A REMARKABLE RPG

For over 2 years, Belgium developer Larian Studios has worked on their RPG known as Divine Divinity. A 400 meg demo was released a few months ago which has captivated me as few RPG's of late have done. It was a demo that showed me very clearly why I love RPG's in the first place. Other RPG's such as Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights did not thrill me as much as this traditional RPG has done. The demo has over 10 hours of gameplay and includes the village of Aleroth that is home to some well known healers as well as the surrounding area and underground catacombs below it as well. Why should you consider this excellent RPG coming within the next few weeks? Read on dear readers and understand why I believe this RPG to contain many of the elements that will make this an RPG to remember.

THE GRAPHICS

You play the role of a mysterious figure who you learn eventually are one of the marked ones that will play a vital part in attempting to overcome the darkness that approaches. Aleroth, the village you must explore within this demo is more than enough to satisfy an RPG gamer's appetite for the full game coming soon. I immediately found so many things that I loved about this RPG. This is not like the Diablo RPG as many might think which is full of mindless action, for it is far better than Diablo or its sequel, as this game has an actual story and level of gameplay and design that is remarkable. While not using a fancy 3D engine like other current games, the traditional 2D graphics in this game are beautiful and masterfully done. Just look at the screenshots yourself and you shall see the artistry displayed in every facet of the game by the artists of Divine Divinity. There are special effects such as puddles of water dotting the landscape that can reflect things such as the trees nearby or your own reflection as you walk over them, to nice fog effects in certain areas during the day. Spells are also displayed with much attention and detail. The way the environments, buildings, characters and enemies are modeled is handled quite nicely as well. Walking through the environment is very pleasing as you see tiny creatures such as rabbits scurry in the distance, villagers going about their errands or watch as day changes into night as you progress through the game, giving the player the feeling of a world that is alive. The engine is also able to handle weather effects such as rain and lightning which will be used in specific scenes. An RPG player will definitely appreciate and enjoy the graphics within this game.

THE GAMEPLAY

One of the main objectives within the demo involves entering and exploring a very large and intricate network of catacombs that are found beneath the village in order to save the sanity of Mardaneus, who is the leader of the healers but has been possessed by an evil spirit. This in itself allows the player to see many of the unique features within this game. The interface resides at the bottom and middle of the screen and from there you are able to select many options, such as checking on how much health or mana your player currently has left to choosing your potions, weapons and finding out about your quests and objectives. This interface is powerful and streamlined for ease of use within the game. You can easily select the specific potion you desire, look at your inventory or skills, and anything else with a quick click of a button on the easy to use interface. A journal conveniently records what quests you have been given and any specific details on them. When you have completed a particular quest it will mark it as having been solved. I think having a journal like this is a very vital ingredient within any RPG game as it helps the player to keep track of all the quests within the game instead of overwhelming the player with so much information. A map of the particular area can always be accessed to help the player find their way through these very large environments.

Equipping items on your character is also handled well. There is a paper doll interface on which you can equip the many weapons, armor, rings and other items that you buy or find along the way. What I liked as well is that many items that you equip on your character are actually reflected on there body. George is one of the merchants that you can buy from in the demo and he will sell you many valuable items for your quest. But not all of the items that you see or find in your quest can be used at that time as each weapon or armor has requirements such as agility and strength that must be met before they can be used. If you can't use a certain item at the time you can easily save if for later or sell the item to the merchant in trade for other items that you can use or potions for mana and health that you need to have for your many battles. Fighting is also very easy to do, you just click on the enemy to attack them and a health bar above them will indicate the damage you inflict upon them as you attack. You can use many types of weapons such as swords, axes, bows and others to deal heavy damage upon your enemies but it gets even more interesting when you begin wielding powerful spells. As you gain experience you will be able to go up a level and attribute points to specific categories such as ones that will increase your overall health and mana points to the amount of damage that you can unleash upon your foes. You will also be given an opportunity to choose a certain spell or ability when you level up. Some of the interesting spells you can use in this demo range from the meteorite spell which is powerful and sends a huge rock hurling at the enemy to the spike spell which releases deadly spikes under your enemies.

Some abilities you can obtain are the lock picking skill for opening locked doors or chests to the repair ability which allows you to repair damaged armor or weapons which can be come ineffective after heavy use in battle. One skill I enjoyed was the alchemy skill which allows you to make a variety of potions such as those for health or mana. You need to then find empty bottles that you can buy from merchants or find on enemies. You then need to find certain herbs scattered throughout the field, red herbs will yield health potions while blue herbs will yield mana potions. All you need to do is click the empty bottle upon the particular herb you desire and you will have your potion. This skill becomes invaluable when the player is out in the field and is not able to go to an inn to rest or to someone that can heal them. Skills and spells can be increased in levels, which can provide more benefits and advantages as you obtain the higher levels. There are many more diverse skills and spells promised within the full game such as the use of mines which will make this a very unique and interesting RPG game. This demo also includes some very interesting puzzle and level design to amaze the eyes. In one area, you must read a book that informs you that in order to access a secret chamber you must open certain outer tombs before you are able to gain access to the inner ones. It is nice to see that levels will not be the standard ones that have no point to them beyond killing your enemies but will have unique puzzles and level design integrated within them. As the demo ends, a large and more sinister plot unfolds and your role becomes one of mystery and suspense that will be continued in the full game.

AN RPG DESERVING OF YOUR ATTENTION

The creators of Divine Divinity have mentioned that the demo is only about 5% of the entire game. The full version shipping in a few weeks promises to be a very huge and complex RPG with easily over 50+ hours of gameplay to satisfy RPG gamers in so many categories, from an epic story, diverse skills and spells, and so much more awaiting the player. Look forward to our full review sometime after the game is released to see if the complete game holds up as well as the demo did. Try the demo out at least to see if this RPG enchants and satisfies you as it has to so many already. Divine Divinity is an RPG that once you start playing you can't stop because it is so addictive!