The Dungeon Siege series returns after a six-year, hack-and-slash hiatus with a new developer, publisher, and lead platform. While this third installment is still an action role-playing game, it was clearly designed first and foremost as a console title. Compared to the first two computer games in the series, Dungeon Siege III offers neither the freedom nor customizability fans might be expecting.

Instead of creating a character from scratch, you instead choose from four pre-defined heroes. Instead of freely exploring the world around you, you instead follow surprisingly narrow paths to your destination. And instead of saving progress anywhere you want, you must first find save points.

The limitations are going to be a big sticking point for those looking for something in the tradition of Diablo or Torchlight. The environments offer little interactivity, outside of breaking crates and barrels, and it feels like you are being funneled toward your destination. Those who enjoy these types of games for the exploration and sense of adventure will be disappointed by the relatively small, confined areas.

Another issue is the camera, which is positioned above your character. The problem is that it doesn't always give you the best view of the action during battles. Sometimes it will zoom-in on your character while enemies fire projectiles at you from off the screen. This is rather unhelpful.

The combat system is otherwise enjoyable, with responsive controls and fast-paced action. Each character specializes in a distinct fighting style that can be further enhanced with equipment, talents, magical abilities, and specializations. The console-style interface feels natural, although one gripe is that you have to tap a button to pick up items instead of automatically scooping them up like a vacuum.

While the combat will satisfy one's need to slay mobs of spiders, humans, and monsters, few enemies are tactical experts. If they're not rushing directly toward you, they're standing around waiting to rush directly toward you. Some of the boss battles are frustrating due to the camera limitations and some rather cheap attack moves that must be avoided with near perfect timing.

The problems don't stop there. There's support for online co-op play, which is one of the best reasons to play Dungeon Siege III, but like so much of the game, there are limitations. The person who joins your game won't be able to import his or her character and continue to earn experience points, level up, and acquire loot -- they are essentially "renting" one of the host's characters, which all but kills the interest to join random games in the community.

The game's replay value suffers as a result; after the 12 or so hours it takes to complete the storyline, there's not much of an incentive to keep playing. The quests are always the same, there's no new game plus option, and the rewards don't improve when you increase the difficulty. While those starved for action-RPGs might enjoy their time with the game, it's hard to look past the rough edges. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide