The remastered Divinity II hits shelves with an expansion and many bug and gameplay fixes. Not PERFECT, but still a WIN!
ON TO THE REVIEW!!!
Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is a MAJOR improvement compared to the original Ego Draconis.
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THE GOOD
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-UPDATED GRAPHICS-
Ask anyone who played the original and they wouldn't deny that the original felt lacking. For a game made in 2009, the graphics where lacking for their time and the animation was choppy and never once smooth. Although the graphics still aren't up to par with today's games, it's nonetheless an improvement that should be noted.
-THE DIFFICULTY PATH-
Here was the biggest problem with the game: most people never even conquered the Battle Tower. The enemy levels and the damage they did were literally so unbalanced, that dying was too common of an occurrence. You were killed by free-roaming enemies in the gameworld, which are usually the easiest in the game. Luckily, it has been fixed, now becoming enjoyable.
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THE BAD
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-THE MISSING PUZZLE-PIECE-
Here's one problem they definitely should have fixed. Some puzzles and challenges are annoyingly overly complicated. In one instance, there were 3 platforms, you jumped from one to the other, each raising each time while fireballs that take half your health each are fired at you. This goes on for the equivalent of 10 floors, and falling meant starting over. When you get to the top, you pull a lever and a chest appears, you have to drop straight down, and if you don't get there in time, it disappears, leaving you repeating everything.
Another is Black Ring General Raze, he and endless waves of Summoned Armors attack you, but once his health is half depleted, he runs to a machine that heals him. The trick is to kill him before he gets to it, problem is, all the Summoned Armors block you and by the time you reach him, he's in the machine, which it plays a cinematic so you can't interrupt him. The only way to defeat him is to get your damage so high that you can kill him before he runs.
-THE RUNNERS-
Here's another major problem they could have fixed that has gone unfixed. Every enemy DOESN'T carry a backup melee weapon, particularly rangers and most magic-based enemies. Attacking them results in running, meaning you have to chase them down, usually ending you them hitting you with something that slows you down because it's just so painful even though it barely damages you.
-FREEZE!!!-
This was a problem with the original. My XBOX will randomly freeze, it has never done that till I had the original and this game. On average, it'll freeze twice a day if you play it for a 12 hour period.
-THE END-
The "Flames of Vengeance" expansion adds a lot to the game, but a single decision you make near the end of the game can make the game overly easy or overly difficult. You are given no prior warning, but choosing Behrlihn ends with you fighting not only Ygerna, but also with Behrlihn and a lvl 50 Demon. If you yourself aren't lvl 50, this is a death sentence, as Ygerna's whirlwind attack alone deals nearly 500+ damage, there's not an armor enchantment or amount of health in the world that would protect you from that.
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THE OUTCOME
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This game is a major improvement, but don't expect it to be perfect.