I held off purchasing Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (ED), despite immensely enjoying the 2-D Isometric Divine Divinity (DD) (my review here) released back in 2002 mainly because I wasn’t sold on the whole ‘turn into a dragon’ part of the game. I’ve rarely enjoyed games that alter their presentation during the normal course of the game and therein lies my prejudice concerning ED.
With the release of Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga (DKS) and the glowing reviews by the vast majority of the gaming press (both online and print), I decided I should give the game a chance, especially since I loved DD so much.
After a small mishap with GoGamer sending me Harry Potter instead of DKS, I purchased a digital copy of the game from GamersGate. I have about 5 hours into the game, all graphical setting are at max.
Note: I make some direct comparisons to Arcania: Gothic 4 not to bash that game but because I’m currently playing that game also.
The Good:
Graphics are very good. But I’m not hard to please in this department, and graphics are not high on my list relative to gameplay.
Frame rate is excellent considering I have all visual settings maxed out – very happy with the fluidity of the game. Even happier that my mouse pointer doesn’t get slow and sluggish when navigating menus – I have a big problem with this happening in Arcania.
Music so far is excellent.
Voice acting is very good compared to Arcania.
Interface – I love the interface, it is simple and elegant yet provides a vast amount of relevant information – one of the best interfaces in a RPG in a long time.
Feedback – the game’s feedback is excellent and provides the player with a lot of information without feeling like the game is holding your hand. Some examples: When you pick something up, the game displays text that tells you in full English sentences what you just picked up; Tooltip text is very thorough – hover over a sword and you get a lot of info about it, hover over a stat same thing, hover over a skill same thing; When you open a lock because you hold the correct key, the game displays text that tells you that you just used a key.
NPC Dialog – Unlike Arcania, I’m very interested in really taking my time and listening to the NPCs, not just because the voice acting is better, but simply because what they have to say is a lot more interesting.
Books – I like the idea of books in games like these. DKS does a great job of displaying the book itself as you read it, the graphical representation of the book is well done, and that you can flip pages with your mouse is cool – little touches like this make the game so much more appealing. Also, the stories in the books don’t get too long (at least so far).
Adventure & Fun Factor – The game is fun to explore, so far it seems on par with Gothic 2 in this regard. It is often worthwhile to poke around because you will find something otherwise hidden. I also enjoyed the catacombs beneath the chapel in the first town – desks and chairs strewn about, with letters on the floor, makes the environment feel lived in and not just another ‘monster closet’ like the many caves of Oblivion.
Ultima – The game tips its hat, here and there, to the Ultima series (and Ultima is a good thing) – Black Rock and bails of wheat that look like the modern graphical equivalent of Ultima 7 – are two things I’ve come across so far.
The Bad
I don’t like that you can’t drop things you’ve picked up back into the environment – or at least I haven’t figured out how to do that if it is in fact possible. I have a load of books that I’d like to place in one spot instead of carrying them around. Eventually I’ll have to make room in my inventory it will be a shame to Destroy them to make room.
No day/night Cycle – It’s really sad that this game didn’t include a day/night cycle since the world is otherwise fully fleshed out in most other meaningful ways. Not a huge deal, just wish they had included it.
The Ugly
NPCs Vanish – Occasionally, I’ve seen NPC’s simply vanish from where they are standing because, it seems, the game didn’t have them walk to where they were supposed to be based on changes the player causes while playing. For example, the two NPC’s that sit out in front of the tavern in the first town vanished after a few seconds when I came back outside from the tavern where I had just previously gotten rid of the unruly guys inside. I went back into the tavern, and there they were. Just a weird glitch I guess.
That’s about it for now. I am definitely hooked, this is a really good game.
With the release of Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga (DKS) and the glowing reviews by the vast majority of the gaming press (both online and print), I decided I should give the game a chance, especially since I loved DD so much.
After a small mishap with GoGamer sending me Harry Potter instead of DKS, I purchased a digital copy of the game from GamersGate. I have about 5 hours into the game, all graphical setting are at max.
Note: I make some direct comparisons to Arcania: Gothic 4 not to bash that game but because I’m currently playing that game also.
The Good:
Graphics are very good. But I’m not hard to please in this department, and graphics are not high on my list relative to gameplay.
Frame rate is excellent considering I have all visual settings maxed out – very happy with the fluidity of the game. Even happier that my mouse pointer doesn’t get slow and sluggish when navigating menus – I have a big problem with this happening in Arcania.
Music so far is excellent.
Voice acting is very good compared to Arcania.
Interface – I love the interface, it is simple and elegant yet provides a vast amount of relevant information – one of the best interfaces in a RPG in a long time.
Feedback – the game’s feedback is excellent and provides the player with a lot of information without feeling like the game is holding your hand. Some examples: When you pick something up, the game displays text that tells you in full English sentences what you just picked up; Tooltip text is very thorough – hover over a sword and you get a lot of info about it, hover over a stat same thing, hover over a skill same thing; When you open a lock because you hold the correct key, the game displays text that tells you that you just used a key.
NPC Dialog – Unlike Arcania, I’m very interested in really taking my time and listening to the NPCs, not just because the voice acting is better, but simply because what they have to say is a lot more interesting.
Books – I like the idea of books in games like these. DKS does a great job of displaying the book itself as you read it, the graphical representation of the book is well done, and that you can flip pages with your mouse is cool – little touches like this make the game so much more appealing. Also, the stories in the books don’t get too long (at least so far).
Adventure & Fun Factor – The game is fun to explore, so far it seems on par with Gothic 2 in this regard. It is often worthwhile to poke around because you will find something otherwise hidden. I also enjoyed the catacombs beneath the chapel in the first town – desks and chairs strewn about, with letters on the floor, makes the environment feel lived in and not just another ‘monster closet’ like the many caves of Oblivion.
Ultima – The game tips its hat, here and there, to the Ultima series (and Ultima is a good thing) – Black Rock and bails of wheat that look like the modern graphical equivalent of Ultima 7 – are two things I’ve come across so far.
The Bad
I don’t like that you can’t drop things you’ve picked up back into the environment – or at least I haven’t figured out how to do that if it is in fact possible. I have a load of books that I’d like to place in one spot instead of carrying them around. Eventually I’ll have to make room in my inventory it will be a shame to Destroy them to make room.
No day/night Cycle – It’s really sad that this game didn’t include a day/night cycle since the world is otherwise fully fleshed out in most other meaningful ways. Not a huge deal, just wish they had included it.
The Ugly
NPCs Vanish – Occasionally, I’ve seen NPC’s simply vanish from where they are standing because, it seems, the game didn’t have them walk to where they were supposed to be based on changes the player causes while playing. For example, the two NPC’s that sit out in front of the tavern in the first town vanished after a few seconds when I came back outside from the tavern where I had just previously gotten rid of the unruly guys inside. I went back into the tavern, and there they were. Just a weird glitch I guess.
That’s about it for now. I am definitely hooked, this is a really good game.