Divine Divinity
Sold Out		(Win95/98/Me/2000/XP) (DVD Case) (DIVINEDPR)
Discontinued

Publisher: Larian Studios / CDV

Ratings:

A+ from Just RPG

from RPGDot

Create Your Own Destiny

Welcome to the world of Divine Divinity. Warrior, Wizard or Survivor? Which fate is yours? It's your decision, one that will influence the gameplay of Divine Divinity - action RPG or classical RPG!

In any case, you are the chosen one according to prophecy. As such, only you are able to save the legendary land of Rovellon from submission under the Lord of Chaos. But before you take on the fight against Evil you have to be discovered and blessed as the Divine Savior. And always remember one thing wherever you go: Caution is vital! The apostate magicians must not get hold of you - whatever happens!

Which fate will be your first choice? Warrior, Wizard or Survivor?

Features:

• Detailed role playing game
• A densely populated, versatile and eventful fantasy world
• Close to a hundred skills to learn through a new character development system
• 480 skill levels: 96 skills with 5 levels each 6 classes of characters
• An exciting background plot with many strands and sub-quests
• More than 100 monsters and creatures with an ingenious AI
• More than 150 NPCs with different intelligent patterns of behaviour
• A huge world consisting of more than 20,000 screens
• A wide range of skills, spells, weapons and equipment
• Extensive interaction with items and characters
• Simple, intuitive controls even for complex actions
• Automatic map and journal Day and night cycles and weather effects
• Additional graphic features for 3D accelerators
• NPCs and monsters can group and protect each other
• Group AI: battle tactics include ambush, hide, lure, etc.
• Reactive AI: game characters react to player characters depending on their behaviour
• Dynamic dialogues adapted to the situation and the player's actions
• Appearance and animations change with different clothing
• Player and NPC parties possible
• Numerous power-ups strengthen characters for a short time

Requirements:

Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP: CPU: Pentium II 233MHz or better, 64 MB Ram, Video Card: DirectX 8.0 Compatible, 8 MB Min., 800 x 600 Minimum Resolution, Soundcard: 100% Direct Sound Compatible, CD Rom: 4xSpeed or faster, Hard Drive: 2.5 GB of free disk space.

Reviews:

Just RPG by Eric Arevalo

"Divine Divinity took about three years to complete and as I played the game, I could tell that the time had been well spent. The game takes you into a world full of so many options that wait to be discovered. There are so many ways that one can choose to play when picking up this game, so many things to explore and experience. The statement from the project leader above rings true when he mentions that a player would discover a vast world full of wonders. I have experienced laughter, fun, suspense and many other emotions when playing this game. You will discover many unique touches and details, if you take the time to find them. If you look closely enough, you may find out about a sword that belonged to a special hobbit or a letter that may have been written by Romeo, a character from the Shakespearean play.

"...what has been achieved in the final product is an experience that will leave the player breathless. I urge you to buy this game and experience many of things that I have talked about and many of things that still wait to be discovered by you as you undertake your own adventure. Divine Divinity is a definite winner in transporting the player to a world in which story, gameplay, art, and music are successfully combined to produce an unforgettable RPG gaming experience!"

Quandary Review by Steve Metzler

"I've just finished the rollercoaster ride of an RPG that is Divine Divinity, and am writing this review as the title music plays sonorously – no, make that majestically! – in the background. Casting my mind back about four years ago, while researching upcoming games, I well remember following the progress of fledgling Belgian developer Larian Studios and their RPG with the working title: The Lady, the Mage, and the Knight. The proposed story line, character descriptions, and screenshots were quite impressive, and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, they apparently had trouble finding a suitable publisher, and in the end all that remained to show for their labours was a stagnant web site. But Larian finally managed to come good, and the eventual result is this delightful little sleeper of an RPG that, for the sake of sanity and brevity, we'll just call 'Divinity'."

"At the outset, Divinity looks, feels, and plays a lot like Diablo. So much so, that you might begin to wonder how Larian managed not to get sued by Blizzard! The starting character classes are very similar. The weapon, armour, and skill descriptions are done in the same style even down to the colour scheme. The main stats are roughly the same. Your primary attack is on the left mouse button, and you cast spells and use special skills via the right mouse button. You also have near-identical health, stamina, and mana lines. At 640 x 480, Divinity even looks exactly like Diablo II, and I had to pinch myself a few times to make sure I had the right game loaded. However, there is much more in the way of character interaction, story, and true RPG quests on display in Divinity. In short, it is a true RPG, whereas Diablo is an action game with RPG trappings. So, you'll get over the resemblance to Diablo in no time, especially if you set it up to play at 1024 x 768 (very pretty, but objects are a bit too small to see clearly) or 800 x 600 (perfect, and then it doesn't look like Diablo any more)."

"...However, I suppose I can forgive Larian those two transgressions. Everything else about Divinity was a joy, and now I find that it's crept onto my list of 5 favourite RPGs of all time. And that's one tough list to get on, believe me!"

RPGDot by Val Sucher

"...The game does an impressive balancing act of giving you freedom but also giving you a general direction to go so you don't get lost in the game. You'll always have some goals to work on that will tie into each other and drive the plot forward without making it seem like you're being lead around by the hand. Combine this with fast-paced action that keeps your interest and this game literally becomes a pleasure to play...."

"Divinity has many of the tried-and-true gameplay features that all gamers love, like shortcuts for potions and important spells, the ability to switch weapons easily, a pause feature for issuing commands, a command for highlighting all the items you can pick up or use, a built-in screen capture ability, a quest log, a mini-map and so much more. I'm tempted to say that they've thought of everything."

"This game is fun. This game is addicting. What more needs to be said? Well, I suppose I should convince you its fun. Okay, I can do that. I've been playing nonstop in every spare moment I have since I tore off the packaging and installed this game. With fast-paced action and interesting quests that aren't your normal fed-ex types this game puts a fun little twist on everything. How can you not like a game that gives you quests to wash dishes, blow up supply trains, solve murder mysteries and poison wells?"

"Unfortunately Divinity is plagued by some bugs that can be show-stoppers if you don't avoid them. The first step to avoiding some of these headaches is to install the latest patch which clears up several issues. Another step is to save often so you can recover if you do run into a bug or crash. There are minor spelling mistakes as well. My computer only crashed while using the globes to find the Council of Seven members and when my virus-protection software decided that NOW would be the perfect time to scan my hard drive. I've avoided most of the problems that some people have reported and several of their problems disappeared when they installed the patch. You can avoid major problems simply by following the advice I stated earlier. Of course, these two things are something any experienced computer gamer should do out of habit. ;-)

"Overlooking this game would be a disservice to yourself. Larian has done what they set out to do. They've given you simple, fun gameplay and the depth that makes the roleplaying genre great. They have blended the best of both hardcore and simple action roleplaying games. The possibility of creating your own adventure is here. The possibility of playing the game the way you want is here. Hey Origin, this is what Ultima 8 should have been."

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