Dungeon Siege is an action role-playing game developed by Gas Powered Games and published by Microsoft for Windows (2002) and by Destineer for MacOS (2003). Set in the pseudo-medieval kingdom of Ehb, the high fantasy game follows a young farmer and his companions as they journey to defeat an invading force. Instead of manually controlling characters, the player sets their overall tactics, weapons and magic usage. Chris Taylor and Jacob McMahon aimed for a role-playing game stripped of the typical genre elements they found slow or frustrating, including all loading screens, to keep the player focused on the action. Development took over four years, often with 12- to 14-hour workdays. The game is listed by review aggregator Metacritic as the third-highest rated computer role-playing game of 2002. Critics praised the graphics and seamless world, as well as the fun and accessible gameplay, but were dismissive of the plot. The game sold over 1.7 million copies. An expansion pack, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna, was released in 2003, followed by Dungeon Siege II (2005), Dungeon Siege III (2011), and other titles.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Siege

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1600:

The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaynaputina

1811:

Peninsular War: An outnumbered French force under Édouard Mortier routed and nearly destroyed the Spanish at the Battle of the Gebora near Badajoz, Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Gebora

1910:

Old Trafford, a football stadium in Greater Manchester, England, hosted its first match between Manchester United and Liverpool. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Trafford

1948:

The Southeast Asian Youth Conference, which is believed to have inspired armed communist rebellions in different Asian countries, opened in Calcutta, India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_of_Youth_and_Students_of_Southeast_Asia_Fighting_for_Freedom_and_Independence

1999:

U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a posthumous pardon to Henry Ossian Flipper, the first African American graduate of West Point, who had been accused of embezzlement in 1881. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ossian_Flipper

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

nearest and dearest: (idiomatic) One's closest and most intimate family members, friends, etc. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nearest_and_dearest

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

So vast, without any question, is the divine handiwork of the most excellent Almighty.   --Nicolaus Copernicus https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus