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The original "Dungeon Siege" met with rave reviews upon its 2002 release. Then, a few weeks later, the backlash began. The game was too repetitive, too automated, and too generic. For the record, "X-Play" liked Dungeon Siege just fine. And we still like it just fine. Now that "Legends of Aranna," the official expansion, is out, we've got a great excuse to dress up in some woven leather armor and bash away at hundreds, no thousands, of baddies.

Of dungeons and dragons

As stories go, the one in the original "Dungeon Siege" is a bit of a snore. "Legends of Aranna" doesn't fare much better. Land in peril? Yup. Bad guy? Yup. Is the bad guy a smoky black malevolent thing? Yup. There's nothing here that's going to knock your socks off, but it does keep you moving from point A to point B.

The siege is on
Mad Doc Software kept the basic gameplay from the original "Dungeon Siege" intact. You'll closely follow the main quest as you make your way through the region of Aranna. Every step of the way you'll encounter legions of monsters to hack through. You also gain experience, better items, and new companions to help you.

The gameplay does diverge in a subtle way. "Dungeon Siege" suffered from long bouts of combat interspersed with a trickle of information to keep you on the right track. This caused many players to accuse the game of being a generic, faceless hack-'n'-slash. "Legends of Aranna" does a much better job of stringing you along with more side quests and, more importantly, a better sense of progress as you tackle the main quest. It's still very linear, with almost no room for exploration, but the story line is more robust.

What's new, pussycat?

As far as new material is concerned, much of what you get in "Legends of Aranna" could be described as "new things to kill and new ways to kill them." There are several new creatures that aren't any cause for excitement. There are lizard people, cat people, and others to go along with the giant spiders, skeletons, and assorted critters from the first game. The monster selection still feels stilted.

But the new weapons, items, and spells fare better. Taking a cue from the "Diablo" series, "Legends of Aranna" introduces weapons and armor that come in sets. If you manage to complete your set, you gain additional bonuses in battle. There are also new orb spells, which generate a little spherical buddy that casts spells on your behalf. By far the most interesting new item is the Tragg, a pack mule with attitude. It's a beast of burden that can also go toe-to-toe with whatever comes your way. This is great for players who would rather not baby-sit a defenseless mule when the going gets tough.

Other tweaks

Other changes are welcome but could have been introduced in a patch. Being able to redistribute potions among your party at the touch of a button is definitely helpful. And selling off your loot is much easier thanks to the new "sell all" button. If anything, these changes help solidify this game as an oasis of user friendliness. "Legends of Aranna" is very easy to pick up and play. Your companions behave as you'd expect them to. And the real beauty of the game is that you can take as much control as you think you can handle.

Same dungeon, different day

"Legends of Aranna" is a polished game, but aside from some minor improvements the game plays largely the same as the first. If you've already had your fill of "Dungeon Siege," you might not care to play through this expansion. However, for those of you who haven't played the original "Dungeon Siege," it's included with this expansion pack for free. This is a tremendous value. For pure monster-hacking goodness, it's really hard to beat "Dungeon Siege." "Legends of Aranna" will give you more of the same, and that's all an expansion pack must do to get a passing grade. So "Dungeon Siege" fans, rejoice! Much bloodshed awaits you in Aranna.