Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
Score: 82% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Atlus Developer: Larian Studios Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: RPG
Graphics & Sound: It's okay if you did a Scooby-Doo-like double take when you first read the title. Yes, Divinity II has been readily available for a few months now and, No, this isn't a really late review. Instead, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is a brand new, spruced-up version of the original game bundled with it's first expansion, Flames of Vengence. Although the PC version did rather well, the console version met a quick demise thanks to the combination of poor visuals, numerous bugs and a lack of balance. Those who were able to make it past those issues, however, found a fun, different RPG experience. Beginning with the presentation, it's clear The Dragon Knight Saga is out to redeem itself any way it can. There's a bit of pop-up in some places, but everything has been completely remodeled. The main character's armor is amazingly detailed, right down to the smallest glints on the metal. Details like this are everywhere. Lighting is spot-on and water and ice look like they should. Even the framerate is stable. The only noticeable legacy from the first game are the unintentionally humorous animations during conversations. Although the voicework is well done and the dialogue is mostly well written, characters are way too verbose with their gestures. It's like they're trying to badly pantomime every word just to make sure you're paying attention.
Gameplay: As previously mentioned, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga features two huge games rolled into one package. In addition to a re-mastered version of Divinity II: Ego Draconis, you can also play through its expansion, Flames of Vengence. Both games are playable from the Main Menu, so if you're only interested in checking out Flames, you can jump right in without the need to play through Ego Draconis first. The only thing you're losing is the option of taking the same character through both quests. You begin Ego Draconis as a newly recruited Dragon Hunter, an order of warriors whose purpose is to keep the world of Rivellion dragon free. Of course, you're meant for more than simply hunting down dragons. About half way through your adventure, you're granted the ability to turn into a dragon and saddled with the destiny of becoming a Dragon Lord. The story is as cliché-ridden as they come, but still manages to entertain. Rivellion is full of secrets and it is incredibly easy to get lost in its mythos if you feel like taking the time to read every book, scroll or tombstone you come across. Flames of Vengence is a direct follow-up. Although each game is its own self-contained adventure, knowing what happened in the first game will help a bit. Of the two, Flames is slightly more enjoyable. It's a shorter adventure and unlike Ego Draconis, quests always seem to move you forward in some way. Quests aren't tossed in just for the sake of content, which is a problem in Ego Draconis. There's also more variety in quest design, cutting away some of the original's repetitiveness. Although both games offer different content, the core gameplay is largely the same. The Dragon Knight Saga is as traditional as RPGs can get. It's high fantasy in the mold of D & D, so it should appeal to fans of more traditional RPGs. As you travel around the world, you'll take on quests, kill enemies and loot treasure chests. Everything is state-based, giving tinkerers a lot to play with. There's also a really interesting Mind Reading ability to play with. At any time during a conversation, you can opt to read someone's thoughts. You lose XP each time you use the ability, though you can sometimes uncover incredibly useful information, building a neat risk/ reward structure. Speaking of conversations, you'll encounter numerous NPCs throughout your quest. Most of the characters you encounter are quirky in their own regards and inject a bit more life into the world around you. Every conversation is built around conversation trees that are supposed to have some impact on the world. Unfortunately, the impact rarely goes beyond allowing you to participate or skip certain battles. It's an okay option, though it is so inconsequential I eventually lost interest in the system.
Difficulty: Another unfortunate legacy issue from the original release are the harsh difficulty spikes. Although the difficulty level has been scaled back slightly, the game still seems hell bent on making sure you earn every victory. It's not uncommon to run into enemies well over your level while exploring. Eventually, you'll figure out that the best thing you can do is stick in certain areas for as long as possible to squeeze out every bit of XP before moving on. Given the number of available quests, at least you'll have a lot to do. The long list of quests brings a lot of attention to another overlooked feature, a good quest map. There's no way to quickly bring up a list of quests and although you're given a small map in some areas, it's too small to be of any use. Unless you're the type of player to tackle missions one at a time, it's really easy to forget where you are or what you're supposed to do.
Game Mechanics: I really like Divinity II: Dragon Knight Saga's character development system. After passing your initiation, you're allowed to choose one of three combat talents - sword, bow or magic. However, this is only your initial choice. As you level up, you're able to place points into any talent tree you want and develop your character's abilities as you see fit. You can try and snag a few skills from each tree, or choose to focus on one set. It's a liberating setup and, truthfully, I think I spend just as much time weighing the pros and cons of certain talents as I did playing the game. Okay, so that's a bit of hyperbole, but you get my point - there's a lot to think about when leveling your character. It should go without saying that your skill choices have a direct impact on gameplay. If you spread yourself too thin, you're not dooming yourself to a continuous cycle of reloads, though you will have a harder time than if you stick to one or two talent trees. Even if you stick to a limited set, it is possible to find yourself in just as much trouble. Best advice: stick with the skills that fit your style of play, not the ones that sound cool. Now if only combat were as interesting. Even with a full load-out of cool abilities, combat isn't very fun. Combat is primarily of the hack-and-slash variety, which isn't too bad except it never feels like you're getting anywhere. This is primarily due to the spike in difficulty and ridiculous animations. Hits that look powerful should be powerful. Instead, you'll spend a lot of time hacking away at enemies while an enemy's health slowly whittles away to zero. The variety of combat abilities is a saving grace. You can choose to dual wield weapons or pursue the ability to morph enemies into other things. You can assign skills to any button you want, which is an option I wish more games would attempt to implement. I know it isn't possible for every game, but there are times where certain buttons felt out of place for the number of times you needed to use it. There is, however, one small problem. If you hold a button down for too long, you're dropped into the Menu. This can really break up combat and is a bad choice. If you can get over the combat issues, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is an interesting purchase. Though by no means a perfect RPG, it delivers a lot of content - especially for the price. Hardcore RPG fans, particularly those looking for an "old fashioned" RPG, should really give Dragon Knight Saga a look.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: Game Vortex's Review of Divinity II: Ego Draconis
Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Jane's Zoo