Liked it so much, I bought it again.

User Rating: 8.5 | Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga PC
By Garnog | Review Date:
Well, I grew impatient waiting for someone (other than the most-foreign French) to review this new iteration, so I decided to 'take one for the team' and purchase the Dragon Knight Saga. It helped that I got a 33% discount via Steam for already pwning a copy(?!)* but the lure of a re-mastered version with a new graphics engine proved too difficult to resist. Lets start off by saying that the new version isn't immediately, obviously superior to the original so don't go looking to get your freak on right off the hop. DKS does seem to play a bit smoother and the textures are cleaner and shinier, though some of the old annoyances like lack of FSAA, wonky camera, imprecise jumping mechanics and the infamous 30 FPS cap do bring it down a notch. Otherwise, it looks pretty and runs reasonably well. I have a decent rig and can play most games without too many issues, so if a game stutters and lurches I chalk it up to poor optimization or too much acid. Fortunately there are no problems here (as long as you have a decent MODERN computer).

OK, now where I really noticed a difference was in the gameplay balancing; I had generally less trouble with the mobs and for the most part was able to level up at a decent pace without getting my gorgeous ***(we all play the 'sensuous redhead', right guys?) handed to me at every turn. Not to say it isn't challenging; far from it. But I really like how you can now wander into a zone several levels above your current level and KICK *** for XTREME experience points, providing you have some decent gear. AND, there seems to be a LOT of good smiting equipment available early on. I wouldn't class it as UBER gear, but I found a bow that had decent stats and allowed my 'toon to PWN the early mobs and get some good levels. (BTW: the 3 sets of equipment you get from the Steam version aren't available until level 15, at which point you've likely found better gear anyway). I easily reached level 19 by the time I assaulted the Battle Tower, and with my current build it was a challenge but not a humiliating butt-kicking like the first time I played. It seems a LOT easier to find matching gear sets now, and some of the new EPIC loot just ROCKS without seriously unbalancing the game. I still get schmucked from time to time, but that is more from my lack of skill than the game punishing me for being 3 levels too low. So to sum it up, I'm just about 1/3 into DKS now, and it's looking & playing better than the original. I am really looking forward to the expansion FOV, but replaying from the beginning is giving me better loot and more enjoyment. Bottom line; go ahead and buy it, especially if you can get the discount. LARIAN loves their game, and so should you.BOOYA! (I'll update after I get to FOV)
*pronounced: Huh, Wut??

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