Expansion for Divinity 2
Flames of Vengeance

Hamburg/Germany, March 04th, 2010 – Aleroth, once a war-torn city, now holds the next challenges for computer role playing gamers. Rivellon, the world of Divinity II: Ego Draconis, is still not safe. In Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, the game’s official add on, players must face the evil once more.

Soon they’ll recognize that many of the characters they met in the main game aren’t who they pretended to be. Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance continues where Divinity II: Ego Draconis left off. "In Flames of Vengeance, the player picks up the story of the Dragon knight and guides him to his ultimate destiny. Along the way several accounts are settled, and the answers to many questions in the Divinity universe revealed. We've also taken the opportunity to give the engine a solid overhaul, improving performance and graphics quality along the way", Swen Vincke, Creative Director and CEO of the development team Larian Studios, explains.

Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, the official add on to Divinity II: Draconis, offers more than 30 questsand about 15 hours of gameplay.

Coming August 2010. Link to Announcement


LSN: (major spoilers for Divinity II)

Can I get a 'thank gawd?' The ending to Divinity II was pitiful - the entire game felt like 1/3 of an awesome game.

An example of this: When you become a Dragon Knight, your previous mentor, a Dragon Slayer, gives you a sword, tells you to kill yourself, and then orders three veteran Slayers to kill you if you can't do this. She leaves, supposedly because watching her previous protégée die is too hard for her. Instead, you kill the three Slayers. Later, she pops up again, furious at your betrayal and blaming her own weakness for the death of her men. You’re in a major city though and the Captain of the garrison orders her sent to a cell. She leaves, but vows she’ll find you again to avenge her fallen comrades.

Compelling stuff… and we never see her again. Divinity II is fun, but it has about a half-dozen plotlines that abruptly end with no closure.

Which leads to a question: Shouldn't this have been in the game to begin with?

I often think that I'm too easy with game companies. The ending to Divinity II made me unhappy. It's remarkable similar to the endings of the first two games in that 1) your hero's efforts are for naught, and 2) there's obviously more to the story. Moreover, the ending was abrupt. In the first two games, I felt like I’d gotten an entire story, abet one that didn’t end as I’d like.

As soon as I saw the ending to Divinity II, I knew that the next game would be a continuation, not a new story. I sat there wondering if the developer’s funding had just run out – and I still suspect that’s exactly what happened.

So, how do I feel about Flames of Vengeance? I want it. I want the closure the first game didn’t give me, but should have. This makes me an idiot. I should in no way, shape, or form encourage developers to rush a game out the door and then finish the story in an expansion. At the same time, I understand. Making a game is not cheap; it’s very expensive and it takes time. I would rather a developer release half a story with the time and money they have, than go into debt and possibly lose their business.

What *actually* bothers me the most about this is that one of the best elements of the game is now gone. I’m speaking about the Dragon Knight Talana who jumps into the PC’s head at the beginning of the game. She was a helpful companion who I never had to check the inventory of, control in combat, or give gifts to in order to increase her loyalty rating. I consider Talana up there with GLADoS in the acerbic running commentary department, but now she’s gone.

I might as well download the 1.03 Patch and play through with another character. I did a two-handed warrior my first play-though and want to explore the magic spells.

Oh, I could even take screen shots and do a review this time if I were so inclined.


From that other blog: A positive review of World War Z.
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