Space Siege

Since when does SEGA do isometric RPG titles was the first thing that came to mind.

With a small sense of trepidation and dread, we installed yon role playing title and gave it a whirl; only to find that there were more surprises in store. Space Siege is oddly playable. The premise behind the game is laughably similar to the plot from Alien. Players are planted into the shoes of a combat engineer with the All-American name of Seth Walker who seems to be as badass as Chuck Norris in the fight against the scum of the universe. Wait, that was a different movie.

As mentioned, gameplay is strangely compelling. Gas Powered were responsible for Dungeon Siege so it should not be a surprise but we were expecting less. Trouble is, we were also hoping for more. Gameplay is a little too basic for folks who were spoiled by Diablo way back when and all but total newbs, not to be confused with noobs as newb implies some hope for the future, being irritated by the simplicity.

The enemies that are met throughout the game are somewhat repetitive and the skill and tech trees look a little cheap.

Another gripe is that the range of options for graphics and whatnot are a bit limited for a PC title. Some of us want to ram that resolution up to 1920x1200, which is not an option with Space Siege. Players have two resolutions and they'd better like them. Space Siege does not really justify a higher resolution though with levels looking a little sparse. While there are some very pretty and entertaining physics effects with exploding canisters and chain reactions of mayhem possible, there is not enough detail on any given level.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, Diablo II is an ancient title and the backgrounds and level detail that are available there blow Space Siege out of the water.

Combat at least is very much a fun affair. Some players will eschew their ranged weaponry, as marvelous as it is, in favor of those nifty blade appliances that slice and dice enemies. Some of the kill abilities are quite spectacular with the odd high-flying maneuver possible right before an enemy unit is cleft in twain, as the knights of old used to say.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Space Siege is a bad game. It only fails in standing out above the sheer greatness of what Blizzard has offered in the past. It falls in as a run-of-the-mill RPG that had potential but even heading off to play GPG's Dungeon Siege will give more satisfaction. Sorry SEGA. You tried but missed whatever you were aiming for.