Are Fable and I really the only ones playing this?

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Sun Oct 20, 2002 12:19 pm

Are Fable and I really the only ones playing Divine Divinity? I realize the game has an awful title and got next to no publicity, but check around and you'll discover that universally it's gotten extremely good reviews. Even Gamespot, which normally gives crap ratings to any game not on the cutting edge of technology, gave it an 8.6.

Combine the best aspects of Baldur's Gate with the best aspects of Diablo, then throw in an Arcanum-like skills system and you've got DD. People always say they want non-linear games.... this is is as non-linear as they come, about like how Ultima VII was. It also has a surprisingly large scope while never actually seeming overwhelming or as large as it really is.

I understand from other reports that the demo gives a very inaccurate view of the game. If you're judging the game by the demo it appears you're not doing yourself any favors.... this is absolutely a worthwhile purchase, especially at only $39.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 20, 2002 3:56 pm

I'm surprised, too, at the response from people who are always asking when the next CRPG is going to be out. Surely they realize that there are more sources for good games than Bioware and BIS? All I can do is urge to check out this fanpage page, and look at some of the reviews collected there. True, you'll find some proported reviews that seem to be written by ten year olds with an attention span not exceeding five minutes, but others show more advanced skills and an understanding and knowledge of the genre. All in all, DD has been well-received by the more intelligent members of the CRPG community, and it's definitely worth the time and effort.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 20, 2002 4:06 pm

Here's a link to Gamespy's review. As this isn't either an ad, nor a link to another forum, there shouldn't be any problem with offering it.

Obsidian · Post by **Obsidian** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 4:34 pm

hahaha, its kind of neat watching you 2 talk about it with no one else. I just became curious and stopped in. I'll check it out,

has it been released in Canada?

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 5:28 pm

Don't know. You could always order it online from something like EB.

Silver Knight · Post by **Silver Knight** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 6:16 pm

You probably are the only ones playing this. I awaited this game eagerly, having read a review. I bought it as soon as it came out but I haven't got round to installing it yet. I have too many games on the go and not enough time to finish any of them

Is it worth dropping IWD2, Morrowind, UT2003 & Battlefield 1942 to play DD?

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 6:28 pm

@Silver Knight, it really depends on what kind of game you want to play. Arguably none of the CRPGs you've mentioned are like the others, so it comes down to personal taste and playing style. I *have* set aside IWD2 for a while to play DD, because the intense linearity of IWD2 was getting to me. -But again, that's just me, not necessarily you.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Oct 22, 2002 6:06 am

Well I have rather a lot of expenses at the moment so I can't afford yet another game, maybe in a few weeks...when I have money again.

It strikes me as my kind of thing and I have been wanting to play a BG2 esque game for a while. I have been playing Disciples 2 which I won in a competition that has a certain RPG element, not quite enough though

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Oct 22, 2002 7:13 am

I enjoyed Disciples 2 as well, @Sleep. It's an extremely stylish strategy game in fantasy trappings. But as you suggest, I wouldn't call it a CRPG.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Oct 22, 2002 9:12 am

Originally posted by fable
I enjoyed Disciples 2 as well, @Sleep. It's an extremely stylish strategy game in fantasy trappings. But as you suggest, I wouldn't call it a CRPG.

Sorry to drag this off topic but how far did you get, there seems to be a great deal of playing time there. Is it the same for DD, is there are lot of hours or is it over quite quickly?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Oct 22, 2002 7:34 pm

Lot of hours. It's a huge, non-linear game.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Tue Oct 22, 2002 7:59 pm

I'm estimating 100+hrs on a single play through, but there's more then enough replayability to get one to give it a second or third spin, easily.

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Oct 23, 2002 9:51 am

I think that's reasonable. There are so many skills, and you could configure your character in several different ways.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 1:44 am

Originally posted by cjdevito
I understand from other reports that the demo gives a very inaccurate view of the game. If you're judging the game by the demo it appears you're not doing yourself any favors....

How do you mean? What's inaccurate about it? It was a bit disappointing that you could only choose one class, but hey, that's why it's a demo.
I played the demo only partially and while I liked what I saw it didn't exactly thrill me. But talking about it the way fable and you are... well, maybe I'll give it a another shot.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 11:27 am

90% of the demo is a very hack-n-slash, linear dungeon crawl. Once you're past where the demo ends, though, the game opens up tremendously. You could, for example, earn your next 15 or so levels just solving quests without any killing. Or wander into an area with critters geared to your level, or wander into a much higher level area and struggle your way through it (albeit while earning xp by the bucketload), or just spend the next 20 hrs exploring the map. Options open up tremendously, quests start to have multiple methods (often, one good, one "evil") of solving them, character development as you start to gain abilities gives you far, far more options for dealing with both combat and non-combat situations....

In short, the demo provides neither an accurate impression of the depth of options available, or a good feel for what gameplay throughout much of the game is like.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:32 pm

I see. Sort of like the first dungeon in BG2. When you get to Athkathla, that's where the game gets interesting.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:47 pm

Yes -- excellent comparison.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 3:30 pm

Agreed. The demo is very unrepresentative of the wide open nature of the game. It's rather Ultima VII-like in this respect.

Ylossakram · Post by **Ylossakram** » Fri Nov 08, 2002 11:55 am

Hey guys i played and enjoyed it !

The only complain is about difficulty ... a bit too easy imo ...
DD 2 with some improvements would be a really good piece of crpg

It's been a good way to wait 4 iwdII

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Nov 08, 2002 2:17 pm

Glad you liked it.

Think is, you can change the difficulty level at game start, and you can select less friendly skills along the way to make the experience a good deal nastier. If you don't learn Freeze, for example, you'll find a lot of the early and midgame assaults on large numbers of troops pretty agonizing.