Dungeon Siege III Preview

Console Monster is next in line to conjure up a brief preview of Dungeon Siege III, though it doesn’t appear to be based on any hands-on time with the action RPG sequel. Still, it never hurts to pore over the details again:

Each character will have their own skill tree and switchable fighting styles, but it looks like there will be a level of tactics involved to elevate the combat above simple button-mashing. For example, when your character goes down one of the AI companions (or indeed, your mate sitting next to you if you’re playing co-op) will need to revive you. It’s safe to assume that certain skills will aid this process, bringing buffs to keep unintentional soloists alive while they drag their teammates out of the mud. In combat each character will have two fighting stances; Lucas, for example, will be able to switch between weapon-and-shield tanking and a more damaging two-handed weapon.

Drop-in, drop-out co-op is on the cards, with a new player assuming the role of whichever AI character is available at the time. Personally, I think this sounds restricting especially given that the four classes are so divers that you’ll undoubtedly have a favourite. If two, three or four players want to bomb around as their own incarnations of Lucas, then they should be able to; forcing classes on co-op players seems like a bad move one almost guaranteed to set the forums burning come summer.