort on a portable that I know of

Nethack, pisshaw.

Spoiler

I'm only half-joking.

 

[Eric P]

aside from the HORRIFIC load times, this game is quite a bit of fun.

i'm happy with my purchase

 

[Mejilan]

I've got it running off my mem stick, and it STILL has fairly significant load times (and a laggy menu). But it's infinitely playable. Much like Ys 6 PSP, I personally find it almost unplayable off UMD.

Definitely the best dungeon hack on the PSP at the moment. Loving every minute of the game. It's pathetically easy to start, though. Does it get tougher?

 

[Sho Nuff]

Am I the only person here who played (and enjoyed) Untold Legends 2 on PSP?

God I feel dirty for asking that.

 

[Mejilan]

Yes. That series is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel, IMHO. The GBA LotR dungeon hacks were much more fun.

 

[Fongul]

I'm bumping this up to let everyone know that Best Buy has Dungeon Siege: TOD for $10.

Break out a $5 coupon that available on other websites (Cheap Ass Gamer etc) and you can get the game for $5. S O L D!

 

[Fusebox]

I picked this up over the weekend for a trip, and by the time I got back I was hooked! Hooked like a crack-baby! Its everything I was hoping Untold Legends would be.

Seriously, as an ex-WoWer I'm not sure what the relationship between these game companies is, but all the items level of rareness and mobs aggro radius and stuff is all identical to WoW, greens, blues and omg epicz purplez yummy.... even got some legendary orange items to look forward to getting later and don't even have to worry about out-rolling noobs or spending DKP to get it.

The combat is ace with my battle mage, send in some fireballs and bolts, sidestep the mobs ranged return attack, and then hopefully my stone golemn wil have stunned the mob by then so I can go in for the fast melee kill. Having that other chick as a healer rocks too, but damn she dies easy.

So yeah, Dungeon Siege is the best reason I've had to dust off my PSP all year, kind of even makes me want the new PSP even more too.