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You don't get guns in Space Siege - you're part of the gun.
You don't get guns in Space Siege - you're part of the gun.You don't get guns in Space Siege - you're part of the gun.

The obvious out of the way first - Space Siege, the upcoming sci-fi action RPG from Chris Taylor, the man behind PC classics Dungeon Siege, Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander - is indeed set in space. It also features a siege, and a pretty big one at that. You see the Kerak haven't taken too kindly to humanity's exploration of the universe, and have decided to, well, wipe us out. And they almost manage it, with a brutal and devastating invasion of Earth. Only a few city-sized ships escape. One, the Armstrong, carrying the generically named Seth Walker, aka, you, is under siege from the Kerak. So, as you'd expect, humanity's fate lies in your hands. Good job you're a battle-hardened solider with access to super powered robot upgrades then.

Space Siege is the result of Chris Taylor deciding to do a sci-fi version of Dungeon Siege, just better. But it also has an interesting hook. The ship's AI has decided that the only way to beat back the ferocious Kerak attack is to fuse everyone with cybernetic upgrades. But our Seth doesn't fancy that for the entire human race, and instead volunteers himself to go it alone, Terminator style, and clear out the Kerak infestation from within the Armstrong itself.

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Doesn't sound particularly interesting or unique, so far, right? Well it gets better. As you progress through the game you'll get the opportunity to upgrade your body with increasingly powerful cybernetic modifications. "What's wrong with that?" I hear you cry. "I quite fancy some super-powered cyborg action." Well, the downside is the more you upgrade, the more of your humanity you're handing over in exchange, and the more your appearance changes to reflect that.

The game's lighting is particularly impressiveThe game's lighting is particularly impressive

This would be a mere afterthought if you just had to sit through a few lines of dialogue with Seth moaning about his lost humanity. I mean, who cares what the main character's moral conundrum is? All we care about is taking that bad ass gun we've just grafted onto our arm out for an energy beam spin. Well, looks like Chris has thought of that, and has implemented a game mechanic to make you think twice before handing over your organs.

This comes in the form of a humanity score, which is essentially a meter showing your human/robot status. So you can max out the upgrades and tear a rather large hole through the game, or you can keep the mods to a minimum and get a different story, a different ending and a much harder challenge.

Sounds a bit like the Light side/Dark side thing from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to me - which also had different endings depending on moral decisions you made throughout the game. And so, well, perhaps Space Siege's hook isn't that unique an idea. But that doesn't stop us liking the sound of it. I reckon most players will go full cyborg during their first play through, and, if they enjoyed themselves, will go back and try to finish the game while retaining their full humanity.

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