Long-forged alignments of yore; calculated betrayals; endless greed and constant conflict; a chaotic time of uncertainty... yet one seemingly guided to a single destiny. No, we're not talking about high-fantasy lore in the universe of Dungeon Siege II, but rather many design-decision facets of the game itself. While treading on much familiar ground, Dungeon Siege II tweaks just enough details to ensure that adventurers out there will need to make changes to their world view. Is this good or bad? Depends on how you felt about the first game.

If you prefer your story to decidedly defer to your action, you're still in luck. Oh, Dungeon Siege II still has a more solid story and squirts enough narrative glue around to hold the plethora of quests together -- but just enough. After about five hours, you'll likely forget all about any murmured rumors of mighty relics and power-crazed foes, and be well on your way to simply "statting" up the strongest (and richest) party of adventurers you can muster. After that, you'll still have a solid 60-something hours of gameplay -- family-size the Cheetos and get comfy, adventurer.