|
Divinity II: Ego Draconis (demo)
What’s this we have here? Another fantasy-laden, third-person adventure game set in some backwards forgotten era with mythical beasts a-plenty? Hooray! Callooh callay! Hopefully the sarcasm in that above statement won’t be too hard to detect. It is the internet after all. As you can pre-emptively tell I’ve sort of set the mood for the rest of this review (a quick one at that before we all get dragged into 2010 – a year that sounds more futuristic and awesome than it actually will be) So why am I even bothering to download the demo if I’m just going to tear it several new ones from the offset? Because aside from trying to expand my gaming horizons and distinguish myself as a professional who’s not afraid to tread new waters, I’m also feeling a little bitter about the lack of Tekken 6 demo available on Xbox LIVE so I need something to abuse: step forward Divinity 2. There are a multitude of games that get thrust into retailer’s gawping faces that, on the surface, appear impressive and worth the amount you bled your student loan for. At least initially. But on closer inspection that £45 game you hold in your hand is nothing but a bland and uninspiring affair (I’m looking at you most sequels!). Divinity 2 falls very much into this increasing pitfall of games that are trying to promise more than they can deliver. You begin the demo as a Dragon Slayer. Or at least an apprentice Dragon Slayer who’s looking to break off a bit of something-something from the slayer masters. Dragon slaying is clearly a sought-after career path in Rivellon. Professional slayers invariably smack you in the goolies with knowledge and power. With mind-reading skills donned and various other powers of sorcery handed down to you like a venereal disease you quest your little arse off in medieval villages inhabited by cerebrally-challenged extras from Monty Python’s: Quest for the Holy Grail.
Villagers run set paths from one area of green to another area of less-green in a vain attempt to breathe life into their hometown. The problem is the locale and settings are so un-alive you may as well be walking over dry porridge with splodges of grey dotted sporadically about. It seems as though the whole game is trying to boast a massive budget. With a title like Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (Meaning “I, of the dragon”…I Wikipedia’d it…) and the promise of fighting immense dragons one would expect something much more than what is given (at least in these early stages of the game). So where is this budget going? The graphics aren’t the best. The action is stilted and awkward. (objects and people can only be interacted with when your crosshair is aimed at them, not when your character is actually facing them. A fatal design flaw by any logic) The fight sequences are dull. NPC’s appear to twitch and flail when they talk to you as though the whole town is undergoing a mass seizure. And the protagonist is laughably camp for someone training to slay dragons as a hobby. Especially when he utters phrases such as “That’s another one for my collection” whenever he picks up a chicken leg or what-have-you. At least Link had the good grace to keep his fucking mouth shut! He doesn’t even talk during dialogue so why bother with triggered in-game phrases other than an attempt to give him depth and personality? Which fails anyway. And speaking of dialogue: amidst everything else that’s wholly wrong with this game the voice acting isn’t actually all that bad. But it only seems to work in small doses. Which all seems for nought anyway. When interacting with characters your player responses appear as the other person is talking. Meaning you can just select your immediate retort before they even get halfway through their statement. And because you don’t talk during dialogue the whole conversation is just a run of their sentiments clashed together with no pause in-between. The whole thing is just a mess at times. Take – as a superior example – Mass Effect’s dialogue feature. Your responses only appear halfway through the NPC’s sentence giving you time to read what’s on screen. And even after selecting what you want to say the game only allows for your statement when the other person has finished talking. (call it in-game politeness) And because the protagonist – Shepherd – talks it all flows together beautifully in a smooth, flawless conversation between articulate characters. Generally Divinity 2 is a dull and boring attempt at fantasy role-playing. It’s lifeless decal and unimaginative fights leave a whole heap to be desired and with nothing unique on display it really calls into question some developer’s integrity. But I digress: Happy 2010 y’all! |
