Dungeon Siege 2 from Gas Powered Games and Microsoft is nearing release. They were kind enough to send me a preview build, which included about 6 hours of the potential 60 hours gameplay that is going to be available in release. I spent the last few days playing through it. I don't know if its just me, but the six hours of gameplay was more like 12. What I found is a game with potential.

Set in Aranna, players will begin the game as a mercenary in Valdis's army. He is a man who believes he is an evil mage from thousands of years in the past named Zaramoth. Zaramoth was conquering the world of Aranna, having almost exclusive access to magic. Magic during his time was located in an underground river and knowledge of how to access that magic was not common. A hero named Azunai finally stepped up to challenge Zaramoth. Azunai and Zaramoth met on a battlefield and Zaramoth's great sword came down upon Azunai's powerful shield, cracking the shield and unleashing death. The souls of everyone on the battlefield were claimed and the underground river of magic was split into ley lines that crossed everywhere. Now magic was available to anyone who wanted it. Many creatures died and those who survived were changed forever.