Divinity 2 - Reviews @ Impulse Gamer, Game Debate

[Dhruin]

A pair of Divinity II reviews has been spotted by GameBanshee. First, Australian site Impulse Gamer has a perfunctory article based on the X360 version with a score of 7.8/10 (http://www.impulsegamer.com/360divinity2.html):
Divinity II: Ego Draconis is an interesting yet strange game on the XBox 360 and after giving the game a thorough trashing, it seems like it would be more suited to the world of PC gaming, especially considering the control and camera issues. However for me, it was still an endearing RPG game and even though it was quite PC-esq, something made want to explore this world of men and dragons.
...and over to Game Debate, who award a score of 8/10 (http://www.game-debate.com/articles/index.php?a_id=381&game=Divinity%202:%20Ego%20Draconis):
Yes, Divinity 2 is full of fantasy characters that could be straight out of Lord of The Rings or Dungeons and Dragons, but much of the game is tongue in cheek in a very charming way. You can’t help but smile when talking to the NPC’s who all have regional accents from throughout the UK. Of course, as inLord of the Rings , there are loads of “ooh ar” accents representing the West Country, but you’ll also find scouse soldiers, Irish boatmen, and my personal favourite, a Welsh weapon smith and his wife...apparently from Dudley. There is a real charm to the voice work of the NPC’s which certainly makes up for your characters lack of speech. Yes, you select a voice when creating them but this is mainly just used for quips during battle. When in conversation you select your responses from a text menu. Or you can choose to read minds...
More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=14020)

[Bedwyr]

"...even though it was quite pc-esque"??

That sure didn't sound condescending.

[Anderson]

I don't think he meant it to be condescending. I think he's saying it's more suited to the PC, and it feels a little out of place on the 360.

[txa1265]

I don't think he meant it to be condescending. I think he's saying it's more suited to the PC, and it feels a little out of place on the 360.

That was how I read it ... despite the appearances of a large portion of the RPGWatch membership, not everything is about platform-bashing. I read it as a game that felt best suited on PC ... for us that is a good thing!

[Bedwyr]

No, I suspect he didn't mean it that way, but he did phrase it poorly.

[txa1265]

No, I suspect he didn't mean it that way, but he did phrase it poorly.

Well, to be fair, if it was a PC review of a game suffering terrible consolitis, the exact same thing could be said - and would be said here.

[Bedwyr]

Well, to be fair, if it was a PC review of a game suffering terrible consolitis, the exact same thing could be said - and would be said here.

This is true. But I'm an unabashed advocate of the PC platform, so I'm prejudiced to begin with. So basically partisan politics. :)

[txa1265]

I'm an unabashed advocate of the PC platform

As am I and most others here ... but after the unabashed bashing of the Mac platform and Mac users here, I now feel most of the population are hypocrites if they complain about stuff like that ...

[Anderson]

No, I suspect he didn't mean it that way, but he did phrase it poorly.

Yeah, the way he said it was "endearing" (gootchie gootchie!) and then "even though" it was PC-esque, he still wanted to play it -- I can see how that might sound like he was lowering himself to play it.

As one of the few console-only players here, I found your initial remark (feeling condescended to) surprising, an interesting role-reversal. I hear so much condescension the other way (PC -> console) that I've developed a sort of immunity to it ... I have come to expect it, and it hardly registers anymore. To hear it talked about in the other direction seemed very strange. I guess PC players might feel condescended to sometimes, too, though.

[skavenhorde]

How about this for a role reversal: Is Console Gaming Dying? (http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/ps3/2009/12/14/is-console-gaming-dying/1)

[Anderson]

That title is a role-reversal all right, but the article itself makes no strong points in support of it. I read three pages in, waiting patiently for him to tell me why consoles were dying. Instead I read, "No, console gaming is not dying; it’s just too successful." So, the rhetorical question posed by his own title is defused within the first page. He then cites a dip in sales figures, which is not surprising, given a worldwide recession. I started skimming after that, but the remainder of the article seemed to just enumerate some of the well-known challenges facing the console business over the next few years. Not dire harbingers of doom, just business challenges, similar to the sort of challenges any business faces.

[txa1265]

As one of the few console-only players here, I found your initial remark (feeling condescended to) surprising, an interesting role-reversal. I hear so much condescension the other way (PC -> console) that I've developed a sort of immunity to it … I have come to expect it, and it hardly registers anymore. To hear it talked about in the other direction seemed very strange. I guess PC players might feel condescended to sometimes, too, though.

That is the way the site works - many of the folks have no problem trashing other platforms and being condescending to the people who use them, but if there is a *hint* of anything against the PC or PC gaming they run around like their heads are on fire ...

[Anderson]

That is the way the site works - many of the folks have no problem trashing other platforms and being condescending to the people who use them, but if there is a *hint* of anything against the PC or PC gaming they run around like their heads are on fire …

Thanks for that piece of info, txa.

It's the way most gaming forums are, I suppose. The favored platform changes from site to site, but the prejudice remains the same: "We have the best platform; the other platform is trash." Condescension toward the other platform; defensiveness toward one's own.

[txa1265]

Thanks for that piece of info, txa.

It's the way most gaming forums are, I suppose. The favored platform changes from site to site, but the prejudice remains the same: "We have the best platform; the other platform is trash." Condescension toward the other platform; defensiveness toward one's own.

Absolutely - unlike most here, I participate on console-centric sites, Mac-centric, PSP-centric, DS centric, and so on and so on ... and each one is similar. This is a PC RPG site.