Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander; ambitious and creative computer games that headlined their genres and let designer Chris Taylor stamp his name on his latest creation’s box. Space Siege doesn’t come close to meeting its predecessor’s descriptors. Shallow, generic and unintelligent, Space Siege wants to be an RPG for the 21st century, a third person shooter and an acclaimed storyteller, but misses the mark on every aspect.
Dungeon Siege in space, championed by the name let alone the critics, Space Siege’s currency is mouse clicks. Moving and attacking are both handled by a barrage of clicks, which makes play tiresome and juggling between control of reluctant hero, Seth Walker and the camera, a constant struggle.
It would not be obtuse to recommend WASD control in such a game; Space Siege brazenly breaks out of its RPG roots with hopes of inviting action fans. The title keeps everything real-time with no Dungeon Siege tactical pause, but the archaic mouse interface ushers in problems and deficiencies. Seth can perform an evasive roll, but will regularly take him in to the line of fire – not out. Seth can shoot, but cannot move while doing so. The isometric view, instated for its retro RPG heritage, hides upcoming foes and makes retreat a cumbersome experience. No matter the intentions, Space Siege is as much an action game as Diablo III will be the next Legend of Zelda.
Space Siege is as shallow as western RPGs come; but shouldn’t instantly be seen as a criticism. Siege is not promoted as one, but is an ideal initiation for new players to the genre with a simple interface and gentle learning curve. Space Siege has two very small tech trees, an upgrade system that wouldn’t look out of place in Resident Evil 4 or God of War and weapons that will be instantly familiar to the Halo crowd; dual sub-machine guns, plasma swords and grenades. Heck, there isn’t even any loot; downed aliens and destroyed robots will only ever drop machine parts that can be used to upgrade your armour, weapons and replaceable robot sidekick.
However, Space Siege is just as like to turn away its new uninitiated fans, as fast as it drew them in. Taylor’s latest RPG is bland and generic; it cribs from decades of Sci-Fi and dozens of recent games with no recognisable brand or style of its own.
The entire game takes place on a single spaceship, a featureless Mecca of iron and steel, punctuated by the same hydraulic doors, same radiant emerald health stations, same warning paint elevators… same collection of explosive barrels, canisters and tanks that adorn every corridor. Slogging through these drab hallways is tedious, and confusing. Worse such is the game’s “grave rush”; the pseudo-death mechanic popularised by the likes of BioShock and Prey. Downed enemies don’t respawn nor reenergise; the only punishment is paying for a new robot, and walking down those same, now empty, corridors.
Akin to the audio diaries in BioShock, Space Siege’s world is littered with conveniently placed Data Pads. This secondary storytelling technique is generally well used, not for their writing or voice acting, but provide more motivation than the main plot.
The plot is garbage; same old aliens kill everyone on earth as you hunt for survivors on your spaceship. Siege also drags up the moral dilemma card that BioShock already played so well in 2007. Walker can choose to replace his limbs with cybernetic implants at the risk of removing his humanity. The choice is easy; either improve every statistic exponentially (sending your power, speed and critical hit percentage through the roof) or stay human and see a different ending cinematic. There aren’t even any teary eyed little girls to murder.
Space Siege is unremarkable, unimaginative and, ultimately, a boring experience. As an RPG, Space Siege is shallow, as an action game, Space Siege is incomparable and as a video game, Space Siege is far from recommendable.
