Silicon Fusion >> Previews >> Divine Divinity

	All Platforms
	Xbox
	GameCube
	PlayStation 2
	PC
	Game Boy Advance

Site Sections:

	Updates
	News
	Games
	Publishers
	Developers
	Reviews
	Previews
	Release Dates
	Editorials
	Glossary
	Contact Us

Preview:

18th June 2002:
Divine Divinity
It may have an unusual name, but that's not the only thing that sets it apart from other RPGs...
Posted by Marc Hull - PC - UK and Europe

CDV and Larian Studios have been working on Divine Divinity for some time now, and having seen it running for a short while at ECTS we came away impressed, but not sure how it would improve on other RPGs of a similar theme. However, having now played through a preview demo of the game, containing ten hours of gameplay, we're beginning to see what all the fuss is about.

For those who missed our previous coverage, Divine Divinity is best described as a 'traditional' role playing game, where you play as one of six characters (although they can be customised to a certain extent), each of which is divided into three 'types'; a warrior, wizard or survivor. However, while your initial selection will lean you towards one particular set of skills, decisions you make in the game will ultimately decide how strong your character is in a particular area, and there are plenty of skills on offer with nearly a hundred promised for the full game. There's also a large game world which is full of orcs, elves and the usual array of mythical creatures, but each are gifted with artificial intelligence which dictates how they respond to various situations. This means that reactions from characters are not quite as predictable as those in other RPGs, since every person has an agenda that may not be clear to you early on.

While controlling your character in some RPGs is difficult and sometimes tedious, Divine Divinity's system is pretty easy to get to grips with. Almost all of your character's actions can be handled through the mouse, with a context sensitive cursor dictating whether you walk to, talk to or use the things you click on. This makes exploring the game's world quite painless, with an on-screen map to show you an overview of your surroundings, a 'fog' which lifts in areas you've been to already, and a system whereby if your character's obscured by an object you can still see at least a semi-transparent image of them at all times. And what a world it is; while the developers may have decided not to take the game into 3D like recent titles have attempted (such as Dungeon Siege) they've certainly pushed the boundaries of 2D RPGs in terms of detail and effects, with this being one of the few games to support the 1024x768 resolution setting. The pre-rendered scenery looks fantastic, with nice touches such as water that reflects the surroundings and ripples realistically and transition effects for when you move between areas or buildings, which adds to the overall polish of the game. There are also literally hundreds of objects that you can move or interact with in some way, right down to being able to rearrange chairs in someone's house.

The world will also play host to over 150 non-playable characters who look equally impressive and fit well into their surroundings. In the demo speech was also included for important dialogue with key characters, but it's currently unclear whether all characters will have this in the final game, or how often this occurs later on as you progress. However, we were able to test out the aforementioned artificial intelligence and are pleased to say that it works really well. The preview we played starts off in a village full of elves who are gifted with the ability to heal people, however their healing source has 'dried up' and they're no longer able to help people with bad wounds. There just happen to be two such people; both soldiers who were injured battling orcs, and only one healing gem left between them. The elves have decided that they can't give this healing gem to either one of them since it would mean the other would be doomed to death, however you are free to interfere as you see fit, by picking up the healing gem and giving it to one or the other. However, this does have implications on your reputation in the village, and if you constantly go about with a 'break the rules' attitude, such as looting people's houses or insulting the inhabitants, you'll soon find that people aren't as willing to help you as you might hope.

Having insulted too many people and been mercilessly slaughtered a couple of times, we checked out the game's main quest which revolved around a plague in a nearby place called Rivertown which the healers were being called on to help out with. However, their own leader, a wizard-like man called Mardaneus, seems to have been possessed by a demon and they seem reluctant to leave. Worse still, orcs have surrounded the village and it's up to you to get a message to a nearby barracks and bring back soldiers to escort the elves to Rivertown. As you go about this quest there are also many sub-quests to go on, which are recommended since they help to build up skills and experience. You'll also find secrets dotted about the place, from houses which are locked until you locate the key to a grave that comes alive when you put some flowers on it.

Overall, Divine Divinity looks like it'll be a very deep game when it's released this August, and while some may be put off by its lack of 3D graphics, the lush 2D presentation is more than enough to make up for this. We hope to have further details on this game very soon, but in the meantime check out these new screenshots below.

Marc Hull

Latest Images:

Related Games:

Divine Divinity
for PC

Screenshots

Preview

Click here for
All Game Information .

Go Back To Main Page

Go To Top Of Page