Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,044
Tags: Beyond Divinity; Larian Studios
<a href=http://www.quandaryland.com>Quandary</a> posted a disappointed <a href=http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=639>review</a> of disappointing <a href=http://www.beyond-divinity.com>Beyond Divinity</a>, giving it <b>3.5 out of 5</b> and hoping that <a href=http://www.larian.com>Larian Studios</a> will learn from this experience, which is a hope we all share.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>Speaking of spells and skills... this was a strong point of the original Divinity in that you could browse a beautifully realised skill tree to decide what skills to take next. Each skill had a pretty good description, and told you at what character level you could attain the next level of the skill. Not so in BD. Here, you have to purchase random skills from teachers you find throughout the game. You can read the manual to determine what skills are eventually available, but you have no idea when the appropriate teacher will be encountered, and so often can't decide whether to hold back skill points in the hope you will eventually be able to purchase that 'uber' skill you are looking for... or to opt for a less favourable skill that you can purchase right now. Also, the descriptions of what a skill actually does are woefully inadequate. For instance, I was putting points into a Paralyze skill, but was not being told exactly what the next level of the skill did for me. Did it paralyse my enemies for longer? Did it allow me to paralyse enemies with a stronger resistance to the spell? Who knows? I put 10 skill points into Lockpick (you only get one skill point per level), and I still couldn't pick all but one or two locks on the many chests and doors that I tried throughout the whole game! It was virtually useless</blockquote>The skill system was hardly impressive. It sucked all the fun out of character development.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's News</A>
<a href=http://www.quandaryland.com>Quandary</a> posted a disappointed <a href=http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=639>review</a> of disappointing <a href=http://www.beyond-divinity.com>Beyond Divinity</a>, giving it <b>3.5 out of 5</b> and hoping that <a href=http://www.larian.com>Larian Studios</a> will learn from this experience, which is a hope we all share.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>Speaking of spells and skills... this was a strong point of the original Divinity in that you could browse a beautifully realised skill tree to decide what skills to take next. Each skill had a pretty good description, and told you at what character level you could attain the next level of the skill. Not so in BD. Here, you have to purchase random skills from teachers you find throughout the game. You can read the manual to determine what skills are eventually available, but you have no idea when the appropriate teacher will be encountered, and so often can't decide whether to hold back skill points in the hope you will eventually be able to purchase that 'uber' skill you are looking for... or to opt for a less favourable skill that you can purchase right now. Also, the descriptions of what a skill actually does are woefully inadequate. For instance, I was putting points into a Paralyze skill, but was not being told exactly what the next level of the skill did for me. Did it paralyse my enemies for longer? Did it allow me to paralyse enemies with a stronger resistance to the spell? Who knows? I put 10 skill points into Lockpick (you only get one skill point per level), and I still couldn't pick all but one or two locks on the many chests and doors that I tried throughout the whole game! It was virtually useless</blockquote>The skill system was hardly impressive. It sucked all the fun out of character development.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's News</A>
