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Square And Obsidian Team Up For Dungeon Siege III

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by Phil Kollar on June 07, 2010 at 01:40 PM
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What would happen if we took the world's most prolific Japanese RPG publisher and partnered them with one of the best-known Western RPG developers? It may sound like a pipe dream, but with today's surprise announcement of a Dungeon Siege III published by Square Enix and developed by Obsidian, we may finally find out.

The team-up comes as a shock both because it's been almost five years since the last non-handheld Dungeon Siege game and because the previous PC-only Dungeon Siege games were published by Microsoft and developed by Gas Powered Games. That original developer will be providing input on the new entry, with Gas Powered Games founder Chris Taylor serving as an advisor on the project. He explained:

"It's a great pleasure to collaborate with Obsidian. They are a very talented developer who really knows what it takes to build a deep and engaging RPG experience, and I can't think of a better group to continue the Dungeon Siege series."

As if the developer/publisher shake-up wasn't a big enough change for the series, Dungeon Siege III will also be the first to appear on home consoles as well as PC. Not everything is changing, though; as with the previous games, there will be a focus on co-op play and character customization through increasingly powerful and crazy loot drops.

Personally, with all of these changes, I'm much more curious about a continuation of the Dungeon Siege franchise than I expected. Here's hoping the combination of Square and Obsidian works.

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  • by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 01:48 PM

    A Dungeon Siege for 360?  Sounds almost too good to be true.  Although, Square knows a thing or two about RPGs.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 01:49 PM

    Hasn't Obsidian become more hit-and-miss lately?

  •
    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 01:52 PM

    Sweetness.

  •
    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:00 PM

    Man....Square Enix seems to be....getting around as of late.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:01 PM

    It's about time a new Dungeon Siege comes out!!!   Can't wait for it to hit the PC :D  

  • by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:04 PM

    It's hard to pass up any solid console RPG, and Square Enix is always solid, especially with a focus on co-op. For that reason I will follow this.  

    However, to say that Obsidian is "one of the best-known Western RPG developers" is a little far-fetched.  They've only leeched off BioWare's success with shoddy sequels, and Alpha Protocol's poor reviews shows what they're (in)capable of on their own.

    Fingers crossed...

  •
    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:05 PM

    YES! love hack n slash. I really want a Baldurs gate dark alliance 3.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:07 PM

    a new Icewind Dale would be an EPIC win.....

    moxie... Dungeon Siege isn't a console RPG though if you go by it's history... it's a point & click hack/slash rpg.. reminiscent of Diablo style :D    

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:07 PM

    YESSSSSSS!  Need a good hack and slash.

  •
    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:07 PM

    hmm......... not very interesting

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:11 PM

    Don't know about this one... Alpha Protocol was a disappointment, but maybe Obsidian is better on proven franchises like this one.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:47 PM

    Let's hope Obsidian can get this right.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 02:53 PM

    @drink moxie: I said "best known" instead of just "best" for a reason. I think Obsidian is a pretty talented group and has released some solid titles. They're not top of the pack, but RPG gamers definitely know who they are.

  • by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:03 PM

    It's not that Obsidian has been hit-or-miss.  Alpha Protocol seems to be getting pretty badly butchered in reviews, but before that the only games they've had are Neverwinter Nights 2 (and two expansions) and KOTOR 2.  Also keeping in mind, these are the guys who made the original Fallout 1 and 2.

    The reviews of AP (I haven't played it myself) seem to heavily praise the way different story choices can intertwine, and the convincing pacing of such a branching story, but knock on these like texture pops and voice acting.  It feels like there may have been some development problems with the game itself, but the story writing and immersion were very strong.  When you think of it this way, Square is known for their immaculate polish and so should be the perfect partner for them.  I feel like AP used such a different kind of engine than they were used to that the downfalls were only technical.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:07 PM

    Dungeon Siege was the first RPG I ever played. I absolutely adored this game. Cannot wait, especially since Square is involved.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:09 PM

    What isn't Obsidian working on? I feel like I see that developer everywhere. I bet those guys get up really early.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:15 PM

    Fair enough, Phil, fair enough.  I'll agree with you on "well-known."

    Well-liked, on the other hand... we may have to disagree on :)

    The first Dungeon Sieges were some of the more spirited Diablo clones, so let's just hope Square Enix hovering over Obsidian's shoulder will keep the production quality high and with good polish.

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:17 PM

    Sounds to me like the franchise is in good hands. Can't wait to see the final product! :)

  •
    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:20 PM

    Eeeeeepiiiiiic :D~

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    by Monday, June 07, 2010 at 03:29 PM

    Very excited for this, I miss the Champions of Norrath and Diablo days, we need some hack and slash over on PS3 :)

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