In the end, whether Dungeon Siege II is a shining example of its genre, or another mindless trip to the eye-candy counter, comes down to whether you like this sort of thing or not. The minority of RPG purists may balk, and perhaps rightly so, but the mainstream RPG-lite crowd will find everything (short of innovation) they've been looking for in a lengthy, rousing gallop of a story with souped up character development.

Don't believe everything you read—Dungeon Siege II is plenty difficult for typical gamers, and while it breaks absolutely no new ground, it's still the pinnacle of hack-and-slash gaming to date. —Matt