Divinity 2 - Review @ GameSpot

GameSpot has reviewed Divinity II, awarding 6.5/10 after criticising variable challenge, "bland" story and characters and bugs, while appreciating some of the more unusual aspects:

In Divinity II, the hunter becomes the hunted. You begin this third-person role-playing game as a newly recruited dragon slayer, eager to join a bloodthirsty party tracking down a fearsome lizard. Soon, however, a turn of events transforms you into what you once reviled: a dragon knight who can slice through enemies on the ground as well as transform into a winged beast and take to the skies. The ability to morph back and forth between human and dragon form is Divinity II's best and most interesting feature, though there are a few other elements that also help set it apart from the competition. Unfortunately, these flames of originality are too often extinguished by Divinity II's less compelling facets. This adventure is a hefty challenge, but the difficulty too often stems from imbalanced enemy encounters rather than tough, thoughtfully constructed battles. Furthermore, thin characters and a by-the-numbers plot make it difficult to get invested in the story. Divinity II may satisfy your craving for some looting and leveling in a fantasy world, but it lacks the sparkle and cohesion of the better games in the genre.

Thanks, Melvil!
More information.

Am I the only one who actually liked Divinity 2 more than Dragon Age?

A somewhat harsh review, especially coming from Gamespot, where reviews are often overly generous..

No surprise. Major sites often put particular emphasis on polish, and perhaps rightly so for their readership.

Originally Posted by SveNitoR
Am I the only one who actually liked Divinity 2 more than Dragon Age?

I havent tried Divinity II yet but I am no fan of Dragon Age. Since its a 3rd person game I'm predisposed to like D2 more. You are probably not alone.

6.5 is kinda harsh for this game, even for Gamespot.

I'd have expected 7-8.

Svenitor: You are not alone since I like Dragon Age but I like Divinity 2 far more and it is one of my most favorite games in recent years.

Originally Posted by JDR13
A somewhat harsh review, especially coming from Gamespot, where reviews are often overly generous..

I'm not surprised - they like to be able to show how their average reviews are still holding - so because they over-rate so many games they have to balance it out somehow.

You're welcome, I'll wait for the Watch review I think before diving into this one.

Watch review should be coming very soon; it's in the system for additional staff comments.

The game can be rather challenging sometimes and I do agree with the variable challenge bit. The story and characters, to me, are very good, though. And the game is just plain fun. I would have expected 7.5 from Gamespot.

Originally Posted by Thaurin
The game can be rather challenging sometimes and I do agree with the variable challenge bit. The story and characters, to me, are very good, though. And the game is just plain fun. I would have expected 7.5 from Gamespot.

I actually don't see anything wrong with the variable challenge. It keeps me on my toes. I haven't run up against anything I haven't been able to beat yet, althought I've had quite a few deaths (and I mean deaths… like reload a saved game.)

Does enemy level scale with your character?

No, but different areas have different level enemies. I found this worked, as I could usually just handle the enemies I met as I explored and levelled.

Originally Posted by Corwin
No, but different areas have different level enemies. I found this worked, as I could usually just handle the enemies I met as I explored and levelled.

There have been cool instances where I was more than a couple of levels below some enemies and had to really struggle to make it through. SOmetimes you know you're stepping into trouble!

Yeah, a couple of times RUN was a brilliant tactic!! I once encountered 2 foes who were 10 levels above me. Didn't have time to run; 2 hits later I had to reload!!

Oh yes, more than once I found myself in over my head. Unfortunately, the problem is that I tend to quicksave over my previously most recent save!! The game then decides to lock the door behind me and now I have no choice but to kill what lies ahead! I've been able to so far, but some encounters were very hard (and sometimes required a bit of AI exploitation).

There's not a lot of opportunity to power-level other than finding and finishing all side-quests and monsters, so sometimes I'll just run into a new batch of enemies and just get my ass handed to me! It takes a lot of reloading and you have to be up for that. Then again, I'm probably not the most hardcorest, elitest of elitest of games.

Definitely will be looking forward to the Watch review. I haven't been following it ( don't know why ) and know very little about this game, never played the previous two in the series.

Gamespot is garbage, I haven't bothered reading any of their reviews since that O game that shouldn't be mentioned on an RPG site.

Oblivion!!!!