Dungeon Siege II done

After two-plus years of development and several months of delays, Dungeon Siege II is finally, well, done. Microsoft Game Studios and Gas Powered Games announced today that the PC role-player has gone gold and will now absolutely, positively ship on August 16, 2005. It is rated M for Mature and will retail for $49.99.

The sequel to the 2002 RPG of the near-same name, Dungeon Siege II once again drops players into the magical realm of Aranna. However, this fantastical land is not doing especially fantastic, as it's been laid waste by a wandering horde of malevolent brigands and years of civil war. It will be up to players to assembly a group of stalwart adventurers to vanquish the heartless bandits and restore peace to Aranna.

Besides the new storyline and a new extensive quest system, Dungeon Siege II will sport enhanced artificial intelligence and a new 3D graphics engine that will power the game's real-time combat. The game will also support online cooperative multiplayer action.

For a near-final look at Dungeon Siege II, read GameSpot's Q&A with the game's executive producer, Bartosz Kijanka.