Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna

If you sat down and penned a list of things you'd expect to see in the first official Dungeon Siege expansion, what would it include? New items, new creatures, new lands to explore, improved interface and a new storyline? Well, they're all here, but the only startling thing about Legends Of Aranna is there's nothing startling about it. It's a no-frills extension to the original - great news if you've completed the main campaign.

The new landscapes are as pretty and detailed as the old, the combat is still hectic but very smooth, and with the lack of any real Dungeon Siege total conversions, Legends has come along at just the right time. The only real disappointment if you've completed the main campaign is there's no way to import your high-level character into the expansion, which means you have to start all over from level one and work your way up. This means you're starting a new game from scratch, even though the storyline itself takes over where the original game left off.

New To You

New features include improved inventory management and a new half-giant character. There's also a group awareness function which makes your characters more aware of danger, and a new pack mule which helps you in battle, instead of just hanging about carrying your stuff.

The obligatory evil arch rival comes in the form of the Shadow Jumper, who's intent on taking over the world. Much of the game revolves around chasing his trail from one place to another before a final confrontation. The story is fairly compelling, if a little on the cliched side, but the overly cheesy voice-acting does leave a lot to be desired. No surprises then, and the fact that Legends was farmed out to Mad Doc software tells its own story, in as much as it's pretty much an 'out the door' expansion. Nevertheless, it's a welcome and entertaining addition to an excellent game.

However, as it's bundled with the original, if you already own Dungeon Siege you may feel aggrieved at having to fork out $30 for an expansion pack. Having said that, if you can get over this, and the fact that you have to start building up your character from scratch, you'll find that there are several days of classic Dungeon Siege gameplay to enjoy. And if you're a Dungeon Siege newcomer, it's the perfect package.

When the Shadowjumper broke free of its prison and stole the fabled Staff of Stars, it spelled certain extinction to the remainer of the Utraeans, one of the fabled elder races of Aranna. However, the Shadowjumper hadn't considered that a hero might rise up to defend all of the races of this ancient continent. Now the fate of the Utraeans, as well as many other peoples, is held in your capable hands. So go forth, and become one of the Legends of Aranna!

Dungeon Siege has had a facelift, and the Legends of Aranna is the perfect vehicle to continue the legacy the original Dungeon Siege gave the world. Sporting new races, weapons, items, and spells, LoA has also added some nice new features sure to inspire almost all of the Dungeon Siegers out there. One of these is stackable armor and weapon 'sets'?, which increase in power as you add pieces to your collection. New spells include added summoning, projectile, and action spells sorely missed in the original title, including invisibility, teleportation/disintegration of enemies, elemental orbs and the interesting 'glyph'? spell sets.

Graphics are fantastic as always, and the continuous, real-time world is even better realized than the original. Control is still point-and-click, but improved command control makes for an easier, more intuitive gaming experience. The audio is also excellent just like the original. You'll certainly enjoy the thematic mood of the game, whether it be eerie, ghostly themes or a martial march.

In fact, I have few complaints. I would've liked to see a larger area in which to explore and find out more about the races of Aranna. This was somewhat of a disappointment considering how large some of the fan-based additions have been. Also, I would have liked to see a streamlining of some spell branches, or perhaps a better balance of spells. I still wonder in this case if less is more, as the balance of spells in the original seemed to lack.

Even so, Dungeon Siege is still the penultimate multiplayer hack'n'slash. There's still a huge following online, even with the delay in producing this addition. The game plays much as it did previously, though with a more robust multiplay screen and more options. Lots of helpful people still populate the DS multiverse, and even new players should get up to speed quickly. Did I also mention Legends of Aranna bundles with the original Dungeon Siege for you DS neophytes? Quite the fine idea.

This is a fantastic title, and should score points both for Diablo -style dungeon crawlers as well as adventure/RPG hybrid lovers. With no load time between levels, it's also good for those with shorter attention spans. Always good to see improvement on an already excellent title, and I give this a full Highly Recommended.