Review Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga Review

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Divinity 2; Larian Studios

<p><a href="http://www.examiner.com/pc-game-in-national/divinity-ii-the-dragon-knight-saga-review-review" target="_blank">Examiner examines</a> <strong>The Dragon Knight Saga</strong>, rating it 4/5.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Divinity II</em>: <em>The Dragon Knight Saga</em> plays a bit like an old-school RPG along the lines of <em>Wizardry</em> combined with a modern action-RPG mixed with a dash of MMORPG (though it&rsquo;s strictly single-player). No matter how you slice it, <em>Divinity II</em> is a satisfying role playing game.</p>
<p>However, the &lsquo;old school&rsquo; elements of <em>Divinity II</em> work both for and against the game depending on your own fondness (or hatred) for such games.</p>
<p>Simply put, <em>Divinity II </em>doesn&rsquo;t hold your hand much, which is more common in modern games, so it's more difficult for new players. There is little guidance in the early game, and even character creation is a bit of a guessing game as to what will and won&rsquo;t work effectively (although you can always retrain later for a price).</p>
<p>So be prepared to die a lot in the early game if you&rsquo;re either new to this style of RPG, or you just haven&rsquo;t encountered one for a while. (We fell into the latter category, but once we adapted, we genuinely enjoyed the game.) Even the story is a bit cryptic and leaves you confused about who you are and what the heck is going on, although it reveals itself in reasonably short order as you play.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/100358-divinity-ii-the-dragon-knight-saga-review.html">Gamebanshee</a></p>

 

[commie]

Score is ok I guess, but the reviewer is a fucking retard. 'Story is a bit cryptic' BUT reveals itself soon? Character creation is a guessing game? Bawww 'little guidance'!

OLD SCHOOL LIKE WIZARDRY???

 

[DraQ]

 

[Ruprekt]

I really like this game but it is not anything remotely like : wizardry, ultima or torment... wtf lol.

Neither is it fucking dungeon lords...

 

[Cenobyte]

Wow, the Wizardry comparison is a little bit over the top, seriously. Nevertheless, most of his points are quite true, even if you actually have an ingame tutorial and rather pointed descriptions in the quest log about what you are supposed to do.

What's definitely worth stressing, though, is the good exploration aspect of the game. Around every corner there are secrets, goodies and dungeons waiting to be found, and they are no simple copy-pasted crap. That's very well done.

 

[DraQ]

It gave off the same sort of vibe as Wiz8 - silly and over the top, but too awesome to make it an issue.

 

[DalekFlay]

The funny thing is that the "remastered" Divinity 2: Ego Draconis included within this release is a lot easier with less punishing enemies and such. Word on the official forum is actually that it's a cake-walk, so to still get complaints about difficulty is weird.

I got the seperate Flames of Venegeance expansion on Gamersgate which adds the graphics enhancements to Ego Draconis but keeps the difficulty and original enemy levels and weapons intact. It's a great looking game now, especially if you go to the trouble of forcing AA onto it. The music is spectacular as well. I hear the expansion content is very well done.

The thing to remember with Divinity 2 combat is not to be a damage sponge, even if playing with an armor and shield combination. You die quickly, at least in the original version, and you MUST dodge and use your roll/sprint/teleport skills effectively to survive.

 

[denizsi]

Another exploration simulator.

 

[Sceptic]

Another exploration simulator.

Exploration in my CRPG? KILL IT WITH FIRE

 

[Ruprekt]

Another exploration simulator.

It is? Seems like a pretty linear (exception: quests have multiple resolutions and possibility of failure) action rpg to me.

 

[DalekFlay]

Another exploration simulator.

It is? Seems like a pretty linear (exception: quests have multiple resolutions and possibility of failure) action rpg to me.

It's like Arcania and Fable, a progression of smaller open areas.

Only the game itself is actually good.

 

[Cenobyte]

Since when is exploration a bad thing?

I mean, of course, the actual mechanics of the exploration can be complete crap, as well as the rewards and so on, but the idea as such is never a bad thing, imho.

 

[Excidium]

Game is p. good but all those jagged lines everywhere offends my inner graphic whore.

Is there any way to turn AA on? Forcing through nvidia inspector apparently doesn't work on my resolution (1680x1050).

 

[Ancient]

Game is p. good but all those jagged lines everywhere offends my inner graphic whore.

Is there any way to turn AA on? Forcing through nvidia inspector apparently doesn't work on my resolution (1680x1050).

no AA is broken and won't be fixed
it's intended to be like that :/

 

[denizsi]

Since when is exploration a bad thing?

I mean, of course, the actual mechanics of the exploration can be complete crap, as well as the rewards and so on, but the idea as such is never a bad thing, imho.

After 15+ years of gaming, exploration for the sake of exploration does get old. Badly. You don't mind it when you're young and have nothing but the time but it's really the second biggest time-wasting piece of shit feature that gives you nothing. Make me walk the first time I'm exploring any place and but let me zip in and out of previously visited places from there on, maybe with the exception of interrupting the fast travel on events. Otherwise, I'm sick of exploring.

 

[Forest Dweller]

The funny thing is that the "remastered" Divinity 2: Ego Draconis included within this release is a lot easier with less punishing enemies and such. Word on the official forum is actually that it's a cake-walk, so to still get complaints about difficulty is weird.

I got the seperate Flames of Venegeance expansion on Gamersgate which adds the graphics enhancements to Ego Draconis but keeps the difficulty and original enemy levels and weapons intact. It's a great looking game now, especially if you go to the trouble of forcing AA onto it. The music is spectacular as well. I hear the expansion content is very well done.

So let me get this straight: regardless of the whether you get DKS or the expansion you'll get the same engine improvements, but if you get DKS you'll also get some old-fashioned dumbing down? Essentially?

I haven't yet gotten a straight answer on what exactly DKS changes.

 

[made]

The only difference I notice is that OP armor sets (that were apparently previously available as DLC) now drop in the game, which lets you breeze through the mid-game even on hard. Now I'm past the battle tower stage and combat feels much more balanced as my old gear becomes obsolete. Quests and all other content seems the same as before from what I can tell.

There's an AA setting btw. though I dunno if it does anything. Playing in 1080p I see no jaggies either way.

 

[Roguey]

Whoops, better put on my skyway fedora here.

I watched this 15-minute gameplay video and here are my impressions:
a) Nice job on the object shadows and ladders, but it still has that horrid Gamebryo look with its character models, animations, and environments. So no, it's not just Bethesda, it really is a bad engine for action games.
b) Camera's pretty bad, particularly that pan it keeps doing during certain attacks.
c) Maybe it was just the person playing, but this kind of hack and slashery makes DA2 look good for what it is.

The redeeming aspects I've been told about don't seem redeeming enough and there's a triple-dose of hack and slash awesomeness coming next March, so it doesn't seem like a worthwhile time/money investment. I'm glad the reviewer guy liked it though and I hope Larian learns from their mistakes and tries better next time.

 

[DalekFlay]

Game is p. good but all those jagged lines everywhere offends my inner graphic whore.

Is there any way to turn AA on? Forcing through nvidia inspector apparently doesn't work on my resolution (1680x1050).

no AA is broken and won't be fixed
it's intended to be like that :/

You can force it with nVidia using the STALKER or Oblivion profiles. STALKER looks better but with worse performance.

 

[DalekFlay]

So let me get this straight: regardless of the whether you get DKS or the expansion you'll get the same engine improvements, but if you get DKS you'll also get some old-fashioned dumbing down? Essentially?

I haven't yet gotten a straight answer on what exactly DKS changes.

DKS re-balances the game with high powered armor sets dropping earlier and enemies weakened to prevent you from having to level-up before hitting certain areas.

FoV and DKS both enhance the graphics a bit, and of course add the new end-game content.

 

[DraQ]

a) Nice job on the object shadows and ladders, but it still has that horrid Gamebryo look with its character models, animations, and environments. So no, it's not just Bethesda, it really is a bad engine for action games.

It does have the dreaded "gamebryo look", but for most part it looks pretty awesome in spite of it. Also, those don't seem to be maxed out settings - shadows updating in discrete steps are a bit of a hint.

b) Camera's pretty bad, particularly that pan it keeps doing during certain attacks.

What pan? I had quite a few issues with D2 camera, but none of them was about lack of control over it or cool-yet-useless view angles. From practical point of view it was nearly flawless.

c) Maybe it was just the person playing, but this kind of hack and slashery makes DA2 look good for what it is.

Well, it is H&S. Not an RPG, although it has surprising amounts of dialogue, C&C and all this typical cRPGish stuff. Next time you will baww that some FPS uses first person view and you abhor that.

It's a H&S, like, you know, Diablo II, except instead of feeling like work it is actually fun, and except instead of roaming terminally boring generated landscapes you visit varied and imaginative environments.

The redeeming aspects I've been told about don't seem redeeming enough and there's a triple-dose of hack and slash awesomeness coming next March, so it doesn't seem like a worthwhile time/money investment. I'm glad the reviewer guy liked it though and I hope Larian learns from their mistakes and tries better next time.

The redeeming aspects involve a lot of good, actual humour, a lot of non-generic dialogue, c&c, lack of handholding, imaginative levels with tons of scenery porn, awesome soundtrack (nearly muted in the video, which also featured one of it's least impressive parts) and some sort of laid-back charm seen previously in titles like Anachronox and later Wizardries.

 

[MetalCraze]

The thing to remember with Divinity 2 combat is not to be a damage sponge, even if playing with an armor and shield combination. You die quickly, at least in the original version, and you MUST dodge and use your roll/sprint/teleport skills effectively to survive.

Same here. Playing as a battlemage though but trying to storm enemies always ends in reloading. The game got easier though when my fireballs started to deal 2-3k damage and I pumped up healing to the level 5.

And also Divinity2 doesn't have the talkie-talkie bullshit excuse for the "gameplay" and none of shitty neverending cutscenes (and no quest-compass for once) If only a combat was better it would've been a good game (although it's kinda addictive for some reason which is strange for something as simple, kinda like Enclave)

Alas so far the best part is the music

 

[CraigCWB]

It does have the dreaded "gamebryo look", but for most part it looks pretty awesome in spite of it. Also, those don't seem to be maxed out settings - shadows updating in discrete steps are a bit of a hint.

I'm not sure how and when this game engine became the devil. Be that as it may, this is the worst example of it I've seen yet and I refuse to blame the game engine for the obvious lack of skill of the people who were using it to make this game. That's the single biggest complaint I have with Divinity II. It doesn't LOOK as good as other games that use this engine, it doesn't PLAY as nicely, and it doesn't PERFORM as well.

I don't understand all these reviews that claim Divinity II has good graphics in spite of the bad game engine. It's not a bad game engine, and Divinity II does not have good graphics.

Camera's pretty bad, particularly that pan it keeps doing during certain attacks.

The Camera is awful. I don't know why they decided not to let the user control zoom distance but I find the lack of both first person view and the way the camera dives and swoops depending entirely upon the current camera angle incredibly annoying.

Well, it is H&S. Not an RPG, although it has surprising amounts of dialogue, C&C and all this typical cRPGish stuff. Next time you will baww that some FPS uses first person view and you abhor that.

Of course it's an RPG. It's more of an RPG than anything Bioware has shipped lately.

It's a H&S, like, you know, Diablo II, except instead of feeling like work it is actually fun, and except instead of roaming terminally boring generated landscapes you visit varied and imaginative environments.

Yes, but unfortunately they spoiled all that by designing a game that expects people do do the save-load shuffle to maximally exploit their random number generator. Wanna mind read everyone and not set yourself back exp wise? Do what I did, and reload and reopen that one locked chest in the tutorial area until you get a level one sword with +20 magic or regular damage. Put yourself 2500 exp in the hole in the Broken valley and then clear every mob in the outdoor areas for Goblin Hearts (always reloading until you get a Goblin Heart of course). Difficult? I'm on "very hard" and the only thing I couldn't 2-shot while I was level 1 was the level 4 Goblin Chiefs and the level 5 beholder. They took 3! The level 1 and 2 dudes died just looking at me, apparently. I suppose the option is there to NOT take advantage of the things they obviously want you to take advantage of but then you'll be like that one level 20 guy on the fan forum who is bragging about how with his level 20 PURE STRENGTH warrior he does over 70 damage per hit and he can almost kill two goblins at once, if they are 3 levels lower than him. And you don't want to be that guy.

The redeeming aspects involve a lot of good, actual humour, a lot of non-generic dialogue, c&c, lack of handholding, imaginative levels...

Yes.

with tons of scenery porn

No. It doesn't have that. People are mistaking the bright colors and abundant sunshine for "great graphics". They are just cheerful graphics. That's all.

And don't believe all thoise people who say they have a 3 year old rig and run everything at max settings and it's smooth as butter, either. Those are the same people who upload mods with screenshots showing the most hideous low-rez settings possible because taht's how they had to set the game up so that they could load their quad-sized textures without their system locking up. How it makes sense to use "Hirez textures" when they have to turn their settings all the way down so their card doesn't choke when they run their own mod is a mystery that will probably never be solved, but that's for another thread on another board.

...awesome soundtrack

Ah, so you are that guy who keeps loading vids to YouTube with the "soundtrack" cranked up so loud that everything else gets drowned out?

I couldn't care less about a game's soundtrack. If I wanted to be listening to music I wouldn't be playing a computer game.

...and some sort of laid-back charm seen previously in titles like Anachronox and later Wizardries.

Hmmm.... no, not really. It's got the makings of a charming game, but I wouldn't go that far. Too many things that break "immersion" or whatever you want to call it.

 

[Forest Dweller]

So let me get this straight: regardless of the whether you get DKS or the expansion you'll get the same engine improvements, but if you get DKS you'll also get some old-fashioned dumbing down? Essentially?

I haven't yet gotten a straight answer on what exactly DKS changes.

DKS re-balances the game with high powered armor sets dropping earlier and enemies weakened to prevent you from having to level-up before hitting certain areas.

FoV and DKS both enhance the graphics a bit, and of course add the new end-game content.

Now I'm conflicted. On the one hand I don't like it being made easier, but I'll certainly go for removing the need to level up. I hate it when jrpgs force you to do that and it's usually a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Ancient]

Game is p. good but all those jagged lines everywhere offends my inner graphic whore.

Is there any way to turn AA on? Forcing through nvidia inspector apparently doesn't work on my resolution (1680x1050).

no AA is broken and won't be fixed
it's intended to be like that :/

You can force it with nVidia using the STALKER or Oblivion profiles. STALKER looks better but with worse performance.

it doesn't work for everyone not to mention ppl with ATI cards