Was there a close-range penalty in KOTOR? I don't recall one, but I rarely used ranged weapons for my primary. Canderous never had a problem with point-blank shooting though.

So ? Just because you have a skill tree a some stats doesn't make your game a role playing game. Second life is more rpg than Diablo and its skill trees.
Nowadays every game that allows you to play a character with a sword and shield, in a heroic fantasy background is labeled as a rpg. Diablo, Fable, Zelda etc...
It is like comparing an arcade racing game with a simulation : in both cases you drive motorized vehicles, and that's about it.

I don't think so. In fact, given the accuracy of the average shot, I'd say close range was probably a bonus.

Action RPGs aren't RPGs at all. They're just action adventure games that borrow certain mechanics from RPGs. We'd probably be in agreement over what does constitute an RPG, but that's another debate for another day.
My point was, that the complete reliance on hacking up enemies at the expense of all else made me give up on the game eventually. Especially seeing how the combat wasn't exactly the greatest ever. Functional, but not something that could carry the entire game by itself.

Absolutely. But DS doesn't belong is those categories. Again, when I play that kind of game, all I expect is to chain-bash monsters in cool environments. The rest is illusion for that kind of game.

Yes, which is why the variety of means at your disposal to do so is important. Which is why I consider skill trees to help in that regard.

Apparently they fixed 40,000 bugs.

Whoa, makes you wonder how bad it would have been on its original release date.

Hell yeah. Hopefully it will have local multiplayer on consoles so I can siege some dungeons with my better half.

Dungeon Siege games are like most ARPG's. They might be fun for a while, but I've never felt driven to actually finish one. I hope that Obsidian sneaks in enough story (without completely ruining combat) to make me want to do so.

Dude, wtf?
I predict the ending will be cut out, half the content will be missing, the boss fights will be insane, dialogue trees will have a countdown timer so you have the choice quickly, and uh, yeah.

Chris Taylor as advisor ?

My sources tell me that DS3 limited edition will only be released for PAL territories. I couldn't find information about north America.

Am I the only one here who enjoyed DS1 ?

Is it just me, or does Obsidian's reputation for releasing buggy games seem unfair when compared to other games that gets praised out the windpipe despite releasing the same quality of bugs? Seriously, I had some issues with AP but aside from loading a game and not having the enemies appear in the immediate location I never really found anything truly gamebreaking as opposed to Mass Effect 2 in which I lost two hours of play because my Shepard decided to fly up to the ceiling and get stuck there, and I still can't believe they haven't fixed the horrible looking mess that is Dr Chakwas when she rotates in her chair and has part of it sticking through her.

Yet AP gets pummelled into the ground for the bugs by reviewers who in turn praise the latest bug-riddled Sims expansion pack that not only makes no attempt at fixing the bugs in the previous ones but adds a whole slew of their own that makes AP look like the shining example of polishness!...

I mildly enjoyed it for what I played of it, but I never finished that or DS2. I didn't really enjoy DS2 that much though, I found it difficult for some reason.