CES 2008: Space Siege

by: Chuck - posted: 1/13/2008 3:05:00 PM

It would be easy to call Space Siege "Dungeon Siege in Space" as the folks at Gas Powered Games are using a heavily modified version of the Dungeon Siege engine.  While that's true it also undermines a lot of the changes the developers have made to the game play.  Sure the game plays a lot like the game that Uwe Boll turned into a crappy movie but there's a lot of new stuff under the hood.  One of the big things is that the game now supports scripted events in the single player campaign which should make the single player campaign a little more engrossing.

The plot of the game is a rehash of the standard "Aliens destroy the Earth and you are on the last ships leaving the planet" theme we've seen before.  What's different about the game is that Gas Powered Games has changed how the RPG elements work.  Instead of leveling up you collect components, these components are then used to upgrade and build weapons that you have access to.  You get components from killing aliens and blowing up stuff in the world.  As you progress through the game you also have the chance to get cybernetic upgrades.  These are fun things like targeting systems, strength upgrades, and other ways to turn your weak flesh into a mechanical killing machine.  There is a downside to this as the more upgrades you get the less human you are.  The characters in the game will react to this element (measured as "Humanity left") so if you go the Darth Vader route you might not get to see all the game that offers.  The upgrades also offer a user selectable difficulty mechanism as the game is a bit harder if you decide to go the non-cybernetic route.

Multiplayer has also changed quite a bit from Dungeon Siege as well.  Instead of playing through a modified verison of the single player campaign you play specially designed "missions".    There are multiple difficulty levels for and three of your friends to explore. 

I'm still not 100% sold on the game but there's no denying that the graphics and physics look good.  I'm interested to see how the new RPG elements work out and if the new multiplayer mode gains any traction.