Review Dragon Knight Saga Info Package

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Divinity 2; Larian Studios

<p>Three more reviews on <strong>Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga</strong> were hitting the web.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://beefjack.com/reviews/divinity-ii-the-dragon-knight-saga-review-360pc/" target="_blank">Beefjack score it 8.5/10.</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It doesn't do anything new with the formula, and as polished as it is this predictability may limit your overall enjoyment. But The Dragon Knight Saga offers a huge amount of traditional RPG questing, and it's very easy to lose yourself - and hours of you day - enjoying its world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://vi.deoga.me.uk/2010/11/review-divinity-ii-the-dragon-knight-saga-xbox-360/" target="_blank">Videogame.uk score it 8.5/10 too.</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga has a fantastic sense of humour that, at times, is laugh out loud hilarious and the development team obviously had a few Monty Python fans amongst them. It&rsquo;s a game that has its own character and, rather than steal ideas, pays homage to the greats of the current RPG world. Reworking the world and ironing out bugs was a great idea, but this is the game that should have been released in the first place. Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga may leave those who purchased it the first time round a little cheated, but those who are just coming to it now will find a wealth of fun in the exploration and adventure it has to offer. If you&rsquo;re looking for a fitting RPG title to keep you going while you drool over the prospect of the possibility of a sequel to Oblivion, then this release of Divinity II is right up your street.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.impulsegamer.com/360divinity2thedragonknightsaga.html" target="_blank">ImpulseGamer dish out 8.7/10.</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you loved the original game, you'll enjoy the sequel and it's a great port from the PC to the XBox 360. The</p>
<p>story may be clich&eacute;d and over the top but its gameplay is relatively quite good. It's definitely not the most original game of the year but if it isn't broke, don't fix it and Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga abides by this rule. Another traditional RPG that doesn't push the boundaries but&nbsp; offers purists a fun&nbsp; few hours of escapism. Entertaining from start to finish!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Additionally, there's a patch <a href="http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&amp;Main=26273&amp;Number=429129#Post429129" target="_blank">about to be released</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span id="body0">The major features of this patch are:<br /><br />+Introduces nightmare difficulty mode<br />+Exposes the options within the configuration files within the graphic settings menu (eg. unlocking the frame rate)<br />+Solves the raze/invisible npcs bug<br />+Fix for the overpowered equipments and enchantments<br />+A number of minor fixes</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/100595-divinity-ii-the-dragon-knight-saga-reviews.html">GB</a></p>

 

[CraigCWB]

(about the patch)

+Introduces nightmare difficulty mode

Much too late. For me at any rate. I won't be giving it yet another try.

+Fix for the overpowered equipments and enchantments

I don't believe them.

I'm baffled by these high scores. I'm even more baffled by this:

...a huge amount of traditional RPG questing...

Another traditional RPG that doesn't push the boundaries but offers purists a fun few hours of escapism.


Since when is an action RPG considered a "traditional" roleplaying game? And are they seriously trying to claim that ARPGs appeal to RPG purists?

The only reasonably accurate review of the three was the second:

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga has a fantastic sense of humour that, at times, is laugh out loud hilarious and the development team obviously had a few Monty Python fans amongst them.

Yes, that's true. But it's not enough to compensate for the braindead gameplay.

 

[Soulforged]

Cutscene issues

Is anyone else experiencing cutscene stuttering?

I experience it on every cutscene, both audio and video stutter constantly. I've tried to solve this following the tips in the FAQ on Larian's forum but to no avail.

I'm also stuck now and I suspect the culprit of both issues is the same. Namely, I get stuck when I've my first conversation with Talana, when the conversation cuts and she tries to show me whatever is that she's trying to show me the game hangs on the loading screen.

If nobody is experiencing this and nobody knows how to solve it, then I suppose I'll to wait for the patch.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

I'm baffled by these high scores. I'm even more baffled by this:

...a huge amount of traditional RPG questing...

Another traditional RPG that doesn't push the boundaries but offers purists a fun few hours of escapism.


Since when is an action RPG considered a "traditional" roleplaying game? And are they seriously trying to claim that ARPGs appeal to RPG purists?

The only reasonably accurate review of the three was the second:

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga has a fantastic sense of humour that, at times, is laugh out loud hilarious and the development team obviously had a few Monty Python fans amongst them.

Yes, that's true. But it's not enough to compensate for the braindead gameplay.

Bullshit.

DKS is pretty damn great. It's much more than just an ARPG. Sure there's plenty of combat, but the quests are much better designed (usually with multiple way to solve), than most so called ARPG's.

I'd say it's equal parts ARPG and traditional RPG - just like Divine Divinity actually. Combat's a little twitchy, but I'm having a blast trying out different builds and such. I havn't had this much fun in a long time - very addictive.

So yeah, scores above are about right imho.

Is anyone else experiencing cutscene stuttering?

I experience it on every cutscene, both audio and video stutter constantly. I've tried to solve this following the tips in the FAQ on Larian's forum but to no avail.

I'm also stuck now and I suspect the culprit of both issues is the same. Namely, I get stuck when I've my first conversation with Talana, when the conversation cuts and she tries to show me whatever is that she's trying to show me the game hangs on the loading screen.

If nobody is experiencing this and nobody knows how to solve it, then I suppose I'll to wait for the patch.

Nup. I've been surprised at how smooth and glitch free the experience has been. Sounds like your problems may lay elsewhere.

I think Mikyel mentioned in another thread, he fixed similar problems by reinstalling WITHOUT the latest hotfix.

 

[Soulforged]

Nup. I've been surprised at how smooth and glitch free the experience has been. Sounds like your problems may lay elsewhere.

I think Mikyel mentioned in another thread, he fixed similar problems by reinstalling WITHOUT the latest hotfix.

Thanks, but I already tried that too (I saw his suggestion). I suppose this is a dead end.

 

[CraigCWB]

It's much more than just an ARPG. Sure there's plenty of combat, but the quests are much better designed (usually with multiple way to solve), than most so called ARPG's.

Oh, so "multiple ways to solve" = great quest design, is it? Bleh

I'd say it's equal parts ARPG and traditional RPG - just like Divine Divinity actually.

I'd say you're wrong, since Divine Divinity was a fairly straight-forward Diablo II clone.

Combat's a little twitchy

A little twitchy? Pressing the "w" key to run up to the mob and then clicking the LMB twice to kill it is "twitchy"? What would you call original EQ, then? Spastic?

And in any case, the claim wasn't made that it was a hybrid action/traditional RPG. The claim was made that it was a traditional RPG (period), and that this would be a potential drawback for many gamers.

... but I'm having a blast trying out different builds and such.

I have no idea why anybody would need or want to try "many builds" in this game, since any character can do anything without restrictions other than level, but I'm glad to hear you're having fun with it

 

[Tolknaz]

I'd say you're wrong, since Divine Divinity was a fairly straight-forward Diablo II clone.

It was not a traditional RPG to be sure, but to say it was simply a Diablo clone is also wrong. Sure, there were similarities in combat, loot and character system, but it also had tons of mostly well written (atrociously voice acted though) dialogue, quests had many solutions and usually involved more than fetch this or kill that and there was no respawn.

 

[godsend1989]

Don`t argue with Craig, his too stupid to know when his wrong.

 

[made]

Every game's a Diablo 2 clone according to Craig.

 

[CraigCWB]

It was not a traditional RPG to be sure, but to say it was simply a Diablo clone is also wrong. Sure, there were similarities in combat, loot and character system...

Jesus. It's like arguing with a fucking wall around here sometimes.

They DELIBERATELY made it a Diablo 2 clone. It doesn't get more obvious, when one game copies another.

... but it also had tons of mostly well written (atrociously voice acted though) dialogue, quests had many solutions ...

Well, I liked Divinity but I can't remember any of the quests or any of the storyline. On the other hand, I can remember D2's main quest vividly, and even most of the sub-quests. Hence my "Bleh" about the idea that merely adding alternate ways to solve a quest means that it's a well done quest.

...and usually involved more than fetch this or kill that...

You think D2 quests were "fetch this" and "kill that"? Did you ever play Diablo 2? Maybe that's why we're having the dispute here?

...and there was no respawn.

There was no re-spawning in Diablo 2 either, unless you count the way it created areas from scratch every time you entered them.

 

[CraigCWB]

Every game's a Diablo 2 clone according to Craig.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/show ... p?t=668737

http://divinedivinity.info/screenshots.php

And shall we delve into the random naming conventions, the color coding, the gem slots and etc with items in Diablo 2 vs Divine Divinity?

Every European game is original and unique and EXTREMELY INTERESTING. To a German.

 

[made]

Dunno, never played DD.

Was just a summary of your posting history so far.

 

[CraigCWB]

Dunno, never played DD.

Was just a summary of your posting history so far.

Well, you're obviously retarded in addition to being German. Shouldn't you be playing Mass Effect 2 for the 273rd time to get that last accomplishment? Why are you here wasting time arguing about games you never even played when you could be listening to great dialog and experiencing world class "c&c"?

 

[Sceptic]

Fucking 2010 newfags.

 

[Murk]

Soulforged - cut scene stuttering is because of a weaker PC, at least for me. As for the in-game scenes that take a while to trigger, that was a problem for me because of the game failing to render a lot of in-game objects when I installed the hot-fix.

I'm not sure if it just happened to be a botched install for me but the hot-fix really ruined many many aspects of the game. I uninstalled and did a clean install and since then the only issue I have is the very rare crash-to-desktop that seems to be focused on when I use the dragon-stone to teleport to either the Alchemy Garden or the Workshop in the battle tower.

Sigh, no one knows how to spell my handle ;(

Interesting to note that pretty much every review being given to DKS is basically in the 8.5 range. Weird..

 

[AlaCarcuss]

It's much more than just an ARPG. Sure there's plenty of combat, but the quests are much better designed (usually with multiple way to solve), than most so called ARPG's.

Oh, so "multiple ways to solve" = great quest design, is it? Bleh

Obviously my post was just a quick summation, of course there's more to it than that. A lot of the quests are really well done and not just 'fect' and/or 'kill #' quests like most ARPG's. But yeah, multiple way to solve a quest IS a major part of good quest design for me.

I'd say it's equal parts ARPG and traditional RPG - just like Divine Divinity actually.

I'd say you're wrong, since Divine Divinity was a fairly straight-forward Diablo II clone.

Ok, now you are clearly showing your ignorance. Calling DD a straight-forward D2 clone is like calling PS:T a straight-forward BG clone.

Combat's a little twitchy

A little twitchy? Pressing the "w" key to run up to the mob and then clicking the LMB twice to kill it is "twitchy"? What would you call original EQ, then? Spastic?

And in any case, the claim wasn't made that it was a hybrid action/traditional RPG. The claim was made that it was a traditional RPG (period), and that this would be a potential drawback for many gamers.

As I've already discovered by experimenting with builds - the combat and you're enjoyment of it is VERY dependant on the build you choose - just as it should be. I found the most enjoyable experience was as a hybrid Mage/Fighter/Ranger - changes things up a lot.

... but I'm having a blast trying out different builds and such.

I have no idea why anybody would need or want to try "many builds" in this game, since any character can do anything without restrictions other than level, but I'm glad to hear you're having fun with it

Are you fucking kidding me? Did you play the game? Did you play ED, or ED+FoV or DKS? Because each one is a bit different. After I got the respec in the battle tower, I spent an entire day trying out different builds - there was so many combinations each providing a different play experience.

On top of all that, there's the great world design (somthing to discover around every corner). Zelda like jumping puzzles (some hated, but I though they broke things up nicely). Mindreading mechanic (needs to be expanded on but great idea), tons of loot to experiment with and of course the arcade flight sim (dragon combat - which again, some dislike but I quite enjoyed as well). Even, this time, good dialog and voice acting with lots of humor.

Absolutely tons of great content (especially now with FoV or DKS), for a $40 game. Developers should be applauded and encouraged, not many of this quality left.

Diablo clone? Fuck off...

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Sigh, no one knows how to spell my handle ;(

Oops, sorry. I even looked it up and still got it wrong

Interesting to note that pretty much every review being given to DKS is basically in the 8.5 range. Weird..

Publishers have to pay for anything higher?

 

[Ultar54]

Bullshit.

DKS is pretty damn great. It's much more than just an ARPG. Sure there's plenty of combat, but the quests are much better designed (usually with multiple way to solve), than most so called ARPG's.

I'd say it's equal parts ARPG and traditional RPG - just like Divine Divinity actually. Combat's a little twitchy, but I'm having a blast trying out different builds and such. I havn't had this much fun in a long time - very addictive.

So yeah, scores above are about right imho.

I simply agree. I guess I'm too broad minded and not enough of an RPG snob to appreciated how poor a game this is. I must try harder to dislike it.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

I must try harder to dislike it.

Man you got the codex all figured out already.

 

[commie]

Fucking 2010 newfags.

 

[DraQ]

*words*

I'd add something from myself as well, but I just lack will to argue with complete retards, so you're on your own.



Also, I bought my ED thanks to review in CDA, the Polish gaming rag fully consumed by derp.

They gave ED 3/10, and Oblivious 10/10, so I figured that ED must be at least by 7/10 better. I was right.

 

[Murk]

Oops, sorry. I even looked it up and still got it wrong

It's alright, at least you didn't write 'Michael'.

Publishers have to pay for anything higher?

I don't mean it's a bad thing, just that all the reviews are very very... consistent.

 

[commie]

*words*

I'd add something from myself as well, but I just lack will to argue with complete retards, so you're on your own.



Also, I bought my ED thanks to review in CDA, the Polish gaming rag fully consumed by derp.

They gave ED 3/10, and Oblivious 10/10, so I figured that ED must be at least by 7/10 better. I was right.

Again with the Polish hint..I must have missed this, but are you a Slavic Ubermensch or I'm way off? (I am aware that it may be obvious what with you writing in Polish etc, but I've seen others use translators too, so you never know)

 

[DraQ]

Yup, Pole here.

 

[commie]

Yup, Pole here.

Another bro to maintain the desperate bulwark against the decline! :sniff: The last(along with Darth and a select other few elites on the one end, with probably myself on the other) of the noblest and purest of the Slavic races raging against the darkness.